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The original precedent for Neptune Theatre was Nova Scotia's first French language theatrical presentation, Marc Lescarbot's Le Theatre de Neptune en la Nouvelle-France in 1606.The impetus to found a repertory theatre in Halifax was spurred on by the Canada Council's encouragement of establishing regional theatres in the late 1950s. Local Halifax politicians supported the endeavor, believing it would aid city development and help to attract additional tourists. Neptune's first repertory season was in 1963-1964. Neptune was also the first completely year-round theatre in Canada.

In the early years, Neptune produced a variety of plays in an attempt to appeal to a broad audience. However, attendance numbers typically were only around fifty percent of capacity and the theatre started to experience the first of many financial hard times. Subscription series were introduced in 1967 to help counteract these problems. Neptune was also supported by a variety of grants, including some from the Canada Council as well as from all three levels of government.

Neptune has produced many Canadian-authored plays, including several commissioned specifically for them over the years. From the start, Neptune attempted to reach a wide audience by touring one or two productions each year on a regional basis, beginning in 1963. The first nation-wide tour was in 1967. Neptune also produced several world premieres in its early years, including Michael Cook's Colour the Flesh the Colour of Dust (1972).

In the early 1970s, the decision was made to have a single season from November to August rather than continuing the year-round schedule. It was too expensive to maintain a full company for that time period. It was also difficult to attract many of Canada's best performers to stay in Halifax for long periods of time. Therefore, rather than attempt to remain a repertory company, Neptune became a stock company during this time.

In the 1971-1972 season, Neptune's Studio Theatre was created. This second stage produced more experimental works as well as workshop-style productions. It was dependent upon government grants and, due to a lack of such monies, disappeared after the 1973-1974 season. It was later reinitiated by Tom Kerr in the 1985-1986 season under the name "Neptune North," and later in the 1990s as the "Studio Series."

The community took an active interest in Neptune. This was first concretely demonstrated by the creation of The Tritons, or Children of Neptune. This was a group of young people who wanted to know more about Neptune and it served as the forerunner of the Theatre School, later established by Tom Kerr in 1983. In 1973-1974, a Student Theatre Company was formed jointly with the Halifax School Board. However, it was quickly abandoned after only two seasons.

During these early years, it became progressively clear that the physical resources of the Neptune Theatre, namely the building and theatre equipment, were lacking. This acknowledgement was the start of a quest to improve these facilities. Various renovations were conducted over the years, but the desire for a new theatre building remained a passionate goal. Studies were conducted and plans were drawn up in the early 1980s to create a joint Neptune and Art Gallery complex on the Halifax waterfront. These plans were abandoned due to a lack of financial backing. Neptune also considered redeveloping the existing building with the addition of a second stage during the 1980s. This dream finally came to fruition in 1997 with the construction of a wholly renovated building, complete with a second stage.

The financial situation worsened as the theatre's deficit mounted from 1974 to 1977. In 1978, Artistic Director John Wood was replaced by John Neville (Artistic Director 1978-1983), who worked to correct the financial situation by instigating several changes and programs. New managerial staff was hired to help improve the financial area through new subscription campaigns and by appealing to the business sector for sponsorship.

An actor of international stature, Neville helped to promote Neptune locally and abroad. He kept himself visible to the greater community by acting in several plays and helped to increase Neptune's community exposure with the creation of the Young Neptune Company, a professional company that conducted extensive school tours throughout the region. Neville also instituted the artist-in-residence program in 1981-1982 and attempted to increase the accessibility of theatre to the community with the lunchtime productions. These productions became difficult to maintain alongside main stage productions and were phased out after the 1983-1984 season.

Tom Kerr maintained the Young Neptune Company, the artist-in-residence program, and also added the Apprentice Directors' Program in 1983. He also founded the Neptune Theatre School in 1983 with the help of Irene Watts.

Today, Neptune remains a multi-faceted organization with main stage productions, Studio Series productions, a Young Neptune Company, and a successful Theatre School. There will surely be many more seasons to come.

Registered in 1978 as Mulgrave Road Co-operative Theatre, the company's origins date back to 1976, with the creation of "The Mulgrave Road Show," co-written and performed by Robbie O’Neill, Michael Fahey, Gay Hauser and Wendell Smith. The play explored the issues faced by a community in decline. Mulgrave, located on the eastern shore of Nova Scotia across from Cape Breton Island, had experienced a sustained recession after the 1954 construction of the Canso Causeway.

Mulgrave Road Theatre has a mandate to develop, produce and promote a theatrical experience that resonates with Atlantic Canadians. The company has made a significant contribution to the growth of Canadian theatre and the development of Atlantic Canadian artists, having produced dozens of original scripts, many of which have been performed on stages across the country and beyond

MRT also plays a leading role in ground-breaking community development projects; using theatre as a medium to address critical social issues that affect the region. MRT is committed to equity and inclusion throughout its organization and demonstrates this in its programming, outreach, and people.

Mulgrave productions are developed through commissions, playwrights-in-residence, on-site and distance dramaturgy, and work-shopping. In the beginning, scripts were largely collective creations, such as "Business of Living," which was written by 18 Atlantic playwrights. Other notable productions included "I’m Assuming I’m Right" (Frank MacDonald), "From Fogarty’s Cove" (Ric Knowles), "Battle Fatigue" (Jenny Munday), "Marion Bridge" (Daniel MacIvor), and "Caribou" (Michael Melski). Two or three productions are mounted each year. In addition to its touring company, Mulgrave offers a youth program called ROADies.

Mulgrave Road Theatre has a governing board made up of professionals and community members. It is a member of the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres, the Nova Scotia Theatre Alliance, and Arts Cape Breton.

Movement for Citizens’ Voice and Action (MOVE) was a coalition of community groups in the Halifax-Dartmouth area established to enable community groups to access resources previously difficult to obtain. The agenda of the MOVE coalition focused primarily on social issues ranging from unemployment, poverty, affordable housing, women’s rights, civil rights, welfare rights, to urban planning and development, transportation, education and environmental issues.

In February 1970 the Nova Scotia Voluntary Economic Planning Board conducted an Urban Encounter week in the Halifax area to allow citizens to express their ideas, observations, frustrations and criticisms. As a result, a group of citizens concerned with the lack of participation in the regional planning process formed the Citizens’ Involvement Committee in order to involve as many voluntary associations as possible in the development of an active group within the Halifax-Dartmouth regional community. At a three-day conference held in Kentville, Nova Scotia, in February 1971, it was agreed to establish a citizens’ group coalition under the name “Citizens Inc.” In June it became “Movement for Citizens Voice and Action” to facilitate incorporation.

MOVE assumed full organizational status with the election of a Board of Directors. By the end of 1971, MOVE received a Local Initiatives Programme grant for $61,000, which enabled the organization to rent central office facilities, hire and organize staff for coalition member groups. MOVE’s objectives were to develop and strengthen the ability of people and groups in the region to identify needs and issues and to organize people to take informed and effective action; to serve as a mechanism within which community groups from different geographical, issue, and need areas could meet and exchange information and possibly form issue-centered coalitions; provide resources that included information made available through their library while also providing staff, printing services, monies, and mediation to municipal, provincial, and federal government departments.

Throughout the 1970s, MOVE obtained and maintained an average of about 35 group members (some groups withdrew while newer groups were added). Some of their most involved groups included the Ecology Action Centre, Dalhousie Legal Aid, Halifax Welfare Rights, and Ward Five Resource Council. MOVE also established representation with groups such as the Municipal Development Planning Committee (MDPC), Metropolitan Area Planning Committee (MAPC), the Halifax Downtown Committee and Neighbourhood Housing Association (NHA).

Some of MOVE’s most notable achievements include: co-ordinating interested groups and individuals in presenting a proposal for a Planning Advisory Committee to be established in Halifax; organizing the Canadian Council of Resources and Environment Ministers Conference in Nova Scotia and participating in the Nova Scotia delegation to the national conference; promoting public hearings on Harbour Drive North; co-ordinating submissions to a regional version of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment; establishing a Dartmouth Cable-TV program on community affairs; and sponsoring a public forum on the Halifax Transit strike. Most importantly, MOVE played an integral role in the dissemination of prominent local issues to the public as the organization received an abundance of media coverage throughout the 1970s and produced many controversial publications.

Towards the end of the 1970s, MOVE started facing financial difficulties. The core of MOVE's funding had been provided by the Ministry of State for Urban Affairs, which was cut. As a result, MOVE eventually shut down their facility and sold off their office equipment. The organization's last recorded activity was a final meeting in 1982 after nearly three years of inactivity.