The Rickshaw Theatre, formerly known as the Shaw Theatre, was built in 1971 as part of the Shaw Brothers' worldwide movie empire. The Shaw Brothers are the most significant film production company in the history of Hong Kong cinema.

The Theatre was the west coast hub for all of the Shaw Brothers' North American business operations and distribution. The theatre itself was the west coast crown in their theatre empire and featured the most modern movie technology of the time.

The Shaw Theatre closed its doors in the mid-eighties as interest in the Kung-Fu movie genre waned. The theatre sat more or less dormant until it was repurposed as a live music venue in 2009 as the Rickshaw Theatre.

Realizing the Rickshaw’s potential as an outstanding music venue, Mo Tarmohamed came on board in the summer of 2011 to run the operations and eventually taking over the business.

The theatre boasts possibly the best sight-lines of any music venue in the city, with a scalable capacity that can be easily configured to accommodate shows of any size. The Rickshaw has successfully hosted a number of outstanding international touring acts such as The War on Drugs, Mudhoney, Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats, Goat, Sharon Van Etten, Russian Circles, Future Islands, Shovels and Rope, Thee Oh Sees, Black Joe Lewis, Deerhunter, Thurston Moore, Kurt Vile, The Sonics, Death, Spiritualized, Deer Tick, Kreator, Accept, Napalm Death, The Joy Formidable, The Human League, Ariel Pink, Andrew W.K., Blitzen Trapper, Caravan Palace, Wax Tailor, Calexico, Built to Spill, Killing Joke, High on Fire, Kvelertak and Ghostface Killah, the Rickshaw has also played host to local titans No Means No, DOA, The Pack AD, Japandroids, Bison BC, Three Inches of Blood, The Dreadnoughts, Five Alarm Funk and emerging home grown talent such as Anciients, No Sinner, Black Wizard, White Lung and many others.

A vibrant Rickshaw has now become a vital institution in the ongoing revitalization of the Downtown Eastside.

The Rickshaw Theatre

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