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Robins, Brenda

CTE photo
Brenda Robins

Ontario-based actor who has performed in major roles across the country, often playing strong, conflicted women.

Among the houses where she has played are Vancouver Playhouse (Hedda Gabler, Death and the Maiden); Grand Theatre, London (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Private Lives, Educating Rita); Tarragon Theatre (A Lie of the Mind, Memories of You, Alice's Affair by Susan Coyne 2005); Canadian Stage (The Glorious 12th by Raymond Storey, Singer, Dancing at Lughnasa - for which she was nominated for a Dora Mavor Moore Award, and Homechild by Joan MacLeod 2006); Centaur Theatre (The Beauty Queen of Leenane 1999); Citadel Theatre (August: Osage County 2011, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? 2016--Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award).

She was a member of the Theatre Plus company for four years, and has been a member of the Shaw Festival and Stratford Festival companies.

CTE photo
The Centaur Theatre production of Martin McDonagh's The Beauty Queen of Leenane, October, 1999, directed by Ben Barnes with (l-r) Brenda Robins, Daniel Richard Giverin and Carolyn Hetherington (photo: Lea Kabiljo)

She has performed in over twenty productions for Soulpepper Theatre Company, including: Our Town (1999); King Lear as Regan (2006); Blithe Spirit (2007); Time of Your Life (2007); Ring Around the Moon (2008); Faith Healer (2010); Parfumerie (2010), which she co-wrote with Adam Pettle; Exit The King (2011); Picture This, co-written with Morris Panych (2017).

She has also acted extensively for television, including roles in CTV's Flashpoint, CBC's Heartland, and in the TV series, Avocado Toast (2020).

Brenda Robins' performances are marked by an intense focus and a close attention to her character's arc. For instance, in Beauty Queen, the transformation from dishrag daughter to strong woman--occasioned by a single kiss--was stunning. She received the Montreal English Critics Circle Award for this performance.

She lives in Toronto with her husband, actor Patrick Galligan, and son.

Profile by Gaetan Charlebois.

Last updated 2021-09-01