The best Canadian playwrights of all time...

Hi all,

Today's post will be an analysis of those I feel are the 'best' Canadian playwrights of all time. Without further ado (and in no particular order)...

1. Jason Sherman. His snappy dialogue and political astuteness created a hipper, slicker playwright. His play Patience is literally my favourite play of all time - beating out works like Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. If you haven't read/seen him, do it.

2. Claudia Dey. No one makes poetry into drama more effectively than Claudia. An enviable wordsmith, a quirky sense of humour and possibly the first pin-up playwright Canada's had... The Gwendolyn Poems is a good place to start.

3. Darren O'Donnell. Eccentric, intellectual and absurdist, O'Donnell is like a perpetual caffeine trip where you do nothing but read and read and read... White Mice and Boxhead in particular are 2 of my favourites. No one can make you learn and laugh quite like DOD.

4. Judith Thompson. Judith has set the bar for writers trying to create interesting roles for actors. She finds a way to take the notion of stakes for the actor, and elevates them to the realm of the fantastical. Her list of titles is long and distinguished, but The Crackwalker is probably her most famous. With such a heightened approach, her plays can often be perceived as hit/miss, but guaranteed you'll find at least one *shocking* moment in any play of hers you pick up.

5. Daniel MacIvor. Wild Abandon is my favourite MacIvor piece. It's a perfect blend of character, humour, story and darkness. His best work is usually found in his monologue pieces, but this recent Siminovitch winner has lots of titles available with multiple characters.

That's a good start for now, but I will be keeping my eye on writers like Hannah Moscovitch to see what the future of Canadian theatre looks like... In a field that often feels like ever-deepening poverty, the shelf life of Canadian playwrights tends to be fraught with pain, and limited in the works created. Hopefully, one day we'll realize that we need to SUPPORT our talent here if we want to positively reinforce them to keep going and, dare I say it, even improve...

Bobman