Highland Arts Theatre, or “The HAT” as it’s affectionately called, is the name of a performance venue in downtown Sydney, Nova Scotia, formerly the home of St. Andrew’s Church. When the church was decommissioned in 2013, a team led by local businessman Kevin Colford stepped up to transform the beloved historical building into a state-of-the-art centre for arts and culture. The venue officially re-opened in June 2014 with an original musical comedy: “The Wakowski Brothers”.
While the venue is available for rent and has hosted many of Cape Breton’s finest in the fields of music, comedy, dance and literature (such as Brent Butt, Ron James, The CBC Massey Lecture, Port Cities), it is our mandate to create a year-round, professional theatrical presence in downtown Sydney, producing and presenting quality productions with a special emphasis on Cape Breton artists, stories, and songs.
The Highland Arts Theatre Association is a non-profit organization registered under the Societies Act of Nova Scotia (3285136) and a registered charity with the Canada Revenue Agency (82383 3181 RR0001.) We are a Professional Member of Theatre Nova Scotia and have memberships with the Sydney & Area Chamber of Commerce, the Playwrights Atlantic Resource Centre (PARC), and the Playwrights Guild of Canada.
In 2020, we piloted our brand new operating model: Radical Access – a crowd-sourcing model that allows us to offer all Mainstage Productions free of charge (inquire today for bookings or donations at info@highlandartstheatre.com).
Our productions have toured to Ontario, Prince Edward Island, and mainland Nova Scotia and we have conducted partnerships and co-productions with Neptune Theatre, the Savoy Theatre, Sacred Heart Downtown, Eastern Front Theatre, Theatre New Brunswick, Festival Antigonish, The Confederation Centre for the Arts, the 2023 Canada Games, and the Chester Playhouse.
