Odyssey’s mission is to inspire diverse audiences with visceral theatre that touches hearts, and sparks creativity and reflection about our world.
We create theatre rooted in masked performance and Commedia dell’Arte, infused with other physical arts including puppetry, clown, bouffon and dance-theatre. Our art transports audiences to imaginative worlds, providing a lens through which to see our own.
Creating original plays and adapting international works for masked physical performance is our passion. We explore meaningful themes through satire, myth and folktale, telling powerful stories that explore and celebrate the human spirit.
We push the boundaries of our artform, embracing collaborations with artists from culturally diverse traditions, including Peking Opera, Indian Kathakali, and Sri Lankan Kolam, which opens our stage to new voices and enriches our artistic practice.
We provide specialized training with renowned experts from around the world, developing the skills of theatre artists. Our work provides employment and unique creative opportunities that showcase the talents of physical theatre artists from across Ontario.
We believe theatre should be accessible to all. Through performances in public spaces, online offerings, workshops, community arts projects and outreach to underserved community members, we introduce new audiences to theatre.
We continually adapt and develop new programs to fulfill our mandate, diversify our audiences, and make our theatre more inclusive.
To realize this mission we:
- Reach wide audiences through Theatre Under the Stars
- Nurture artists and help develop Ottawa’s theatre community through new play creation, artist training, and youth programs
- Showcase our artists and reach new audiences with exciting digital theatre projects.
