Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia
Jack, Donald Lamont
Playwright and novelist Donald Jack was born in Manchester England in 1924, and served in the RAF during World War II. After the war he was involved in the theatre in Great Britain before emigrating to Canada in 1951, where he studied acting at the Canadian Theatre School. Best know for his award-winning "Bandy Papers" series of novels, Jack also wrote numerous scripts for stage, radio, and television (his play Breakthrough was the first Canadian TV play broadcast simultaneously to the United States). The Canvas Barricade (first prize winner in the Stratford Shakespearean play writing competition of 1960) was the first original Canadian play to be performed on the main stage at the Stratford Festival in 1961. Exit Muttering was staged in Toronto the following year. Crash was produced for the Ontario Playwrights' Showcase.
Donald Jack died in England in 2003. His papers are housed at the University of Calgary Library, Special Collections.
Submitted by Chris Paul
Last updated 2005-09-21
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