The theatre is housed in a building originally designed for light industrial use, including as a cribbage board factory. It cost $9,000 to renovate. The company's first production was David Freeman's
Creeps. Tarragon has championed the work of Canadian playwrights
David French,
Michel Tremblay,
Judith Thompson, Jason Sherman,
George F. Walker,
Morris Panych,
Carole Frechette,
Michael Healey,
Daniel MacIvor,
Hannah Moscovitch,
Wajdi Mouawad and others, as well as productions of plays by canonical playwrights such as
Anton Chekhov and
August Strindberg. Urjo Kareda founded the theatre's Playwrights Unit in 1982. The Spring Arts Fair showcased works in progress, including an early version of
Ted Dykstra and
Richard Greenblatt's
2 Pianos, 4 Hands, which later toured around the world. The theatre holds two performances venues, containing approximately 200 and 100 seats respectively. One of the rehearsal halls can be used as a performance area, seating 60. The 2020–21 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and productions were moved online, including audio recordings of plays available through a CBC podcast. It remains one of the foremost organizations for producing new plays in Canada. The company has received numerous awards including
Governor General's Awards,
Dora Mavor Moore Awards and the
Premier's Award for Excellence in the Arts. The company's archives are held at the
University of Guelph. ==Artistic directors==