neworldtheatre was the lovechild of Founding Artistic Producer Camyar Chai, who conceived the company while at the University of British Columbia, birthing it with co-conspirators Mara Coward and Tom Scholte.

First productions were primarily folk-style adaptations of classical Iranian texts and/or myths, reflecting both Camyar's cultural background and the sizeable population of Persian Canadians in the Lower Mainland of Vancouver. While mostly produced with no resources (ie: Camyar's credit card), over two or three years these shows developed a strong following in the Iranian-Canadian community, regularly selling out the 250 seat Vancouver East Cultural Centre. Early productions included Love, Quest and Evening in a Strange Land.

Numerous productions of the multiple-award winning plays about Mordecai Vanunu by Camyar Chai and Mara Coward, and a national tour of the show with Rumble Productions (www.rumble.org), marked the company's first foray into non-didactic, politically-engaged productions and national touring, both of which have become company signatures.

Devil Box Cabaret (1999), a site-specific collective creation based on the play The Four Boxes by Iranian writer Bahram Beyzaee, marked both a move toward a more hybridized performance style and neworld's full emergence as a significant company in the independent theatre scene. Winning numerous awards and selling out its run, Devil Box anticipated the move to site-specific work that has dominated recent independent Vancouver theatre.

For the next three years (1999 – 2002) the company produced the Leaky Heaven Circus. What was meant to be a 'one-off' millennium project became a four-show phenomenon that culminated in the formation of a new company, The Leaky Heaven Performance Society (www.leakyheaven.com).

From these humble beginnings neworldtheatre has remained pretty humble. An artist-run company with a staff of 3 and a part-time Business Manager, we ROCK THE WORLD.

For our recent production history, please see Past Productions.