A Fiery Soul The Life and Theatrical Times of John Hirsch

by Martz, Fraidie; Wilson, Andrew J.

• ISBN13: 9781550653199
• ISBN10: 1550653199
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-04-01
• Publisher: Véhicule Press

Summary

John Hirsch arrived in Winnipeg in 1947, a 17-year-old Hungarian orphan of the Holocaust, knowing no English. Ten years later, he co-founded the Manitoba Theatre Centre, establishing a model for regional theatres across North America. He went on to direct award-winning productions in Los Angeles, New York, Stratford and Toronto “ everything from Guys and Dolls to The Tempest ”and to work with actors like Len Cariou, Martha Henry, Anthony Hopkins, and Maggie Smith. Notorious for his fiery temper, budget ”blowing sets, and artistic risk-taking, he had a stormy four years as CBC "s head of TV drama in the 1970s (high and low points include King of Kensington and Peter Lougheed "s lawsuit over The Tar Sands), and an even stormier tenure as Artistic Director at the Stratford Festival from 1981 to 1985. He died in 1989 of AIDS.

Author Biography

Fraidie Martz is a psychiatric social worker and the author of Open Your Hearts. She lives in Vancouver, British Columbia. Andrew Wilson is a writer, a translator, and an editor who worked with Fraidie Martz on Open Your Hearts.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. 11
A Hungarian Childhood, Interrupted	p. 15
Adrift in Europe	p. 45
Our Bird of Paradise	p. 56
Apprenticeship: From Child's to Chu Chin Chow	p. 79
Growing an Orange on the Prairie	p. 113
Director at Large	p. 155
CBC: The Storm Maker	p. 207
Director at Large (Again)	p. 250
The Winter of His Discontent	p. 265
Our Revels Now Are Ended	p. 310
Epilogue	p. 333
Chronology Of John Hirsch's Theatre Productions	p. 341
Notes	p. 351
Sources	p. 353
Index	p. 367
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