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Articles

Volume 14 Number 2 / Fall 1993

Thomas Pope Besnard: Less Than Enshrinement

Submitted
May 13, 2008
Published
1993-06-01

Abstract

Thomas Pope Besnard (T.P.B.) appeared from nowhere as the driving force behind the Lyceum Theatre and the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Toronto between 1846 and 1852; he then disappeared completely from the scene. The mystery man of nineteenth century Ontario theatre history, T.P.B. has occasioned much romantic speculation over the years. This paper removes the mystery, and details Besnard's prosaic life. Thomas Pope Besnard (T.P.B.) est apparu de nulle part pour dynamiser le Lyceum Theatre et le Royal Lyceum Theatre àToronto de 1846 à1852; il est ensuite enti èrement disparu. Mystérieux personnage de l'histoire du théâtre ontarien du dix-neuvième siècle, T.P.B. a provoqu é de nombreuses spéculations au fil des ans. Cet essai apporte quelque lumiére sur la vie tout à fait prosaïque de Besnard.