Jackie Maxwell (born 1956) is an Irish-born Canadian

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

and

dramaturge 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 ...

. She was the artistic director of the

Shaw Festival The Shaw Festival is a not-for-profit theatre festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada. It is the second largest repertory theatre company in North America. The Shaw Festival was founded in 1962. Originally, it only featured production ...

from 2002 to 2016.

Early life and education

Maxwell was born in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. Her mother was an English and drama teacher and her father was a bookie. By the time Maxwell was nine, she became involved with the Youth Group of the Lyric Theatre in Belfast. In 1974, she began an honours degree in drama at the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

, England. While working as an usher at

Contact Theatre Contact is an arts organisation in Manchester, England that focuses on youth leadership. History Contact was founded in 1972 by Barry Sheppard (General Manager of what was then Manchester University Theatre) and Hugh Hunt (Professor of Drama) ...

in England, Maxwell me the man who would become her husband, Canadian actor

Benedict Campbell Benedict Campbell (born June 12, 1957) is a Canadian actor whose work has consisted primarily of providing voices for television cartoons, video games and acting on stage, particularly at Canada's Stratford Festival between 1965 and 2000. Early i ...

. In January 1978, Campbell was offered a contract with the

National Arts Centre The National Arts Centre (NAC) (french: Centre national des Arts) is a Arts centre, performing arts organisation in Ottawa, Ontario, along the Rideau Canal. It is based in the eponymous National Arts Centre (building), National Arts Centre build ...

to perform ''

Troilus and Cressida ''Troilus and Cressida'' ( or ) is a play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1602. At Troy during the Trojan War, Troilus and Cressida begin a love affair. Cressida is forced to leave Troy to join her father in the Greek camp. Meanwh ...

''; Maxwell accompanied him back to Canada.

Career

After moving to Canada, Maxwell became involved with the Canadian theatre scene, working as a director at the

.Jackie Maxwell
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 ...

, accessed September 1, 2019 John Wood gave Maxwell several assistant director positions before offering her a solo-directed show. Maxwell chose to direct ''The Changeling'', starring Martha Burns. When Bob White, the then-artistic direct of

Factory Theatre Factory Theatre is a theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded as Factory Theatre Lab in 1970 by Ken Gass and Frank Trotz, and it was run for almost 20 years by Dian English. Factory was the first theatre to announce that it would ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, went on sabbatical, he asked Maxwell, still in her twenties, to take over the position. Though she was initially only supposed to serve one year, she stayed for seven (1987–95). Maxwell also served as Director of New Play Development at the

Charlottetown Festival The Charlottetown Festival is a seasonal Canadian musical theatre festival which runs from late May to mid-October every year since 1965. Named after its host city Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island and its Charlottetown Conference, since its inc ...

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...

.Scenes from a Life: Jackie Maxwell
by Melissa Leong, 2012,

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...

, accessed September 1, 2019 Beginning with their 2002 season, Maxwell served as the artistic director for the

, succeeding

Christopher Newton Christopher Newton (11 June 1936 – 20 December 2021) was a Canadian director and actor, who served as artistic director of the Shaw Festival from 1980 to 2002. Early life and education Newton was born in Deal, Kent, England and educated at ...

. Prior to becoming artistic director, she had served as the head of the new writing program of the Shaw Academy in the 1980s and directed ''

Picnic A picnic is a meal taken outdoors ( ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event such as preceding ...

'' in 2001. During her tenure at the Shaw Festival, Maxwell has included pieces by women writers from Shaw’s period, commissioned new translations by some of Canada’s most respected playwrights, presented Canadian classics on the playbill and initiated enormous growth in the area of new play development. Her choices of plays marked a move away from presenting only plays by Shaw and his contemporaries towards including contemporary playwrights. Maxwell's extensive list of directed productions includes

Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

's '' Three Sisters'' (2003),Shaw Festival Mandate and History http://www.shawfest.com/about-the-shaw/mandate-and-history/ Marc Michel Bouchard's ''The Coronation Voyage'' (2003) and Githa Sowerby's ''Rutherford and Son'' (2004), ''Saint Joan'' (2007), ''Brief Encounters'' (2009),Noël Coward’s Tonight at 8:30 series started with previews of Brief Encounters at the Shaw Festival Theatre. Media Release. Shaw Festival. http://news.shawfest.com/2009/04/14/noel-coward’s-tonight-at-830-series-started-with-previews-of-brief-encounters-at-the-shaw-festival-theatre/ Jay Turvey/Paul Sportelli musical ''Maria Severa'' (2011). Beginning with Shaw's 2015 season, Maxwell began to transition out of the role of artistic director. She served as artistic director for the 2015 and 2016 seasons and then oversaw the 2017 season. In 2016, as part of her final season as artistic director, Maxwell returned to Chekhov, whose ''Three Sisters'' she directed in her inaugural season as AD, and directed ''

Uncle Vanya ''Uncle Vanya'' ( rus, Дя́дя Ва́ня, r=Dyádya Ványa, p=ˈdʲædʲə ˈvanʲə) is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1898, and was first produced in 1899 by the Moscow Art Theatre under the direct ...

''. Maxwell was succeeded as AD by Tim Carroll. In 2017, the festival renamed the Studio Theatre in Maxwell's honour, calling it the Jackie Maxwell Studio Theatre. The Studio Theatre was originally added to the Shaw Festival space during Maxwell's tenure as AD in 2009.

Personal life

She has two children, Deragh and Lou.

Awards and honours

Maxwell was award the Canadian Theatre Critics Association's Herbert Whittaker/Drama Bench Award in 2008. In 2016, Maxwell was made a member of the

Order of Ontario The Order of Ontario () is the most prestigious official honour in the Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier David Peterson, the civilian order is adm ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maxwell, Jackie 1956 births Living people Irish theatre directors Irish women theatre directors Dramaturges Members of the Order of Ontario Canadian theatre directors Canadian women theatre directors Canadian artistic directors Irish emigrants to Canada