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Barrie, Shirley

CTE photo
Shirley Barrie

Playwright, born in Tillsonburg, Ontario in 1945, died April 15, 2018.

With her husband, Ken Chubb, she founded and was associate director for Wakefield Tricycle Company and the Tricycle Theatre in London, England from 1972-1984.

In Toronto she founded Straight Stitching Productions with Lib Spry in 1989 to create and produce works about the unacknowledged lives of women. She was the runner-up for a Chalmers Award in 1990 for Straight Stitching (about immigrant women in the garment industry) and in 1993 for Carrying the Calf (about women and violence). In 1992 she won a Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Play, Theatre for Young Audiences category for Carrying the Calf.

Other works include: Queen Marie - a musical about Marie Dressler (4th Line Theatre, 2012, Alumnae Theatre 2018); Beautiful Lady, Tell Me... (4th Line Theatre, 2007); Hansel and Gretel (Geordie Theatre, 2003); What if...? (Straight Stitching Productions, 1995); Topsy Turvy (Unicorn Theatre, London, England, 1985); Jack Sheppard's Back (Tricycle Theatre, 1984); The Adventures of Super Granny and the Kid (Wakefield Tricyle Company, 1978).

She has also contributed to collective creation projects in the theatre, and written radio scripts for the CBC and BBC.

She was president of the Playwrights Guild of Canada from 2009-2011.

Last updated 2019-01-31