If the content you are seeing is presented as unstyled HTML your browser is an older version that cannot support cascading style sheets. If you wish to upgrade your browser you may download Mozilla or Internet Explorer for Windows.

Armour, Norman

CTE photo
Norman Armour

Innovative Vancouver stage director, mentor, and trailblazer, born in 1959; died November 19, 2023 of lung cancer. Norman Armour was a graduate of the School for Contemporary Arts at Simon Fraser University.

In 1990, with Chris Gerrard-Pinker, he founded Rumble Theatre. He directed acclaimed productions of Blackbird (2009), San Diego (2005), Soulless (2004), Hedda Gabler (2003), Designated Mourner (2003), Three in the Back, Two in the Head (2001), and War of the Worlds (2000).

With Katrina Dunn, Armour was a co-founder of the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival in 2003. He was Artistic and Executive Director until 2018, when he undertook a new role consulting for the Australia Council for the Arts.

In May 2014, at Vancouver’s York Theatre, Armour directed the world premiere of Pauline, a chamber opera based on the life of Canadian poet Pauline Johnson (1861-1913) by City Opera Vancouver, which featured an original score by Canadian composer Tobin Stokes and libretto by Margaret Atwood.

He received many Jessie Richardson Award nominations, including for Outstanding Director (Blackbird) and Outstanding Artistic Achievement (PuSh Festival). Other awards include the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, and the Vancouver Merit Award (2013). In 2019, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts by Simon Fraser University.

Profile by Anne Nothof, Athabasca University

Last updated 2023-11-23