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Robertson Davies

ROBERTSON DAVIES

  (1913 - 1995)
Nationality:    Canadian
email:    n/a     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    Curtis Brown Ltd  

William Robertson Davies, who is considered to be Canada's pre-eminent man of letters - widely acknowledged as one of Canada's most brilliant and influential essayists, novelists and playwright - was born in 1913 in Thamesville, Ontario to a Welsh father and a strict Presbyterian mother. His father, William Rupert Davies, sent to Canada when his family's tailoring business failed, became an influential and important newspaper owner and senator. Robertson inherited a love for reading from his parents. He boarded at Upper Canada College in Toronto, then studied at Queen's University in Kingston before attending Balliol College in Oxford, U.K. His initial passion was for the theatre and he pursued life as an actor in London. In 1940 Davies married Brenda Matthews whom he met at Oxford. In the same year the couple returned to Canada where Davies took the position of literary editor of Saturday Night. Robertson Davies worked in his early career to increase the quality and profile of Canadian drama. He started the Dominion Drama Festival and was an early member of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival board. In 1948, he produced his first commercially successful play, Fortune, My Foe. The play involves the questions surrounding Canadian culture and arts, from the point of view of a newly arrived immigrant, a young Canadian and an aging Englishman teacher. He wrote several plays during his career, but after a theatrical disaster in New York in 1960 with Love and Libel, or The Ogre of the Provincial World, Davies chose to focus instead on his novels. Davies' best-known work is the Deptford Trilogy of Fifth Business (1970), The Manticore (1972) and World of Wonders (1975). Setting his novels in semi-rural Ontario, Davies uses biting satire in order to critique what he saw as a narrow-minded and emotionally repressed community. Starting from childhood, the trilogy follows the divergent lives of three boys: Percy Boyd Staunton, Paul Dempster and Dunstan Ramsay. The three boys are connected by one event in their childhood (Percy throws a snowball, meant for Dunstan, but instead causes the premature birth of Paul), and the three novels move between the three characters' perspectives and different points in their lives. Robertson Davies received the Stephen Leacock Medal for humour in 1955, the Lorne Pierce Medal in 1961 and the Governor-General's Award in 1972. He was the first holder of the Massey Chair position at the University of Toronto in 1961. He co-founded the U of T's graduate centre for the Study of Drama in 1966. Davies was the first Canadian to become an Honorary Member of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. He was a Companion of the Order of Canada, an Honorary Fellow of Balliol College, and received honorary degrees from the University of Oxford, Trinity College in Dublin, and the University of Wales, as well as from 23 American and Canadian universities. His work has been translated into 17 languages. His death in Orangeville, Ontario, on 2 December 1995 was marked in obituaries around the world. CBC covered his funeral live; it featured elegies by Margaret Atwood and Timothy Findlay, among many others. His legacy to Canadian literature and culture can be seen the number of novels and works of fiction and non-fiction alike, as well as the number of scholars and intellectuals who interacted with him while he was at the University of Toronto.

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below is a list of Robertson Davies's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

         At My Heart's Core         At the Gates Of the Righteous         Bartholomew Fair         Centennial Play         Eros At Breakfast         Fortune, My Foe         General Confession         Hope Deferred         Hunting Stuart         Jig For the Gypsy, A         King Phoenix         Leaven Of Malice         Masque Of Aesop, A         Masque Of Mr Punch, A         Overlaid         Play Of Our Lord's Nativity, A         Pontiac And the Green Man         Question Time         Voice Of the People, The

At My Heart's Core

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Peterborough Summer Theatre, Peterborough     1950

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Clark Irwin, Toronto, 1950   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
Comedy Drama Comedy

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  5            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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At the Gates Of the Righteous

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-     1948

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Clark Irwin, Toronto, 1949   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
One act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Bartholomew Fair

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
Original Playwright - Ben Jonson

1st Produced:
Unproduced     1956

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Centennial Play

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
written with others

1st Produced:
Lindsay, Ontario     1967

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Centennial Commission, Ottawa, 1967   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
Full Length Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Eros At Breakfast

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
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1st Produced:
Ottawa Drama League, Ottawa     1948

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Clark Irwin, Toronto, 1949   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Comedy One act

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Fortune, My Foe

Fortune, My Foe
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Notes:
-

1st Produced:
International Players, Kingston     1949

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Clark Irwin, Toronto, 1949   B000KIT6UM

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Three act Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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General Confession

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
written in 1958

1st Produced:
Unproduced    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
in Hunting Stuart and Other Plays, New Press, 1972   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Three act Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Hope Deferred

Synopsis:
the Governor of Montreal wants a performance of "Tartuffe" to be put on - but it is banned by the Church

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Montreal Repertory Theatre Studio     1948

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Clark Irwin, Toronto, 1949   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
One act

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Hunting Stuart

Hunting Stuart
a civil servant in Ottawa has royal connections

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Crest Theatre, Toronto     1955

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
in Hunting Stuart and Other Plays, New Press, 1972   978-0887706745

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Jig For the Gypsy, A

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Crest Theatre, Toronto     1954

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Clark Irwin, Toronto, 1954   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Three act Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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King Phoenix

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
North Toronto Theatre Guild     1950

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
New Press, Toronto, 1972   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Three act Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Leaven Of Malice

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
from playwright's novel Love And Libel

1st Produced:
Hart House Theatre, University Of Toronto     1973

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
in "Canadian Drama, 7, 2", Waterloo, Ontario, 1981   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Masque Of Aesop, A

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Upper Canada College, Toronto     1952

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Clark Irwin, Toronto, 1952   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
One act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Masque Of Mr Punch, A

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Upper Canada College, Toronto     1962

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Oxford University Press, Toronto, 1963   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Childrens One act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Overlaid

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Ottawa Drama League, Ottawa     1947

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Samuel French, 1948   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Comedy One act

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Play Of Our Lord's Nativity, A

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
adaptation from the Medieval Pageant of Shearman And Tailors

1st Produced:
Coventry Players, Peterborough     1946

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Pontiac And the Green Man

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Macmillan Theatre, Toronto     1977

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Two acts Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Question Time

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Toronto Arts Productions, St Lawrence Centre     1975

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Macmillan, Toronto, 1975   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Two act fantasy

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Voice Of the People, The

Voice Of the People, The
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-     1948

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Clark Irwin, Toronto, 1949   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Comedy One act

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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