Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia
Gillard-Bentley, Paddy
Paddy Gillard-Bentley is a playwright, director and producer, based in Kitchener, Ontario. She is the founding Artistic Director of Flush Ink Productions (2016), and past president of the International Centre for Women Playwrights (ICWP). Over 100 productions of her plays have been performed in England, Ireland, Australia, USA, France and Canada. Selected titles include; Shaking the Dew from the Lilies (Kitchener, Denver, Grand Forks, North Hollywood, Waterloo), Accidental Fish, Quantum Entanglement (Kitchener, Calgary, Philadelphia), Sanguine Sonata (Kitchener, North Carolina, Cork), Bingo Wings (Neepawa, Gimli, The Pas – Manitoba). Her play, A Rose Upon the Blood, toured Ireland in 2016 as part of the Easter Rising Centenary (Bray (Wicklow), Cavan, Cork City, and Bere Island (County Cork). It was also produced in Kitchener, Toronto, and Waterloo. Her work has been published by Meriwether, Routledge and I.C.W.P.
In 2006, she established Flush Ink’s signature site-specific event “Asphalt Jungle Shorts,” performed in the streets of downtown Kitchener. In 2007, she established “She Speaks: Women's work, Women's Words,” a reading of women's plays each March to coincide with International Women's Day to celebrate the under-represented voice of women in theatre. In 2008, she created “UnHinged Festival of Site-Specific Theatre” -- a fringe-style event for other theatre groups. By 2010, it evolved into "Unhinged Festival of Disturbing Theatre,” which included "Write of Fight", where playwrights are left in isolated, disturbing locations to write a play. “Urban Scrawlers” is an ongoing playwrights'collective.
She has directed hundreds of plays, and produced over 500 plays and over 50 different events for Flush Ink Productions. She has also worked with MT Space, KW Youth Theatre, Theatre & Company, Lost & Found Theatre, and Neruda Arts, where she also acts as Communications Director.
Her first book, The Jazz Musician's Daughter, was completed in 2024.
Website: www.skydragon.com/plays.html
Last updated 2024-01-31
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