The Playwrights Database
JAMES REANEY (1926 - 2008)
Nationality:
Canadian
email:
Click here to contact
Website:
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Literary Agent:
Agent for plays is James Stewart Reaney james.Susan@bell.net)
James Reaney was born on a farm in Stratford, Ontario on 1 Sept. 1926. He completed his doctorate in 1958 under the supervision of Northrop Frye at the University of Toronto. In 1949, his first book of poetry, the Red Heart, won the Governor-General's award for poetry. Since then, he has won two more Governor-General's Awards for poetry (1959, 1962) and Drama (1962), as well as the Floyd Chalmers award for Drama. He is an officer of the Order of Canada and a Fellow of the Royal Society of CanadA. He taught English from 1951 to 1960 at the University of Manitoba, then from 1961 to 1992 at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario. Besides writing poetry (Souwesto Home, 2005), plays (he is best known for his Donnelly trilogy), children's novels, short stories, essays, history (the Donnelly Documents), and libretti for several operas with John Beckwith and Harry Somers, Reaney also created and edited a literary review, Alphabet, from1960 to 1970 and was an accomplished watercolourist with two exhibitions in 2008 at the McMichael Gallery in Kleinburg, Ontario and at Museum London in London, Ontario. In 2008, a new edition of the Donnelly trilogy was published by Dundurn inToronto. In late 2009, an anthology of seven of Reaney's plays (the Killdeer, Alice Through the Looking-Glass, Listen to the Wind, Names and Nicknames, Zamorna, Gyroscope and the St. Nicholas Hotel (ed. David Ferry) and a 64 page poetry collection, the Essential James Reaney (ed. Brian Bartlett) will be in print. Three of Reaney's plays have been performed at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in CanadA. He was married to poet Colleen Thibaudeau (Dec. 29, 1951) and has two children and two grandchildren. James Reaney died on 11 June 2008 of kidney failure.
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below is a list of James Reaney's plays - click on a Play Title for more information
Aladdin and the Magic Lamp
Alice in Wonderland
Alice Through the Looking Glass
All the Bees And All the Keys
Antler River
Apple Butter
At the Big Carwash
Bacchae, The
Baldoon
Canada Tree, The
Canadian Brothers, The
Colours In the Dark
Crazy To Kill
Death And Execution Of Frank Halloway, The; Or, The First Act Of John Richardson's Wacousta
Dismissal, The; Or, Twisted Beards And Tangled Whiskers
Don't Sell Mr Aesop
Easter Egg, The
Genesis
Gentle Rain Food Co-op , The
Geography Match
Gyroscope
Handcuffs
I the Parade
Ignoramus
Killdeer, The
King Whistle!
Let's Make A Carol
Listen To the Wind
Little Red Riding Hood
Masque
Names And Nicknames
Night-Blooming Cereus
One-Man Masque
Rules of Joy, The
Serinette
Shivaree, The
Sleigh Without Bells: a ghost story about the Donnellys
St Nicholas Hotel, The
Sticks And Stones
Sun And the Moon, The
Taptoo!
Three Desks
Twelve Letters to a Small Town
Wacousta
Zamorna
Aladdin and the Magic Lamp
Synopsis:
Aladdin rubs the lamp of his dreams and wishes
Notes:
-
1st Produced:
Western Fall Fair, London, Ontario 1965
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
- -
Music:
-
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Genre:
marionette plays
Parts:
Male: -  Female: -  Other: -
Further Reference:
-
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Alice in Wonderland
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
Music by Keith Thomas
1st Produced:
- -
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
- -
Music:
Original cast recording: Disque Americ (CD101) 1994
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Genre:
-
Parts:
Male: -  Female: -  Other: -
Further Reference:
-
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Alice Through the Looking Glass
A stage adaptation of the Lewis Carroll classic
Notes:
also published in Reaney Days in the West Room, ed David Ferry, Playwrights Canada Press, 2009
1st Produced:
Avon Theatre, Stratford Festival, Ontario. 1994
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
Playwrights Co-op, Toronto, 1994 -
Music:
Original cast recording: Disque Americ CD101) 1994
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Genre:
Musical
Parts:
Male: 15  Female: 11  Other: doubling
Further Reference:
-
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All the Bees And All the Keys
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
concert work for children, for narrator And symphony orchestra; written by James Reaney, music by John Beckwith
1st Produced:
Toronto 1972
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
Press Porcspic, Erin, Ontario, 1976
In Scripts: Librettos for Operas and Other Musical Works (Toronto: Coach House Books, 2004) -
Music:
-
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Genre:
Concert work for children Youth Audience
Parts:
Male: -  Female: -  Other: Narrator and Symphony Orchestra required
Further Reference:
-
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Antler River
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
-
1st Produced:
London, Ontario 1980
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
- -
Music:
-
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Genre:
-
Parts:
Male: -  Female: -  Other: -
Further Reference:
-
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Apple Butter
A play about an orphan, set in the 1890's on an Ontario farm
Notes:
-
1st Produced:
Western Fall Fair, London, Ontario 1965
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
Talonbooks in Apple Butter and Other Plays for Children, 1973 978-0889221529
Music:
-
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Genre:
marionette play for children One Act
Parts:
Male: 3  Female: 4  Other: -
Further Reference:
-
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At the Big Carwash
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
-
1st Produced:
toured with the Caravan Stage Company, Armstrong, B.C 1979
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
- -
Music:
-
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Genre:
puppet play
Parts:
Male: -  Female: -  Other: -
Further Reference:
-
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Bacchae, The
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
Original Playwright - Euripides
1st Produced:
Unproduced 1963
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
- -
Music:
-
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Genre:
Translation
Parts:
Male: -  Female: -  Other: -
Further Reference:
-
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Baldoon
McTavish sees the poltergeists who assail him in his house in the woods not as outside forces of evil but as emanations from his own disclaimed past
Notes:
written by James Reaney And C.H. Gervais
1st Produced:
Bathurst Street Theatre, Toronto 1976
Organisations:
NDWT Company
1st Published:
Porcupine's Quill, Erin, Ontario, 1976 978-0889840164
Music:
-
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Genre:
Full Length Play/Drama
Parts:
Male: 6  Female: 5  Other: doubling
Further Reference:
-
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Canada Tree, The
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
-
1st Produced:
Girl Guide Heritage Camp, Morrison Island, Ontario 1967
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
- -
Music:
-
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Genre:
-
Parts:
Male: -  Female: -  Other: -
Further Reference:
-
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Canadian Brothers, The
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
-
1st Produced:
Workshopped at University Of Western Ontario Drama Workshop, London, Ontario 1977
Organisations:
NDWT Company
1st Published:
in "Major Plays of the Canadian Theatre 1934-1984", Irwin, Toronto, 1984 -
Music:
-
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Genre:
Play/Drama
Parts:
Male: -  Female: -  Other: -
Further Reference:
-
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Colours In the Dark
Set in a magical tobacco, a series of images, poems and memories evoke the terrors and delights of childhood
Notes:
-
1st Produced:
Avon Theatre, Stratford Festival 1967
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
Talonbooks-Macmillan, Vancouver and Toronto, 1969 978-0889220010
Music:
-
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Genre:
Childrens Youth Audience
Parts:
Male: 2  Female: 2  Other: 1b 1g
Further Reference:
-
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Crazy To Kill
Synopsis:
Based on the mystery novel of the same title by Ann Cardwell of Stratford, Ontario
Notes:
Puppets Are required.
1st Produced:
Guelph Spring Festival, Ontario 1989
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
In Scripts: Librettos for Operas and Other Musical Works (Toronto: Coach House Books, 2004) -
Music:
-
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Genre:
A Detective Opera Opera
Parts:
Male: -  Female: -  Other: -
Further Reference:
-
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Death And Execution Of Frank Halloway, The; Or, The First Act Of John Richardson's Wacousta
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
aka Wacousta!
1st Produced:
Timmins, Ontario 1977
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
in "Jubilee 4", Wingham, Ontario, 1978 -
Music:
-
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Genre:
-
Parts:
Male: -  Female: -  Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Dismissal, The; Or, Twisted Beards And Tangled Whiskers
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
-
1st Produced:
Hart House Theatre, Toronto 1977
Organisations:
NDWT Company
1st Published:
Press Porcspic, Erin, Ontario, 1979 -
Music:
-
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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:
Full Length Play/Drama
Parts:
Male: -  Female: -  Other: -
Further Reference:
-
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Don't Sell Mr Aesop
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
-
1st Produced:
Grand Theatre, London, Ontario 1968
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
- -
Music:
-
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Genre:
-
Parts:
Male: -  Female: -  Other: -
Further Reference:
-
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Easter Egg, The
Synopsis:
A young man is traumatized by the suicide of his father
Notes:
-
1st Produced:
workshopped by University of Western Ontario 1962
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
in "Masks of Childhood", New Press, Toronto, 1972 -
Music:
-
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Genre:
Three Act Play/Drama
Parts:
Male: 31  Female: 2  Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Genesis
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
-
1st Produced:
Alpha Centre, London, Ontario 1968
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
- -
Music:
-
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Genre:
-
Parts:
Male: -  Female: -  Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Gentle Rain Food Co-op , The
Synopsis:
A play about an eccentric food co-op and a fanatic on a university campus
Notes:
-
1st Produced:
- -
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
Ergo Press, 2003 -
Music:
-
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Genre:
Play/Drama
Parts:
Male: 7  Female: 2  Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Geography Match
Synopsis:
A geography contest between two groups of school children turns into a thirty-day trip across Canada
Notes:
-
1st Produced:
Middlesex College Theatre, London, Ontario 1967
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
in "Apple Butter and Other Plays", Talonbooks, Vancouver, 1973 -
Music:
-
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Genre:
Childrens 1 Act Youth Audience
Parts:
Male: 2  Female: 2  Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Gyroscope
Synopsis:
Spinning images; a model for the loose threads, empty caves, war memorials . . . dreams, confrontations that living with other people involve
Notes:
also published in Reaney Days in the West Room, ed David Ferry, Playwrights Canada Press, 2009
1st Produced:
Tarragon Theatre, Toronto 1981
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
Playwrights, Toronto, 1983 -
Music:
-
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Genre:
Play/Drama
Parts:
Male: 2  Female: 4  Other: -
Further Reference:
-
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Handcuffs
People openly and secretly manacle the Donnelly family in order to murder them
Notes:
part of the Donnellys : A Trilogy
1st Produced:
Tarragon Theatre, Toronto 1975
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
Press Porcspic, Erin, Ontario, 1977 978-0888780539
Music:
-
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Genre:
Full Length Play/Drama
Parts:
Male: 10  Female: 4  Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
I the Parade
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
-
1st Produced:
- 1982
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
- -
Music:
-
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Genre:
-
Parts:
Male: -  Female: -  Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Ignoramus
Synopsis:
A comic look at the theories of progressive child education
Notes:
-
1st Produced:
Second Theatre, London, Ontario 1966
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
in "Apple Butter and Other Plays", Talonbooks, Vancouver, 1973 -
Music:
-
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Genre:
Comedy for Children One Act
Parts:
Male: 4  Female: 2  Other: doubling
Further Reference:
-
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Killdeer, The
-
Notes:
-
1st Produced:
University College Alumnae, Toronto 1960
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
in "the Killdeer and Other Plays", Macmillan, Toronto, 1962 -
Music:
-
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Genre:
Play/Drama
Parts:
Male: 8  Female: 7  Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
King Whistle!
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
-
1st Produced:
Stratford, Ontario 1979
Organisations:
Drama Club of Central Secondary School
1st Published:
in "Brick 8", Ilderton, Ontario, Winter, 1980 -
Music:
-
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Genre:
Childrens Youth Audience
Parts:
Male: -  Female: -  Other: -
Further Reference:
-
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Let's Make A Carol
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
music by Alfred Kunz
1st Produced:
Unproduced -
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
Waterloo Music, Waterloo, Ontario, 1965 -
Music:
-
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Genre:
Childrens with music Youth Audience
Parts:
Male: -  Female: -  Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Listen To the Wind
In a Perth County farmhouse during the thirties a boy and his friends decide to spend the summer putting on plays, including an adaptation of a Victorian novel. Two stories unfold, intertwine and illuminate each other
Notes:
also published in Reaney Days in the West Room, ed David Ferry, Playwrights Canada Press, 2009
1st Produced:
Summer Theatre, at Althouse College, London, 1966
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
Talonbooks, Vancouver, 1972 978-0889220027
Music:
-
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Genre:
Three Act Play/Drama
Parts:
Male: 4  Female: 4  Other: 1b 1g
Further Reference:
-
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Little Red Riding Hood
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
-
1st Produced:
Western Fall Fair, London, Ontario 1965
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
- -
Music:
-
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Genre:
marionette play for children
Parts:
Male: -  Female: -  Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Masque
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
written with Rod Cameron
1st Produced:
Toronto 1972
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
Simon and Pierre, Toronto, 1974 -
Music:
-
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Genre:
-
Parts:
Male: -  Female: -  Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Names And Nicknames
An old grump's attempts to blight the lives of Farmer Dell's children, by giving them nasty names, is thwarted at the christening of their third child
Notes:
also published in Reaney Days in the West Room, ed David Ferry, Playwrights Canada Press, 2009
1st Produced:
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
New Plays For Children, Rowayton, Connecticut, 1969
Talonbooks 1978 978-0889221543
Music:
-
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Genre:
children's play One Act
Parts:
Male: 4  Female: 4  Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Night-Blooming Cereus
-
Notes:
written by James Reaney, music by John Beckwith, broadcast 1959
1st Produced:
Hart House Theatre, Toronto 1960
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
in "the Killdeer and Other Plays", Macmillan, Toronto, 1962 -
Music:
-
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Genre:
libretto for a chamber opera in 1 Act
Parts:
Male: -  Female: -  Other: -
Further Reference:
-
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One-Man Masque
-
Notes:
-
1st Produced:
Hart House Theatre, Toronto 1960
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
in "the Killdeer and Other Plays", Macmillan, Toronto, 1962 -
Music:
-
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Genre:
Solo One Act
Parts:
Male: 1  Female: -  Other: -
Further Reference:
National Library of Scotland ref: Traverse - Dep.256/Box 56/4
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Rules of Joy, The
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
-
1st Produced:
Unproduced 1958
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
- -
Music:
-
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Genre:
-
Parts:
Male: -  Female: -  Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Serinette
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
-
1st Produced:
Sharon Temple, Sharon, Ontario 1990
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
In Scripts: Librettos for Operas and Other Musical Works (Toronto: Coach House Books, 2004 -
Music:
-
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Genre:
libretto for an opera Opera in two acts
Parts:
Male: -  Female: -  Other: -
Further Reference:
-
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Shivaree, The
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
written by James Reaney, music by John Beckwith. Sharon Temple, Sharon, Ontario, 1990
1st Produced:
Town Hall, St Lawrence Centre, Toronto 1982
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
In Scripts: Librettos for Operas and Other Musical Works (Toronto: Coach House Books, 2004 -
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:
Comic Opera in Two Acts Opera
Parts:
Male: -  Female: -  Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Sleigh Without Bells: a ghost story about the Donnellys
Synopsis:
A young German from Hibbert twp Perth County is sent by his father to take some money to a farmer in Southwold twp; he is warned to avoid driving his sleigh through Biddulph twp and its Irish settlement. In a blizzard he ends up at the Donnelly house and becomes heavily involved in their tragedy, barely escaping with his life. He is pursued by their ghosts, but crossing a river leaves them behind and arrives safely home. With surprise, we learn that he was dreaming this while sleeping near the ruins of the Donnelly farmhouse a year or two after their massacre
Notes:
-
1st Produced:
London Regional Art & Historical Muserum, London, Ontario. 1987
Organisations:
David Smiths Puppet Productions and Rag and Bone Puppet Theatre
1st Published:
Playwrights Co-op, Toronto, 2000 -
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:
-
Parts:
Male: 2  Female: 2  Other: -
Further Reference:
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St Nicholas Hotel, The
In the battle for mastery of the road, William and Mike Donnelly make powerful enemies with their Opposition Stage line. Winner, Chalmers Canadian Play Award, 1974.
Notes:
part of the Donnellys : A Trilogy. Also published in Reaney Days in the West Room, ed David Ferry, Playwrights Canada Press, 2009
1st Produced:
Tarragon Theatre, Toronto 1974
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
Press Porcspic, Erin, Ontario, 1976 978-0888780515
Music:
-
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Genre:
Full Length Play/Drama
Parts:
Male: 11  Female: 4  Other: doubling
Further Reference:
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Sticks And Stones
Synopsis:
A family moves to Canada to escape prejudice and violence only to find the new land itself divided
Notes:
part of the Donnellys : A Trilogy
1st Produced:
Tarragon Theatre, Toronto 1973
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
Canadian Theatre Review, Spring (CTR 2), 1974 -
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:
Full Length Play/Drama
Parts:
Male: 9  Female: 3  Other: doubling
Further Reference:
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Sun And the Moon, The
-
Notes:
-
1st Produced:
Summer Theatre, London, Ontario 1965
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
in "the Killdeer and Other Plays", Macmillan, Toronto, 1962 -
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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Taptoo!
the opera is based on events surrounding the establishment of the town of York, Upper Canada (now Toronto).
Notes:
by James Reaney music by John Beckwith. Also published in Reaney Days in the West Room, ed David Ferry, Playwrights Canada Press, 2009
1st Produced:
McGill Opera Dept, Crane School of Music, Potsdam NY -
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
Contained in: "Scripts: Librettoes For Operas and Other Musical Works" published by Coach House Books 2000 978-1552451496
Music:
-
To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
Opera in two acts
Parts:
Male: -  Female: -  Other: -
Further Reference:
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Three Desks
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
-
1st Produced:
London Little Theatre, London, Ontario 1967
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
in "Masks of Childhood", 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
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Genre:
Two Acts Play/Drama
Parts:
Male: -  Female: -  Other: -
Further Reference:
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Twelve Letters to a Small Town
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Notes:
Music John Beckwith
1st Produced:
- -
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
Contained in: "Scripts: Librettoes For Operas and Other Musical Works" published by Coach House Books 2000 978-1552451496
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:
-
Parts:
Male: -  Female: -  Other: -
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Wacousta
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
Based on the melodrama "Wacousta" by John Richardson (1832)
1st Produced:
workshopped at University Drama Workshop, University of Western Ontario 1976
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
Press Porcepic -
Music:
-
To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
Adaptation
Parts:
Male: -  Female: -  Other: -
Further Reference:
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Zamorna
Synopsis:
Based on the juvenilia of the Brontes.
Notes:
the George Brown College Drama program under David Ferry's direction. Also published in Reaney Days in the West Room, ed David Ferry, Playwrights Canada Press, 2009
1st Produced:
Toronto: George Brown theatre 1998
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
In Reaney Days in the West Room, ed. David Ferry (Toronto: Playwrights Canada, 2009) -
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:
Play/Drama
Parts:
Male: -  Female: -  Other: -
Further Reference:
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