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Kareda, Urjo

Theatre practitioner born in Tallinn, Estonia in 1944, died in Toronto, Ontario, December 26, 2001.

He arrived in this country at the age of 5 and grew up in Toronto. He studied at the University of Toronto and then Cambridge University. On his return to this country he served as film critic for The Toronto Star, then, replacing Samuel Nathan Cohen , as theatre critic. He was 27.

He was hired as literary manager for the Stratford Festival (1975-80) by Robin Phillips and was to succeed him as artistic director, as part of the ill-fated Gang of Four. He went on to become artistic director for the Tarragon Theatre (1982-2001).

Mr. Kareda, a commited advocate of Canadian theatre, championed the career of Judith Thompson and wrote the introduction for an anthology of her works that includes her first, The Crackwalker.

He also occasionally served as critic and cultural commentator for Toronto's Globe and Mail.

Readings/Sources: "The Archetypal Enthusiast: Urjo Kareda at the Toronto Star, 1970-75", Denis Johnston, Establishing Our Boundaries: English-Canadian Theatre Criticism, ed Anton Wagner, University of Toronto Press, 1999

"Kareda was much-loved director", The Gazette/Canadian Press, December 27, 2001

Stratford Tempest, A, Martin Knelman, 1982, McLelland and Stewart, Toronto

Up the Mainstream: The Rise of Toronto's Alternative Theatres 1968-1975, Denis Johnston, University of Toronto Press, 1991

Last updated 2006-10-24