Toronto’s Lower Ossington Theatre (LOT) has announced it’s closing down permanently.
Located at 100 Ossington Ave near Queen Street West, the venue stated on its website, “The unfortunate truth is that The LOT helped build up an area that eventually out-priced it.”
The announcement comes as many of Toronto’s live venues are feeling the crunch from both rent increases and the fallout from government mandated closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, preventing them from earning revenue.
“While it is likely no surprise by now, considering that countless other small venues have already disappeared, not to mention large national businesses, it is nonetheless heartbreaking. As a small organization that was always punching above its weight, “The LOT” was a hub for hundreds of up-and-coming actors, and presented thousands of live performances over the last decade. Everyone involved should be proud of what was accomplished.”
The LOT is a proscenium-style theatre that holds between 120-150 people. A historical building, it neighbours include the house where Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassin, James Earl Ray, hid in while on the run.
The LOT states they will transition their website as an archive for past productions.
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