The Théâtre d’la Corvée was founded in 1975 in Vanier, at that time still a separate municipality located near Ottawa. In the mid-1970s, the National Capital Region was served primarily by two French-language theatre companies: L’Atelier and the Compagnie Gilles-Provost, established in 1965 and 1973 respectively. These two companies mostly performed repertory plays. The National Arts Centre, which opened its doors to coincide with the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, similarly welcomed productions from elsewhere, paying little attention to local artists.  

The Théâtre d’la Corvée did quite the opposite. From the outset, it established itself as a Franco-Ontarian theatre company motivated by a social and political vocation. The troupe’s members were interested in collective creation and cultural outreach to young adults and workers.

In December 1975, its first production, L’hiver show (The Winter Show), was presented at the E.B. Eddy factory in Hull in support of striking employees. The troupe next performed L’annonce faite à Vanier (The Announcement Made in Vanier), a series of tableaux about daily life in Vanier performed on city buses.

Rather than expecting members of the public to come and meet them, the players of Théâtre d’la Corvée wanted to get in front of them. This concern explains the importance the troupe placed on touring during its early years: it enabled the company to make theatre accessible and better convey its message throughout French Ontario.

In 1979, the Théâtre d’la Corvée created its first major show, La parole et la loi (The Word and the Law). Directed by Brigitte Haentjens, the play focused on the educational battles of Franco-Ontarians, including Regulation 17, which had triggered a national crisis. The subject was approached with humour and irony, using a narrator, masks, and song. In a scene entitled L’enterrement (The Burial), the actors shed their minority complex by throwing into a box objects representing Franco-Ontarian identity.

In 1988, the Théâtre d’la Corvée became the Théâtre du Trillium, and established itself as part of the postmodern movement.