This fifth edition of the classic Modern Canadian Plays sets out an even broader range of plays than previous editions. The plays in the first volume date from 1967 to 1991, and outline an indigenous Canadian drama emerging from its colonial roots to celebrate a rising nationalism. But more to the point, the plays in this edition carry with them a distinct flavour of adventurousness in a juxtaposition that is strikingly, even wildly, various―plays that can only be said to cohere around the difficulty of amorphous notions such as social justice, cultural belonging and the existence of a collective past. Modern Canadian Plays continues to stand as the standard anthology for Canadian drama―for good reason.
The plays in Volume One include:
The Ecstasy of Rita Joe, George Ryga (1967)
Les Belles Soeurs, Michel Tremblay (1968)
Leaving Home, David French (1972)
Sticks and Stones (The Donnellys, Part One), James Reaney (1973)
Zastrozzi, George F. Walker (1977)
Billy Bishop Goes to War, John Gray with Eric Peterson (1978)
Balconville, David Fennario (1979)
Blood Relations, Sharon Pollock (1980)
Drag Queens on Trial, Sky Gilbert (1985)
Bordertown Café, Kelly Rebar (1987)
Toronto, Mississippi, Joan MacLeod (1987)
Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet), Ann-Marie MacDonald (1988)
Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing, Tomson Highway (1989)
Lion in the Streets, Judith Thompson (1990)
Life Without Instruction, Sally Clark (1991)
Professor of English and Theatre at the University of British Columbia and a professional actor, Jerry Wasserman has written and lectured widely on Canadian theatre, dramatic literature, theatre history, modern fiction, and blues music; publicly interviewed writers and theatre artists ranging from Margaret Atwood to Stephen Sondheim; and served for over fifteen years as a drama critic on CBC Radio. He is currently theatre critic for The Province newspaper and editor of Vancouverplays.com, an informative Web site that provides up-to-date listings and reviews of local theatre performances. Wasserman grew up in New York and attained an M.A. in English from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. from Cornell, specializing in twentieth-century literature and drama. He started teaching at UBC in 1972; though his initial research focus was on fiction, his work in the theatre as an actor soon led him to teach mainly drama courses, eventually creating a course in Canadian drama.
In addition to his scholarly accomplishments, Wasserman continues to maintain a busy career as an actor. A seasoned veteran on the Vancouver theatre scene, he has also made over two hundred appearances on film and television.
