Victoria set to lose yet another event space in March 2026
Photo via intrepidtheatre.com
On Aug. 7, Intrepid Theatre announced that they would be ending their shared lease with the Victoria Conservatory of Music, and closing the Metro Studio, which will officially close in March 2026 after 20 years of operation together.
In their official statement posted on their website, Intrepid Theatre said that “[The Metro Studio] is no longer financially viable for our long-term, sustainable operations.”
“While it is sad to see this end of an era at the Metro, financially, we could not handle this large cost increase to our bottom line. As we explore other venues around the city, our programming will continue to bring Victoria audiences bold theatre and contemporary performance from some of the country’s most talked-about artists,” said Maggie Chapin Caravaca, board president of Intrepid Theatre.
In a statement posted to their website, the Victoria Conservatory of Music said that “over the past two years, the Conservatory and Intrepid Theatre have shared important conversations about mutual challenges: rising costs, changing touring markets, and post-pandemic impacts on arts production, downtown vibrancy, and scheduling constraints owing to the Metro’s cooperative use agreement.”
They have plans to replace essential and end-of-life gear in the Metro Studio once it closes in 2026, and aim to reopen the space for Conservatory use in the summer of the same year.
Matt Dell, a Victoria city councilor and arts advocate, said the closure of the Metro Studio speaks to the overall lack of space for arts organizations in Victoria. “Running an arts space, like what Intrepid was doing with the Metro Theatre, is incredibly expensive,” said Dell.
“There’s a lot of cost[s], insurance costs are huge, electricity cost, heating cost, building maintenance cost, and those were all getting more expensive…. it’s getting more challenging to run an arts venue, because it’s expensive to run a venue and it’s hard for small arts venues and organizations to do that without support.”
In the Stage One Report, published by the Capital Regional District (CRD) in December 2020, 69 per cent of the 166 artists and artist organizations surveyed reported that they were “rarely or sometimes able to access” affordable facilities for rehearsal and practice.
The CRD is currently planning a new service and bylaw that could provide up to $1 million dollars of funding to the Royal Theatre and McPherson Theatre in Victoria, and the Charlie White Theatre in Sidney.
According to Dell, this service would have all the municipalities contribute to this fund to support arts, and arts venues around the region. For example, the City of Victoria, the District of Saanich, and the District of Oak Bay own the Royal Theatre together, but the McPherson Theatre is only owned by the City of Victoria.
“It’s been a bit of a challenge because it’s a regional theatre…. People from all around the region come to the McPherson Theatre, but Victoria pays all the costs. There’s a risk that we could lose the McPherson Theatre without more support,” said Dell.
“Victoria is doing a lot of the heavy lifting, and there’s only so much money to go around.”
This isn’t to say that there is no support for theatre space, as the city has been supporting the Other Guise theatre company in their purchase of a new theatre at 716 Johnson Street.
“They’re doing renovation work right now,” said Dell. “They’re looking for volunteers, they’re looking for people to help out, [and] they’re looking for fundraising. When we lose one venue, we’re opening up another, and there might be a potential for the Intrepid Theatre folks to eventually move in there or share that space, because they want to build a couple of theatres in there.”
However, with the loss of the Victoria Event Centre (VEC) in October 2024, which closed under similar circumstances, the concern remains that rising rents and costs could potentially lead to Victoria losing more event spaces.
“Intrepid Theatre was looking for more support from the city of Victoria, which I ultimately wasn’t able to convince people to do,” said Dell. “One of the takeaways for me, and I’ve been working with Intrepid on this, is there’s a role for grant-funding organizations to fund venues, or organizations that offer space.”
Intrepid Theatre will still be using the Metro Studio for the 2025 Victoria Fringe, the 2025 Incoming Festival in November, and the 2026 OUTstages Festival in Winter 2026.
Looking back on their relationship with the Victoria Conservatory of Music, Intrepid Theatre’s Artistic Director, Sean Guist said, “With change comes possibility and opportunity, and we are looking for our next adventure. We are really open to what that could look like — a collaborative space, creative partnerships, a shared venue, a new performance space — all are possibilities that align with Intrepid’s goal of creating an improved experience for artists, audiences, volunteers, staff, and anyone who called the Metro home. Let’s dream together.”
