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Friedlander, Mira

Ontario-based theatre critic, born in 1952 in Jaffa, Israel; died in Toronto, May 10, 2000 of breast cancer. Mira Friedlander came with her parents to Toronto at the age of four. She studied at York University and graduated with a B.A. in Theatre History and Criticism.

Among the outlets for which she wrote was the American publication Variety, where she championed Canadian theatre, drawing attention, notably, to the work 2 Pianos, 4 Hands.

She was the winner of the Canadian Theatre Critics' Association's Nathan Cohen Award, twice, and served as the Association's president (1998/99). At her passing, Richard Monette, Artistic Director for the Stratford Festival, said to Canadian Press, "Because her writing was informed by a passionate love of the theatre and a firsthand knowledge of its creative process, her judgments - even at their most critical - were always founded in a solid understanding of the art and a great generosity of spirit toward its practitioners."

Friedlander also reported for CBC Radio and wrote for The National Post, Performing Arts in Canada, Canadian Theatre Review, and Scene Changes. A scholarship in her name was created at York University. In a final act of courage, during her treatment for the cancer which finally took her life, she agreed to have her mastectomy filmed for the Barbra Ames documentary, Wars: Dispatches From the Front.

She was married to Wayne Fairhead.

Information provided by Jeniva Berger with additional information provided by Anton Wagner.

Source: David Prosser. "Lives Lived," The Globe and Mail 5 September, 2000.

Last updated 2020-12-08