Canadian Literature & Poetry
in English
Drama
Encyclopedias, Dictionaries & Handbooks
Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia
Information on plays, productions, performances, publications,
playwrights, theatres and theatre practitioners.
The Oxford Companion to Canadian Theatre
Documents the growth and development of Canadian drama and
theatre in English and French, from the nineteenth century to the late 1980s.
The book offers biographies of actors, playwrights, directors,
and designers; major theaters, including nineteenth-century theaters, and companies; major
plays; and numerous miscellaneous subjects such as collective theatre, design, directing,
ethnic theater, musical theater, radio and television drama, and local theatre.
PN 2301 .O93
1989
Reference & Stacks
Theatre in Context Collection
A comprehensive reference resource covering all aspects of the
Canadian and American theatre.
It includes major reference materials, together with records to
plays, people, theatres, productions, production companies, as well as images, playbills,
postcards, scrapbooks and other resources. Updated annually.
The Oxford Handbook of Canadian Literature
A comprehensive, authoritative guide to many different genres,
topics, and aspects of Canadian literary history, including drama and the history of the Statford Festival.
The Cambridge Companion to Canadian Literature
A comprehensive introduction to major writers, genres and topics
in Canadian literature, such as drama, fiction, and poetry, Indigenous writing, autobiography,
literary criticism, writing by women, urban writing, nature-writing, exploration and
travel-writing, and short fiction.
The Cambridge History of Canadian Literature
A complete history of Canadian writing in English and French
from its beginnings, including drama, performing communities, and contemporary Indigenous theatre.
Digital Collections
Theatre in Video
Recordings of the stage work of legendary directors and actors
and interviews with directors, designers, writers, and actors, including Canadian.
North American Women’s Drama
102 full-text plays by Canadian writers: Carol Bolt, Sharon
Pollock, Rachel Wyatt, and others.
Bibliographies
Bibliography of Theatre History in Canada: The Beginnings through
1984
Contains entries on theatre history, little theatre, festivals,
biographies, criticism, Indigenous theatre, lighting, drama in education, young people’s
theatre, theatre on radio, and television drama.
Z 8218.78 S63
2014
Reference
A Bibliography of English-Language Theatre and Drama in Canada
1800–1914
Z 1377 .D7 S4
Reference
A Bibliography of Robertson Davies
Lists Included Davies’ plays, novels, journalism, academic
writing, translations, interviews, speeches, lectures, unsigned articles and editorials, films,
audio recordings, and multimedia editions. Also included is a generous sampling of unsigned
articles and editorials.
Z 8218.78 S63
2014
Reference
Anthologies
Major Plays of the Canadian Theatre, 1934–1984
An anthology of Canadian plays by David French, John Herbert,
Sharon Pollock, James Reaney and other playwrights, produced between 1934 and 1984.
PR 9196.6 .M34
1984
Reference
Canada on Stage: Scenes and Monologues—A Survey of Canadian
Theatre
A survey of scenes and monologues from contemporary Canadian
theatre, drawn from around fifty plays, produced between
PR 9196.6 .C34
2006
Stacks
She Speaks: Monologues for Women
A collection of contemporary Canadian monologues for women,
intended for auditions, study or general interest, and addressing such subjects as adolescence,
body, childhood memories, identity, and others.
PN 2080 .S53
2006
Stacks
History, Literary Interpretation & Criticism
The Opening Act: Canadian Theatre History, 1945–1953
Traces the beginnings of Canadian theatre to the postwar period
and examines the role of numerous theatre companies in the shaping of professional theatre in
Canada, including Everyman in Vancouver, New Play Society in Toronto, Canadian Repertory
Theatre in Ottawa, and many more.
PN 2304 .M35
2012
Stacks
Canadian Theatre History: Selected Readings
A sourcebook, including articles, essays, reviews, and
biographies, contributed by critics, historians, playwrights, actors, directors and cultural
commentators, which documents the development of theatre in Canada, beginning in the early
nineteenth century to the late twentieth century.
PN 2301 .C35
2004
Stacks
English-Canadian Theatre
A survey of the history of theatre and drama in English Canada,
the dominance in the nineteenth century of foreign plays, companies and stars, and the
development of an Indigenous Canadian theatre in the twentieth century.
PN 2301 .B38
1987
Stacks
Performing National Identities: International Perspectives on
Contemporary Canadian Theatre
Examines the importance, reception, and the contributions of
Canadian plays to the world stage, including the work of Michel Tremblay, Sharon Pollock,
George F. Walker, Joan MacLeod, Tomson Highway, Marie Clements, Michel Marc Bouchard, Morris
Panych, Monique Mojica, and Djanet Sears.
PR 9191.5 .P47
2003
Stacks
Staging Strangers: Theatre and Global Ethics
A study of cultural difference in contemporary Canadian theatre.
Theatre in Canada has long been a forum for cultural communities to celebrate their
traditions, but it has now emerged as a forum for staging stories that stretch beyond local
and national communities. This book onsiders the new demand this global shift is placing on
theatre’s narratives and strategies.
Avant-Garde Canadian Literature: The Early Manifestations
Presents a rich body of evidence to illustrate the extent to
which Canadians have been producing avant-garde art since the start of the twentieth century,
as mystical revolutionaries from the 1910s to the 1930s, Surrealists/Automatists from the 1920s
to the 1960s, and as Canadian Vorticists from the 1920s to the 1970s.
Contemporary Canadian Theatre: New World Visions
An edited overview of the performing arts and their cultural and
economic impact in French and English Canada in the 1980s. Includes an assessment of
playwrighting, theatre production, opera and dance, radio and television drama in each
province.
PN 2304 .C66
1985
Stacks
Establishing Our Boundaries: English-Canadian Theatre Criticism
Examines the cultural influence of prominent English-language
theatre critics from 1829 to 1998, such as the work of B.K. Sandwell (1876–1954) the
editor of Saturday Night between 1932 and 1951.
The Theatre of Form and the Production of Meaning: Contemporary
Canadian Dramaturgies
Studies the effect of dramatic forms shape social formations by
analyzing a diverse range of wide range of contemporary Canadian plays, such as community plays
and historical metadramas.
PR 9191.5 .K56
1999
Stacks
Setting the Stage: Montreal Theatre, 1920–1949
The history of theatrical cultures of Montreal and their part in
the development of the Canadian national theatre.
Jewish Roots, Canadian Soil: Yiddish Culture in Montreal, 1904–
1945
Examines the contributions of performers and other artists to
the Yiddish theatre and culture in Montreal in the first half of the twentieth century, with
consideration to the social landscape of the city.
Whittaker’s Theatre: A Critic Looks at Stages in Canada and
Thereabouts, 1944–1975
A collection of reviews written by Whittaker, a theatre critic
and journalist of The Gazzette and later Globe and Mail and published between
1944 and 1975.
PN 2304 .W5
Stacks
Sharon Pollock: First Woman of Canadian Theatre
As playwright, actor, director, teacher, mentor, theatre
administrator, and critic, Sharon Pollock has played an integral role in the shaping of Canada’s national theatre tradition. This collection is comprised of new and original assessments of her work and contribution to
theatre.
Indigenous Drama & Theatre
Indian Act: Residential School Plays
A collection of works by Indigenous playwrights Drew Hayden
Taylor, Tara Beagan, Curtis Peeteetuce, Yvette Nolan, and more. Seven plays by contemporary
Indigenous playwrights cover the broad scope of residential school experiences.
PR 9196.7 .I53
I55 2018
Stacks
Honouring the Strength of Indian Women: Plays, Stories, Poetry
This critical edition delivers a comprehensive collection of the
works of Ktunaxa-Secwepemc writer and educator Vera Manuel, daughter of prominent Indigenous
leaders Marceline Paul and George Manuel.
A vibrant force in the burgeoning Indigenous theatre scene,
Manuel was at the forefront of residential school writing and did groundbreaking work as a
dramatherapist and healer.
Long before mainstream Canada understood and discussed the
impact and devastating legacy of the residential schools, Manuel wrote about it as part of her
personal and community healing.
PR 9199.3 .M288
2019
Stacks
Performing Turtle Island: Indigenous Theatre on the World Stage
This book analyzes theatre as a tool for community engagement,
education, and resistance, and examines how communities in turn influence the construction of
Indigenous identities through theatre.
PN 2301 .P47
2019
Stacks
Aboriginal Drama and Theatre
Examines trickster drama, performance culture, specific plays,
and historical heritage of Indigenous theatre and drama in Canada.
PR 9194.5 .I5
A36 2005
Stacks
Pursued by a Bear: Talks, Monologues, and Tales
Collection of essays about First-Nations Canadian playwrights
and authors, which examines how Indigenous stories contribute to the Canadian collective
memory.
PR 9188.2 .I54
M67 2005
Stacks
Journals
Theatre Research in Canada
Peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary journal on theatre research in
Canada, including theatre history. The articles are published in English and French, and the
journal also includes book reviews.
Canadian Theatre Review
reviewed & updated 20 May 2021 | compiled by Agatha Barc, MI