Richard Rose (born January 18, 1955) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

theatre director, most noted as the former artistic director of the

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 ...

theatre companies Necessary Angel and

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

.Craig Walker
"Richard Rose"
''

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; ) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with financial support by the federal Department of Canadian Heritage and Society of Com ...

'', January 20, 2014.

Background

He was born in

Maracaibo Maracaibo ( , ; ) is a city and municipality in northwestern Venezuela, on the western shore of the strait that connects Lake Maracaibo to the Gulf of Venezuela. It is the largest city in Venezuela and is List of cities in Venezuela by population ...

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

, and raised in

Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario ** Sudbury (federal electoral district) ** Sudbury (provincial electoral district) ** Sudbury Airport ** Sudbury Basin, a meteorite impact cra ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. He studied theatre at

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

Career

He was the founding artistic director of Necessary Angel in 1978. The company's first production,

Aeschylus Aeschylus (, ; ; /524 – /455 BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek Greek tragedy, tragedian often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek tragedy is large ...

's ''

Oresteia The ''Oresteia'' () is a trilogy of Greek tragedies written by Aeschylus in the 5th century BC, concerning the murder of Agamemnon by Clytemnestra, the murder of Clytemnestra by Orestes, the trial of Orestes, the end of the curse on the House ...

'', was not well-regarded by critics but telegraphed the company's high ambitions. Necessary Angel rose to critical and popular favour with the breakout success of

John Krizanc John Krizanc (born 1956) is a Canadians, Canadian playwright who established an international reputation with his non-linear work ''Tamara (play), Tamara''. Early life Krizanc was born in Lethbridge, Alberta, Lethbridge, Alberta in 1956. He is t ...

's play ''

Tamara Tamara may refer to: People * Tamara (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Tamara Macarena Valcárcel Serrano, Spanish singer, also known mononymously as Tamara * Tamara, another stage name of Spanish ...

'' in 1981, which won numerous

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 ...

in 1982 including Best Director for Rose. Carole Corbeil, "An outstanding night for Tamara". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', November 16, 1982. Following the success of ''Tamara'', he collaborated with Thom Sokoloski, the artistic director of Theatre Autumn Leaf, to create Autumn Angel Repertory, who won the Dora for Outstanding New Play in 1984 for ''Mein''.Stephen Godfrey, "Jungle of Cities wins four Doras". ''

'', October 23, 1984. In 1989 he attracted acclaim for his theatrical adaptation of

Michael Ondaatje Philip Michael Ondaatje (; born 12 September 1943) is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian poet, fiction writer and essayist. Ondaatje's literary career began with his poetry in 1967, publishing ''The Dainty Monsters'', and then in 1970 the critically a ...

's novel '' Coming Through Slaughter'', cowritten with Ondaatje and D.D. Kugler. In 1992, Rose and Kugler debuted another stage adaptation, of

Timothy Findley Timothy Irving Frederick Findley, (October 30, 1930 – June 20, 2002) was a Canadian novelist and playwright.

's novel '' Not Wanted on the Voyage''. He also directed the short film ''Giant Steps'', which screened at the

1992 Toronto International Film Festival The 17th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) took place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 10 and September 19, 1992. ''Léolo'' was selected as the opening film. Quentin Tarantino's debut film ''Reservoir Dogs'' premiered at the ...

, and served for three years as director of the youth company at the

Stratford Festival The Stratford Festival is a repertory theatre organization that operates from April to October in the city of Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Founded by local journalist Tom Patterson in 1952, the festival was formerly known as the Stratford Shak ...

. In 2002 he was appointed artistic director of Tarragon. His role with the company was marked by brief controversy in 2012 when

Michael Healey Michael Healey is a Canadian playwright and actor. He graduated from the acting programme at Toronto's Ryerson Theatre School in 1985. His acting credits include the plays of Jason Sherman (''The League of Nathans'', ''Reading Hebron'' and ''Thr ...

resigned as the company's playwright in residence after Rose declined to produce his play ''Proud'', but Rose remained with the company until his retirement in 2020. In 2024, he was appointed as a member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

. He lives in

Awards

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rose, Richard 1955 births Living people 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Canadian male writers Canadian male dramatists and playwrights Canadian theatre directors Film directors from Toronto Writers from Greater Sudbury Writers from Toronto Dora Mavor Moore Award winners York University alumni Members of the Order of Canada