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David French
Playwright David French, who grew up in Toronto, was born in Coley's
Point, Newfoundland, in 1939. In spite of having left the Rock at the
age of six, the province, its people, and their language made a vivid
and lasting impression on him, for two of his plays about the Mercer
family-Salt-Water Moon (1984) and Soldier's Heart
(2002)-are set in Newfoundland. The others are Leaving Home
(1972), Of the Fields, Lately (1973) and 1949 (1989).
The Mercer plays have received hundreds of productions in Europe, South
America and Australia, and Of the Fields, Lately played on Broadway.
In 2007, the New Wimbledon Studio Theatre in London, England, mounted
Soldier's Heart, as did Vancouver's Studio 16.
French has also written adaptations
of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull (1978) and August Strindberg's
Miss Julie (2005). His play, Jitters (1980), a backstage
comedy, has been produced in most of Canada's regional theatres and
performed several times in the United States. Other plays include
One Crack Out (1976), The Riddle of the World (1981), the
murder mystery Silver Dagger (1993) and Hot Summer (2000).
Most of French's plays have been initially
staged at Toronto's Tarragon Theatre and directed by Bill Glassco.
Five were nominated for the Chalmers Award; Of the Fields, Lately
won it. Salt-Water Moon received the Dora Mavor Moore Award and
was also nominated for the Governor General's Literary Award. French
is an Officer of the Order of Canada.
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