Sanderson Centre: Why Great Performances Deserve Great Rest
Quick Answer: The Sanderson Centre for the Performing Arts opened December 22, 1919 as the Temple Theatre. Designed by renowned architect Thomas W. Lamb, this Brantford landmark has hosted over a century of performances. After the lights go down and the applause fades, the energy of live performance needs somewhere to go. Rest is how we process the emotions art stirs in us.
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There's a moment after the final curtain. The house lights come up. The audience rises, still buzzing with whatever the performance stirred in them. Comedy, drama, music, dance. The Sanderson Centre has delivered all of it since 1919.
What happens next matters more than people realize.
A Theatre Built to Move You
The building that would become the Sanderson Centre opened on December 22, 1919 as the Temple Theatre. Scottish architect Thomas W. Lamb designed it at a cost of $350,000. In today's dollars, that's roughly $5.5 million invested in creating a space specifically designed to move audiences emotionally.
Lamb knew what he was doing. He designed over 300 theatres across North America, including New York's Capitol Theatre and Madison Square Garden. When Brantford commissioned him, they were investing in world-class emotional architecture.
The Temple Theatre started as a vaudeville and silent movie house. By the late 1920s, feature films had overtaken vaudeville, and Famous Players purchased the building. They renamed it the Capitol Theatre in the early 1930s.
For decades, the Capitol was where Brantford went to feel something.
The Restoration Story
By the 1980s, the old Capitol needed saving. In 1986, the City of Brantford purchased the theatre for $425,000. Community volunteers raised funds to restore it, piece by careful piece.
The theatre was reborn with an authentically restored auditorium. The ornate plasterwork, the velvet seats, the proscenium arch. Everything designed to draw you into the performance.
The renamed Sanderson Centre for the Performing Arts honours the Sanderson family's generous support. Today it's home to the Brantford Symphony Orchestra and the Brantford Music Club. The League of Historic American Theatres awarded it their Prestigious Theatre Preservation Award.
Not bad for a building that almost didn't survive the 20th century.
Why Performances Exhaust Us
Watching live theatre or music isn't passive. Your nervous system responds to dramatic tension, comedic timing, and musical crescendos. Cortisol and adrenaline spike during intense scenes. Dopamine floods during satisfying resolutions. Your body processes a performance like it processed the real emotions being portrayed. This is why we feel tired after a great show. We need rest to integrate what we experienced.
The Post-Show Paradox
Here's what happens after a memorable performance at the Sanderson Centre:
You walk out onto Dalhousie Street. The night air hits you. You're energized and exhausted simultaneously. Your mind replays the best moments. You want to talk about it, think about it, feel it again.
And you can't sleep.
This is completely normal. Art is meant to provoke. The Sanderson Centre's architects understood this. They designed a space that amplifies emotional response. Thomas W. Lamb built theatres that make you feel more, not less.
The solution isn't to feel less. It's to give yourself permission to process.
Rest as Part of the Experience
Consider this: the Sanderson Centre 2025-2026 season includes concerts, musicals, comedy shows, and the Brantford Symphony. Each performance type affects your nervous system differently.
After Comedy: Laughter releases tension, but your body still processes the social energy of laughing with 1,100 strangers. You might feel wired. A wind-down routine helps.
After Drama: Emotional performances can leave you reflective, sometimes melancholic. Your body doesn't distinguish between fictional and real emotional experiences. Give yourself time.
After Music: The Brantford Symphony Orchestra performances engage your auditory processing in sustained, complex ways. Many people find they need quiet afterward to reset.
None of this means avoiding great performances. It means planning for recovery as part of the experience.
The After-Show Ritual
Here's what experienced theatre-goers do:
- Allow 30-60 minutes between performance end and attempting sleep
- Talk about the show. Processing verbally helps discharge emotional energy
- Avoid screens that add more stimulation
- Keep bedroom cool and dark, contrasting the warm theatre environment
- Accept that tonight's sleep might come later than usual
The best performances stay with you. That's the point. Rest doesn't mean forgetting what moved you. It means giving your body time to settle while your mind keeps the memory.
Just Steps from Downtown Brantford
The Sanderson Centre sits at 88 Dalhousie Street, in the heart of downtown. We're at 441 1/2 West Street, about a 5-minute drive. When you're ready to invest in sleep that supports your active cultural life, we're here. Since 1987, we've helped Brantford families who believe life should include both great performances and great rest.
More Than Entertainment
The Sanderson Centre represents something important about Brantford. A community that values shared cultural experience. A city that saved its historic theatre when it could have let it fall.
Live performance connects us. The Brantford Symphony Orchestra playing for a full house. A comedian making strangers laugh together. A touring musical bringing professional theatre to our city.
These experiences matter. They're worth protecting. And they're worth resting for.
Frequently Asked Questions
When was the Sanderson Centre built?
The building opened December 22, 1919 as the Temple Theatre, designed by renowned architect Thomas W. Lamb. It was renamed the Sanderson Centre for the Performing Arts after restoration in the late 1980s.
Who designed the Sanderson Centre?
Thomas W. Lamb, a Scottish-born architect who designed over 300 theatres across North America, including Madison Square Garden and New York's Capitol Theatre. The original construction cost $350,000.
What performances does the Sanderson Centre host?
The Sanderson Centre hosts concerts, musicals, comedy shows, dance performances, films, and more. It's home to the Brantford Symphony Orchestra and the Brantford Music Club, presenting both professional touring shows and community cultural events.
Why is it called the Sanderson Centre?
The theatre was renamed to honour the Sanderson family's generous support during the restoration project in the late 1980s and their ongoing philanthropic contributions to the Brantford community.
How does attending live performances affect sleep?
Live performances stimulate your nervous system through emotional engagement, social energy, and sensory stimulation. Allow 30-60 minutes of wind-down time after a show before attempting sleep, and expect that particularly moving performances may affect your rest that night.
Visit Our Brantford Showroom
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441 1/2 West Street, Brantford
Phone: (519) 770-0001
Hours: Mon-Wed 10-6, Thu-Fri 10-7, Sat 10-5, Sun 12-4
Five minutes from the Sanderson Centre. When your cultural calendar is full, your sleep needs to support the life you're living. We've been helping Brantford families rest well since 1987.