Hannah Moscovitch (born June 5, 1978) is a Canadian playwright who rose to national prominence in the 2000s. She is best known for her plays ''East of Berlin'', ''This Is War'', "Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story", and ''

Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes ''Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes'' is a 2020 play written by Canadian playwright Hannah Moscovitch. It is the winner of the 2021 Governor General's Literary Award for English-language drama. The play was published by Playwrights Canada P ...

'', for which she received the 2021

Governor General's Award for English-language drama The Governor General's Award for English-language drama honours excellence in Canadian English-language playwriting. The award was created in 1981 when the Governor General's Award for English-language poetry or drama was divided. Because the awa ...

Life and career

Today based in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

and Halifax, she was born in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

. Her father, Allan Moscovitch, is a social policy professor at

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public university, public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to se ...

. Her mother, Julie White, is a labour researcher. Both have long been active in left wing politics. Moscovitch's father is

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish, of

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

and Ukrainian background, while her mother is from a Christian background (of English and Irish ancestry). Moscovitch was "raised as an atheist", and has said that there is "implicitly Jewish sensibility" to her plays. She studied at the

National Theatre School The National Theatre School of Canada (NTS, ) is a private institution of professional theatre studies in Montreal, Quebec. Established in 1960, the NTS receives its principal funding from grants awarded by the Government of Canada and cultural ...

in the acting stream. Moscovitch gained considerable notice for two short plays written for Toronto's SummerWorks. In 2005 she presented ''Essay'', a play about gender politics in modern academia. The next year at the festival ''The Russian Play'' premiered, a romance set in Stalinist Russia. Both were well received by critics and audiences. In 2007 her first full-length play, ''East of Berlin'', premiered at the

Tarragon Theatre The Tarragon Theatre is a theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and one of the main centers for contemporary playwriting in the country.

. The play focuses on the legacy of the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

on the children of those involved. The main character is the son of a Nazi war criminal who grows up in

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

. He eventually travels to

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and meets the daughter of an

Auschwitz Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...

survivor. The play was acclaimed for its complex subject, humour, and characters and was also a popular success, returning to Tarragon in winter 2009 and 2010. 2013 saw the premiere of ''This Is War'', a play depicting the lives of Canadian troops in Afghanistan. ''This Is War'' won multiple awards with one reviewer writing "Moscovitch shines a light on massive issues like sexual harassment within the military without making her play a morality tale or exposé. It’s a story about four good people in a bad place and all the gray area that that produces." In 2015, Moscovitch wrote the play ''Infinity'' about a physicist who becomes involved in a love story while contemplating the nature of time. She collaborated with

Lee Smolin Lee Smolin (; born June 6, 1955) is an American theoretical physicist, a faculty member at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, an adjunct professor of physics at the University of Waterloo, and a member of the graduate faculty of th ...

to lend verisimilitude to some of the theoretical ideas. Moscovitch's plays have been widely produced across Canada, including at the

Magnetic North Theatre Festival The Magnetic North Theatre Festival was an annual festival celebrating theatre and related performing arts in Canada operated by the Canadian Theatre Festival Society in partnership with the National Arts Centre. The festival was held Ottawa eve ...

, Ottawa's Great Canadian Theatre Company, The National Arts Centre, Toronto's

Factory Theatre Factory Theatre is a Theater (structure), theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded as Factory Theatre Lab in 1970 by Ken Gass and Frank Trotz, and it was run for almost 20 years by Dian English. Factory theatre was the first to anno ...

, Edmonton's Theatre Network, the

Manitoba Theatre Centre Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre (Royal MTC) is Canada's oldest English-language regional theatre. Next to the Stratford and Shaw Festivals, MTC has a higher annual attendance than any other theatre in the country. It was founded in 1958 by J ...

, Vancouver's

Firehall Arts Centre The Firehall Arts Centre (also called the Firehall Centre for the Arts) is an arts centre in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The building also falls within the borders of Gastown. Firehall is a small building, origina ...

, the

Alberta Theatre Projects Alberta Theatre Projects ("ATP") is a professional, not-for-profit, Canadian theatre company, founded in 1972 by Lucille Wagner and Douglas Riske, currently based out of the Martha Cohen Theatre in Arts Commons, in Calgary, Alberta Alber ...

, and Montreal's

Imago Theatre In biology, the imago (Latin for "image") is the last stage an insect attains during its metamorphosis, its process of growth and development; it is also called the ''imaginal'' stage ("imaginal" being "imago" in adjective form), the stage in wh ...

. Moscovitch is currently playwright-in-residence at Tarragon Theatre and was previously a contributing writer to the CBC radio drama series

Afghanada ''Afghanada'' is a Canadian radio drama which aired on CBC Radio One and Sirius Satellite Radio. The 103-episode series began on November 3, 2006, and concluded its sixth and final season on December 30, 2011. Overview The half-hour episodes wer ...

(2006-2011). She has been dubbed "an indie sensation" by ''Toronto Life Magazine''; "the wunderkind of Canadian theatre" by CBC Radio; "irritatingly talented" by the now defunct ''Eye Weekly''; and the "dark angel of Toronto theatre" by ''Toronto Star''. ''The National Post'', ''The Globe and Mail'', and ''Now Magazine'' have all hailed Moscovitch as "Canada's Hottest Young Playwright". In 2021, Moscovitch and

Jennifer Podemski Jennifer Podemski (born May 3, 1973) is a Canadian film and television actress and producer. Her acting credits include starring roles in the television series '' Tin Star'', '' The Rez'', '' Riverdale'', '' Moccasin Flats'', ''Bliss'', and '' ...

created the drama series '' Little Bird'' for Crave.Victoria Ahearn
"‘The Amazing Race Canada,’ ‘Letterkenny’ spinoff join upcoming Bell Media lineup"
''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

'', June 10, 2021.

Works

Plays

* ''Essay'' – 2005 * ''The Russian Play'' – 2006 * ''East of Berlin'' – 2007 * ''In This World'' – 2008 * ''The Children's Republic'' – 2009 * ''Little One'' – 2011 * ''Other People's Children'' – 2012 * ''This Is War'' – 2012 * ''I Have no Stories to Tell You'' – 2013 * ''Infinity'' – 2014 * ''What a Young Wife Ought To Know'' – 2015 *''The Kaufman Cabaret'' - 2016 - Commissioned by the University of Alberta * ''Bunny'' – 2016 * ''Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story'' - 2017 * ''Secret Life of a Mother'' - 2018 * ''Sky on Swings'' - 2019 * ''Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes'' - 2020 * ''Post-Democracy'' - 2021 * ''Fall On Your Knees'' (adaptation) - 2023

Television

Awards and honours

Moscovitch won

Dora Mavor Moore Awards The Dora Mavor Moore Awards (also known as the Dora Awards or the Doras) are awards presented annually by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA), honouring theatre, dance and opera productions in Toronto. Named after Dora Mavor Moor ...

for ''In This World'' (2010) and "Infinity" (2015). She won both the

Trillium Book Award The Trillium Book Award ( or ''Prix Trillium'') is an annual literary award presented to writers in Ontario, Canada. It is administered by Ontario Creates, a Crown agency (Ontario), Crown agency of the Government of Ontario, which is overseen by ...

and Toronto Critic's Awards in 2014 for ''This Is War''. She has won the Nova Scotia Masterworks Award for "Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story", and the SummerWorks Prize for Best Production for The Russian Play. She received the Windham–Campbell Literature Prize (2016) in the Drama category, becoming the first Canadian woman to win the prize. She was the winner of the

at the

2021 Governor General's Awards The shortlisted nominees for the 2021 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit were announced on October 14, 2021, and the winners were announced on November 17.Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes ''Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes'' is a 2020 play written by Canadian playwright Hannah Moscovitch. It is the winner of the 2021 Governor General's Literary Award for English-language drama. The play was published by Playwrights Canada P ...

''."Inuk author Norma Dunning wins $25K Governor General's fiction prize"
. ''Coast Reporter'', November 17, 2021. Award nominations received by Moscovitch include the

Siminovitch Prize The Siminovitch Prize is Canada's largest theatre award recognizing excellence in mid-career directors, playwrights and designers. $100,000 is awarded annually to recipients. Anyone may nominate a qualified candidate for the Prize, and winners ...

, the

Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the governor general of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

, the

Carol Bolt Award The Carol Bolt Award is an annual Canadian literary award. Presented by the Playwrights Guild of Canada, the award is bestowed for a theatrical play premiere by a PGC member, judged to be the year's best. The award is named in memory of Canadian pl ...

, the

Susan Smith Blackburn Prize The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize established in 1978, is the largest and oldest playwriting prize for women+ writing for English-speaking theatre. Named for Susan Smith Blackburn (1935–1977), alumna of Smith College, who died of breast cancer. W ...

, the KM Hunter Award and the Toronto Arts Council Foundation Emerging Artist Award.

References

External links

* *
Moscovitch is already famous
''Toronto Star'' October 20, 2007 *
Hannah Moscovitch: Playwright revisits the production that set her career in motion
''NOW Magazine'' January 16, 2008 *
Hannah Moscovitch: Hit factory
''The Globe and Mail.'' January 13, 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:Moscovitch, Hannah 1978 births Living people Canadian women dramatists and playwrights Canadian people of English descent Canadian people of Irish descent Canadian people of Romanian-Jewish descent Canadian people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Dora Mavor Moore Award winners Canadian atheists Jewish atheists National Theatre School of Canada alumni University of Toronto alumni Writers from Ottawa 21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Canadian women writers Governor General's Award–winning dramatists