Anusree Roy is a Canadian award-winning writer of plays, television, film and libretto. She is also an actress.Roy, Anusree
Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia, 10 November 2011.

Education

Roy was born in

Kolkata, India Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, commer ...

and holds a B.A in theatre from

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

and an M.A from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

. Roy emigrated to Canada with her family at age 17.

Television work

She played Nurse Patel on the TV show '' Remedy'' in 2014 and 2015. She was a story editor for ''Remedy'' in its first season. She was an Executive Story Editor, on season 5 of CTV/SyFy's ''

Killjoys ''Killjoys'' is a Canadian space adventure drama series that aired on Space (now CTV Sci-Fi) in Canada. Primarily a science fiction series, ''Killjoys'' follows a trio of hard-living bounty hunters—Dutch (Hannah John-Kamen), Johnny (Aaron As ...

''. She has been an Executive Story Editor and Consulting Producer on ''Nurses'', season one and two respectively on NBC/GlobalTV. She has been the Consulting Producer of '' Transplant'' on NBC/CTV.

Theatre work

She premiered her first piece, ''breathlessness'', in 2006. Her play ''Pyaasa'' debuted at

Theatre Passe Muraille Theatre Passe Muraille is a theatre company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Brief history One of Canada's most influential alternative theatres, Theatre Passe Muraille ("theatre beyond walls") was founded in 1968 by director and playwright Jim Gar ...

in 2007, and won two

Dora Mavor Moore Awards The Dora Mavor Moore Award (also known as the Dora Award) is an award presented annually by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts which honours theatre, Dance in Canada, dance and opera productions in Toronto. Named after Dora Mavor Moore, ...

in the independent theatre division in 2008, including Outstanding New Play and Outstanding Performance (Female). Her subsequent plays have included ''Letters to My Grandma'', ''Roshni'' and ''Brothel #9''. ''Brothel #9'' won the

Carol Bolt Award The Carol Bolt Award is an annual Canadian literary award. Presented by the Playwrights Guild of Canada, the award is bestowed for a theatrical play premiere by a PGC member, judged to be the year's best. The award is named in memory of Canadian pl ...

and the

Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Play The Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Play is an annual award celebrating achievements in Toronto theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to prese ...

in 2011, and was a nominee for the

Governor General's Award for English-language drama The Governor General's Award for English-language drama honours excellence in Canadian English-language playwriting. The award was created in 1981 when the Governor General's Award for English-language poetry or drama was divided. Because the awar ...

at the

2012 Governor General's Awards The shortlisted nominees for the 2012 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit were announced on October 11, and the winners were announced on November 13. English French References External linksGovernor General's Awards {{GovernorGener ...

. She has also won the RBC Emerging Artist Award, the K. M. Hunter Award and the Siminovitch Protege Prize. ''Trident Moon'', premiered at London, England's Finborough Theatre and was a 2017-2018 Susan Smith Blackburn finalist. Her subsequent play ''Little Pretty & The Exceptional'' premiered at Factory Theatre in 2017 and was nominated for two Dora Mavor Moore awards, under the acting category. Her audio play ''Sisters'' premiered online at Apple Podcast and Spotify on March 20, 2021. She has premiered two operas, ''Noor over Afghan'' and ''The Golden Boy''. She has been playwright-in-residence at the

Canadian Stage Canadian Stage is a non-profit contemporary performance arts company based in Toronto, Ontario, ''Canada''. About Canadian Stage Canadian Stage is one of Canada's largest not-for-profit contemporary theatre companies, based in Toronto, Ontari ...

, Theatre Passe Muraille, Nightwood Theatre, Factory Theatre and the

Blyth Festival Blyth Festival, is a theatrical festival, located in the village of Blyth, Ontario, Canada, which specializes in the production and promotion of Canadian plays. In addition, the Festival acts as a resource for local groups and makes its facilities ...

, and is co-artistic director with David DeGrow and Thomas Morgan Jones of Theatre Jones Roy.

Play summaries

*''Brothel # 9'' - Rekha, a young South Asian village woman, travels to Calcutta to take an honest job, only to discover she has been sold into a brothel. There she meets Jamuna, the jaded madam, who believes there's no escape from the confines of their trade. Strong-willed and determined to defy fate, Rekha realizes she can shape her own destiny and discovers compassion, faith and forgiveness are the foundation of true liberty. *''Letters to My Grandma'' - Malobee unearths letters detailing her grandmother's fight to survive the 1947 partition of India, which resonates with Malobee's own struggles to create a new life in present-day Toronto. *''Pyaasa'' - Set in Calcutta, Pyaasa tells the story of Chaya, an eleven-year-old untouchable who dreams of nothing more than learning her times tables. When Chaya's mother begs a woman from a higher caste to give Chaya a job at a local tea stall, Chaya's journey from childhood to adulthood begins and ends over ten days. *''Little Pretty and The Exceptional'' - a family drama involving two sisters and their father preparing to open their new sari shop in Toronto's Little India neighbourhood. *''Trident Moon'' - India, 1947. Six women, three Muslim and three Hindu, hide inside a coal truck as it speeds through the newly divided Hindustan. Nothing will prevent Alia getting to West Bengal. Her former employers are now her captives and she will have revenge for what they have done, even if she has to harm the child she has spent her life raising. Violence and hatred threaten to engulf those inside the truck, as thick and terrifying as that which can be heard outside in the streets. But suddenly the truck stops, and the women must find what unites them in order to have any chance of survival... *''Sisters'' - Millie and Rai, who have recently immigrated to Toronto from India with their father. Set over the course of one evening at Tatos Laundromat in New Toronto, the sisters fantasize about: what they will order at Tim Hortons, getting a cell phone, and how exciting their new life will be – as soon as their dad lands his first job. Their daydreaming is cut short when an event occurs at the laundromat, threatening not only their sense of security, but their ability to withhold secrets from each other.

Awards

* Dora Mavor Moore Award Outstanding New Play for ''Pyaasa'' (2008) * Dora Mavor Moore Award Outstanding Performance by a Female for ''Pyaasa'' (2008) * RBC Emerging Artist Award Theatre (2009) * Dora Mavor Moore Award Outstanding New Play for ''Brothel # 9'' (2011) * K. M Hunter Artist Award Theatre (2011) * Dora Mavor Moore Award Outstanding New Play (''Brothel # 9'') (2011) * Carol Bolt Award for Playwriting ''Brothel # 9'' (2011) * Governor General's Award. Theatre (''Brothel # 9'') (Nominated) (2013) * Siminovitch Protege Prize Theatre (''Brothel # 9'') (2012) * Dora Mavor Moore Award Outstanding New Play (''Sultans of the Street'') (2014) * Dora Mavor Moore Award Outstanding Ensemble (''Sultans of the Street'') (2014) * Dora Mavor Moore Award Outstanding Direction (''Sultans of the Street'') (2014) * Dora Mavor Moore Award Outstanding Production (''Sultans of the Street'') (2014) * Susan Smith Blackburn Award (finalist) Play (''Trident Moon'') (2017-2018)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roy, Anusree Canadian stage actresses Canadian women dramatists and playwrights Indian stage actresses Indian women dramatists and playwrights Actresses from Toronto Writers from Toronto Writers from Kolkata Indian emigrants to Canada York University alumni University of Toronto alumni Dora Mavor Moore Award winners Living people Canadian writers of Asian descent Canadian people of Bengali descent Canadian actresses of Indian descent 1982 births 21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Indian women writers 21st-century Indian dramatists and playwrights Women writers from West Bengal Dramatists and playwrights from West Bengal Bengali Hindus 20th-century Bengalis 21st-century Bengalis Bengali writers Bengali actresses