Peter Cureton (November 1, 1965 – March 2, 1994) was 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 ...

actor and

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

."Actor-playwright Peter Cureton, 28". ''

Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...

'', March 8, 1994. He was best known for his 1993 play ''Passages'', an autobiographical show about living with

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

."Passages is eloquent adieu by writer with AIDS". ''

'', October 22, 1993. Born and raised in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Cureton was a cousin of actor

R. H. Thomson Robert Holmes Thomson (born 1947), known as R. H. Thomson, is a Canadian television, film, and stage actor. With a career spanning five decades he remains a regular presence on Canadian movie screens and television. He has received numerous ...

. He attended high school at

Lisgar Collegiate Institute Lisgar Collegiate Institute is an Ottawa-Carleton District School Board secondary school in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The school is located in downtown Ottawa by the Rideau Canal. History In 1843, a grammar school with 40 paying students was ...

, and later studied drama at

Concordia University Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...

."Actor, AIDS educator Peter Cureton dead at 28". ''

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as ''The Bytown Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the '' ...

'', March 7, 1994. He acted in theatre roles in both Ottawa and

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, including productions of

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...

's ''

The Mousetrap ''The Mousetrap'' is a murder mystery play by Agatha Christie. ''The Mousetrap'' opened in London's West End in 1952 and ran continuously until 16 March 2020, when the stage performances had to be temporarily discontinued during the COVID-1 ...

'', Jack Todd's ''The Day Luzinski Stole Home'' and

William Mastrosimone William Mastrosimone (born August 19, 1947) is an American playwright and screenwriter from Trenton, New Jersey. He attended high school at The Pennington School and received a graduate degree in playwriting from Mason Gross School of the Arts, ...

's ''Shivaree'', participated in Montreal's first bilingual

theatresports Theatresports is a form of improvisational theatre, which uses the format of a competition for dramatic effect. Opposing teams can perform scenes based on audience suggestions, with ratings by the audience or by a panel of judges. Developed by di ...

competition,"Anglophones face off against French in Quebec improvisational theatre". ''

'', March 16, 1991. and appeared in the television film '' The Boys of St. Vincent'' as Brother Peter. Diagnosed

HIV-positive The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause AIDS, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the ...

in 1988 while acting in ''The Mousetrap'', he also worked as an HIV educator. ''Passages'' premiered in Montreal in 1993, with Cureton as the director of the inaugural production. The cast included Joe de Paul,

Susan Glover Susan Irene Glover (born January 14, 1957) is a Canadian actress, best known for playing Sarah in ''Naked Josh''. She is also known for voicing Mrs. Wood in ''Arthur (TV series), Arthur'', Izabella Dehavalot in ''Amazon Jack'', Mrs. Schuman in '' ...

Lisa Bronwyn Moore Lisa Bronwyn Moore is a Canadian actress who has worked extensively in film and television. She had supporting roles in the movies ''Windsor Protocol'', ''The Legend of Sleepy Hollow'', ''The Courage To Love'' and ''Heart: The Marilyn Bell Story ...

, Patrick Brosseau and

Pauline Little Pauline Little (born c. 1958) is a Scottish-born Canadian voice, film, and television actress who currently resides in Montreal, Quebec. She voices the twins Lotus and Jasmine in ''The Little Flying Bears'', Maya in ''Maya the Bee'', Francine i ...

. The play was favourably reviewed, with ''

'' theatre critic Pat Donnelly writing that "it should be a kickoff, not a swan song". Cureton died on March 2, 1994, aged 28, at his family's home in Ottawa, while working on a planned production of ''Passages'' in

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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cureton, Peter 1965 births 1994 deaths 20th-century Canadian male actors 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights Canadian male stage actors Canadian male television actors Canadian male dramatists and playwrights Canadian gay actors Canadian gay writers LGBT dramatists and playwrights Male actors from Ottawa Male actors from Montreal Writers from Ottawa Writers from Montreal Concordia University alumni AIDS-related deaths in Canada Canadian theatre directors 20th-century Canadian male writers Lisgar Collegiate Institute 20th-century LGBT people