John Orrell (December 31, 1934 – September 16, 2003) was a British author, theatre historian, and English professor at the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...

. The ''

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'' described him as the "historian whose intellectual detective work laid the groundwork for the 1997 re-creation of Shakespeare’s original Globe Theater."

Life and work

Orrell was born in Kent,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. After completing his National Service as a pilot at the

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

base in

Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan Moose Jaw is the fourth largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. Lying on the Moose Jaw River in the south-central part of the province, it is situated on the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Regina, Saskatchewan, Regina. Residents of Moose Jaw are k ...

, he obtained a degree in English at

University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the univer ...

, followed by a Ph.D. at 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 ...

. In 1961 he joined the English department at the University of Alberta in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

, where he lived for the rest of his life. Orrell wrote and presented documentaries for

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...

on a wide range of subjects, from

Louis Riel Louis Riel (; ; 22 October 1844 – 16 November 1885) was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political leader of the Métis people. He led two resistance movements against the Government of Canada and its first ...

avalanche control Avalanche control or avalanche defense activities reduce the hazard avalanches pose to human life, activity, and property.Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

and

Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The symbol of Britannia (a female personifi ...

culture. His book ''The Quest for Shakespeare’s Globe'', published by

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press A university press is an academic publishing hou ...

in 1983, brought him international recognition, and led to him serving as advisor to the architect for

Sam Wanamaker Samuel Wanamaker, (born Wattenmacker; June 14, 1919 – December 18, 1993) was an American actor and director who moved to the United Kingdom after becoming fearful of being blacklisted in Hollywood due to his communist views. He is credited as ...

’s reconstruction of

Shakespeare's Globe Shakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse for which William Shakespeare wrote his plays, in the London Borough of Southwark, on the south bank of the River Thames. The original theatre was built in ...

theatre in

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. He also wrote several other books on theatre history, including ''Fallen Empires: Lost Theatres of Edmonton 1881-1914'' (1981) which was reissued in 2007. John Orrell died in Edmonton on September 16, 2003 from

skin cancer Skin cancers are cancers that arise from the skin. They are due to the development of abnormal cells that have the ability to invade or spread to other parts of the body. There are three main types of skin cancers: basal-cell skin cancer (BCC) ...

. In June 2004, he was posthumously given the Sam Wanamaker Award at the Globe in London. In October 2004, during Edmonton’s centennial celebration, he was named one of the 100 Edmontonians of the century.http://www.edmonton.ca/OcctopusDocs/Public/Complete/Reports/CC/Elected-1995/2004-11-16/2004%20summary%20report.doc His son is the mathematician and author

David Orrell David John Orrell (born 1962 in Edmonton) is a Canadian writer and mathematician. He received his doctorate in mathematics from the University of Oxford. His work in the prediction of complex systems such as the weather, genetics and the economy ha ...

Books by John Orrell

*''Fallen Empires: Lost Theatres of Edmonton 1881–1914'' (1981) *''The Quest for Shakespeare’s Globe'' (1983) *''The Theatres of Inigo Jones and John Webb'' (1985) *''The Human Stage: English Theatre Design 1567–1840'' (1988) *''Rebuilding Shakespeare’s Globe'' (1989), written with

Andrew Gurr Andrew John Gurr (born 23 December 1936) is a contemporary literary scholar who specializes in William Shakespeare and English Renaissance theatre. Life and work Born in Leicester, Gurr was raised in New Zealand, and educated at the Universi ...

Awards

* 2004

Sam Wanamaker Prize The Sam Wanamaker Award or Sam Wanamaker Prize is an award established in 1994 for pioneering work in Shakespearean theatre, usually given to individuals who have worked closely with Shakespeare's Globe or the Royal Shakespeare Company; the awar ...

* 100 Edmontonians of the Century

References

External links

Canadian Literature’s review of ''Fallen Empires''

* ttp://news.independent.co.uk/people/obituaries/article37327.ece Obituary in the Independent {{DEFAULTSORT:Orrell, John 1934 births 2003 deaths English emigrants to Canada Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada University of Alberta faculty People educated at Maidstone Grammar School