Bryden MacDonald (born October 30, 1960 in Glace Bay,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

)Bryden MacDonald
at

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available fo ...

. is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

playwright. His best known plays include '' Whale Riding Weather'', which was a nominated for the

Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

for

English drama Drama was introduced to Britain from Europe by the Romans, and auditoriums were constructed across the country for this purpose. But England didn't exist until hundreds of years after the Romans left. Medieval period By the medieval period, t ...

at the

1994 Governor General's Awards Each winner of the 1994 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit received $10 000 and a medal from the Governor General of Canada. The winners were selected by a panel of judges set up by the Canada Council for the Arts.Conway Daly, "Munro, Atw ...

, and ''With Bated Breath'', which was a shortlisted nominee in the Drama category at the 2011 Lambda Literary Awards. His other plays include ''The Weekend Healer'' (1994), ''Divinity Bash / nine lives'' (1998) and ''The Extasy of Bedridden Riding Hood'' (2004). He was nominated again for the Governor General's Award for English drama for ''Odd Ducks'' (2015),Gabrielle H. Cody and Evert Sprinchorn, ''The Columbia encyclopedia of modern drama: M-Z, Volume 2'' (p. 843).

Columbia University Press Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City, and affiliated with Columbia University. It is currently directed by Jennifer Crewe (2014–present) and publishes titles in the humanities and sciences, including the fiel ...

, 2007. ."MacDonald tries out a lighter touch"
''

The Chronicle-Herald ''The Chronicle Herald'' is a broadsheet newspaper published in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada owned by SaltWire Network of Halifax. The paper's newsroom staff were locked out of work from January 2016 until August 2017. ''Herald'' management cont ...

'', September 20, 2012. He has also helmed musical tributes to Leonard Cohen (''Sincerely, A Friend'', 1991),

Carole Pope Carole Ann Pope (born 6 August 1950) is a British-born Canadian rock singer-songwriter, whose provocative blend of hard-edged new wave rock with explicit homoerotic and BDSM-themed lyrics made her one of the first openly lesbian entertainers t ...

and Rough Trade (''Shaking the Foundations'', 1999) and

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...

(''When All the Slaves Are Free'', 2003). MacDonald is also a theatre director, most noted for his productions of

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thre ...

' ''

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' is a three-act play written by Tennessee Williams. An adaptation of his 1952 short story "Three Players of a Summer Game", the play was written by him between 1953 and 1955. One of Williams's more famous works and his p ...

'',

Joe Orton John Kingsley Orton (1 January 1933 – 9 August 1967), known by the pen name of Joe Orton, was an English playwright, author, and diarist. His public career, from 1964 until his death in 1967, was short but highly influential. During this brie ...

's '' What the Butler Saw'' and Judith Thompson's ''

Perfect Pie ''Perfect Pie'' is a play written by Judith Thompson, and first staged at Toronto's Tarragon Theatre in 2000, with Judith Thompson also directing. The assistant director for the original production was Caroline Azar. The original cast starred Nancy ...

''. He has taught at the National Theatre School of Canada, and served as playwright in residence at the

Stratford Festival The Stratford Festival is a theatre festival which runs from April to October in the city of Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Founded by local journalist Tom Patterson in 1952, the festival was formerly known as the Stratford Shakespearean Festival ...

. He is openly gay.

References

1960 births Canadian theatre directors LGBT theatre directors Canadian gay writers People from Glace Bay Writers from Nova Scotia Living people National Theatre School of Canada faculty 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights LGBT dramatists and playwrights Canadian male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian male writers 21st-century LGBT people {{Canada-playwright-stub