Setting the Stage

"Setting the Stage" is the story of Montreal's theatrical cultures and their part in the development of Canadian theatre - a story that only Herbert Whittaker, Canada's first and foremost theatre critic, can tell. Before his long and distinguished career with the Globe and Mail, Whittaker had already had three careers in Montreal - as stage designer, theatre director, and critic for the Montreal Gazette. In "Setting the Stage" Whittaker recreates the vibrancy of the Montreal theatre scene in the 1930s and 40s and gives vivid portraits of important Canadian actors, directors, and producers. He highlights the enriching interaction and tensions between francophone and anglophone artists and companies at a time when both English and French artists were struggling to establish a professional theatre. In Montreal Whittaker witnessed the early careers of actors such as Christopher Plummer, Gratien Gelinas, John Colicos, Jean Gascon, Denise Pelletier, and Amelia Hall. He worked in close collaboration with many pioneers of the Little Theatre Movement, the Dominion Drama Festival, and Canadian theatre in general, such as Martha Allan, Charles Rittenhouse, and Pierre Dagenais. His involvement with Dagenais' L'Equipe allows him to report on the early days of francophone theatre in Montreal and the cross-fertilization between Martha Allan's Montreal Repertory Theatre and actor-directors such as Dagenais, Gratien Gelinas, and Yvette Brind'Amour. He also gives us glimpses of the early theatrical spaces in the city that no longer exist, as well as some, such as the Salle de Gesu and the Monument-National, that have survived. This engaging memoir of exciting times is prefaced by a personal tribute from Christopher Plummer and set in context through an introduction, chronology, and bibliography by Jonathan Rittenhouse. Illustrated with a selection of Whittaker's stage and costume designs as well as photographs, "Setting the Stage" provides a captivating visual record of the period and is a must for everyone interested in Canadian theatre, Canadian arts, culture, and Montreal. Herbert Whittaker was theatre critic at the Montreal Gazette from 1935 to 1949 and at the Globe and Mail from 1949 to 1975. He now lives in Toronto where he most recently staged the North American premier of Tom Stoppard's "The Invention of Love". He is the founding chairman of the Canadian Theatre Critics Asssociation and is the author of five previous books. Jonathan Rittenhouse is professor of theatre at Bishop's University.