Coal Mine Theatre, the independent company known for its intimate productions of celebrated contemporary works drawn from across the English-language canon, is losing one of its co-founders and artistic directors, the latest in a series of leadership shakeups in Toronto’s performing arts sector.听
Diana Bentley, who helped establish the theatre company in 2015 alongside her husband and co-artistic director, Ted Dykstra, will step down from her current position at the end of this season. Her departure is to be publicly announced by the company on Thursday.听
鈥淭he story of Coal Mine is a fierce and intense story 鈥 and it鈥檚 been a journey unlike any other journey,鈥 Bentley said in an exclusive interview, ahead of the official announcement. 鈥淚 have such a deep and profound connection to Coal Mine as a producer, creator, director and actor, so moving away from it feels momentous.鈥
Speaking with the Star via Zoom, she recounted how the company came into existence nearly a decade ago, first operating out of a black-box theatre underneath a pizza parlour on Danforth Avenue.听
Bentley, at the time, was dating Dykstra and producing a show at the venue for another company. When they learned the space was to be closed, Dykstra immediately proposed they take it over and mount a show.听
鈥淚 think he was very cleverly testing to see if I would bite,鈥 Bentley joked, recalling that pivotal conversation in their car. 鈥淎nd I did.鈥
With Bentley on board, Dykstra then spoke with the owners of the pizza shop, who were familiar with his theatrical work on 鈥淭wo Pianos, Four Hands鈥 and offered the basement venue to the couple for free.
Before they knew it, Bentley and Dykstra were producing their first show, 鈥淭he Motherf—ker with the Hat,鈥 which was a critical success and led the theatremakers to program a full season of works.听
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 plan at all. It just started to happen,鈥 Dykstra said. 鈥淲hat we like to say is that theatre has a voice and it tells us what it needs, and then we try to give it what it鈥檚 asking for. We weren鈥檛 saying, 鈥楲et鈥檚 start a new theatre and we鈥檒l be here 10 years from now.鈥欌
Coal Mine, however, has grown immeasurably since its humble beginnings and is now considered one of the most acclaimed theatre companies in the city. (It has more Dora Awards to its name than the number of years it鈥檚 been in operation.)
Since it was founded nine years ago, Coal Mine has operated out of four different venues. The company鈥檚 most recent move to its current location, near Danforth and Woodbine avenues, came after its former home was ravaged by a major fire in 2022.听
Watching the community rally behind the theatre after it was forced out of its old venue due to the fire, said Bentley, was 鈥渙ne of the most profound moments of my life.鈥
鈥淢y proudest achievement is the impact that the Coal Mine has had,鈥 she added. 鈥淣ot only on all the artists who have worked with it, but also every single audience member who has come to our shows.鈥
Bentley also marked a number of significant individual achievements during her time at Coal Mine. As artistic producer for the company, she mounted more than 30 海角社区官网and Canadian premieres, including one, 鈥渊别谤尘补,鈥 which marked her directorial debut. And in 2020, she received an Equity Award of Distinction.听
Personal and professional partners Diana Bentley and Ted Dykstra, pictured in a file photo taken at the Coal Mine Theatre.听
SHAUN BENSON/COAL MINE THEATREIn many ways, for Bentley and Dykstra, their professional partnership has been inextricably linked with their personal relationship. They even tied the knot in the Coal Mine鈥檚 former home at 1454 Danforth Ave. in 2017, an event that Bentley described as 鈥渕agical.鈥 And the couple, who now have a five-year-old son, still refer to the company as their 鈥渇irst baby.鈥
Balancing their professional and personal relationships was never easy, Dykstra admitted, though the experience continues to be fun and rewarding.听
鈥淭he hardest thing about it is that you can鈥檛 ever turn the Coal Mine off at home,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e tried to make rules, like after 5 p.m. we cannot talk about the theatre, but there was absolutely no way that we could enforce that.鈥
For Bentley, moving on to a new professional chapter, away from the day-to-day operations of the Coal Mine, will be a change: 鈥淲e鈥檙e figuring out how to individuate and also stay in a really healthy marriage.鈥
Though she is stepping down as Coal Mine鈥檚 co-artistic director and artistic producer, Bentley will remain on its board and continue to perform with the company in future productions. Dykstra, meanwhile, will become the theatre鈥檚 sole artistic director. A new managing director who has yet to be announced is also set to join the company.听
Bentley will cap her time with Coal Mine by playing the title role in Henrik Ibsen鈥檚 鈥淗edda Gabler,鈥 in a new version by Liisa Repo-Martell.听
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think I鈥檝e ever felt so aligned with a role,鈥 the actor said. 鈥淚 really do feel like I understand her so deeply, so I鈥檓 so excited about that.鈥
As for the future, Bentley has several productions in progress that will be announced in due course. She鈥檚 also looking forward to spending more time on her own creative pursuits.听
鈥淚鈥檓 really excited to be spending more time pursuing creating, writing, directing,鈥 she said, 鈥渁nd just giving myself time to really explore.鈥
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