Elliott Hayes (June 22, 1956 – February 28, 1994) was an aspiring Canadian playwright when he was killed in a car accident by a drunk driver. Elliott Hayes was born in

Stratford, Ontario Stratford is a city on the Avon River within Perth County in southwestern Ontario, Canada, with a 2016 population of 31,465 in a land area of . Stratford is the seat of Perth County, which was settled by English, Irish, Scottish and German im ...

to a theatrical family. He was the grandson of classical actor, George Hayes and the son of John Sullivan Hayes who was one of the original company members of 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 graduated from the Old Vic Theatre School in Bristol, and worked in Hollywood for several years before returning to Canada in 1981. He then served for many years as the literary manager, dramaturge and occasional lyricist and assistant director at the Stratford Festival. His career was brief but produced several important works, including short stories, novels, poems and plays. His most produced work, '' Homeward Bound'', was noted by author

Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, and inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of non-fiction, nin ...

as "a brisk, intricate, and tightly-strung play with a lot of laughter", and by Canadian journalist

Richard Ouzounian Richard Ouzounian (born March 8, 1950) is a Canadian journalist and theatre artist. He was the chief theatre critic for the ''Toronto Star'' and the Canadian theatre correspondent for ''Variety''. Early life, family and education Ouzounian was b ...

as "one of the greatest plays that anybody has written in this country in my lifetime". It was first produced at the

and has since been performed across

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. In a ''

Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'' feature on Hayes published just over a month before his death entitled "Bound for success", journalist Val Ross wrote that he "is emerging as one of Canada's most successful playwrights". The Elliott Hayes Award, which recognizes high achievement in the creation or adaptation of a work for the stage, has been awarded annually by the Literary Managers and

Dramaturgs A dramaturge or dramaturg is a literary adviser or editor in a theatre, opera, or film company who researches, selects, adapts, edits, and interprets scripts, libretti, texts, and printed programmes (or helps others with these tasks), consults auth ...

of the Americas since 1999.

Works

* ''

Blake Blake is a surname which originated from Old English. Its derivation is uncertain; it could come from "blac", a nickname for someone who had dark hair or skin, or from "blaac", a nickname for someone with pale hair or skin. Another theory, presuma ...

'', 1983 * '' Homeward Bound'', 1991 * ''World of Wonders'' (adapted from the novel by Robertson Davies), 1992 * ''Happily Ever After'', 1993 * ''Hard Hearts'', 1993 * ''Life on Mars'', 1993

References

External links

Elliott Hayes Facebook page dedicated to his life and writings
1956 births 1994 deaths 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights Writers from Ontario Canadian gay writers People from Stratford, Ontario Canadian LGBT dramatists and playwrights Dramaturges Canadian male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian male writers 20th-century Canadian LGBT people Gay dramatists and playwrights {{Canada-playwright-stub