Arthur Milner (born July 3, 1950) is a Canadian playwright, theatre director, and journalist.

Early life and career

Milner was born in Germany, and is Jewish. His parents were Polish Jews who survived

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 ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

by escaping to Russia. After several years in a

Displaced Persons Camp A refugee camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for internally displace ...

, the family emigrated to

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

in 1951. He is the brother of political scientist . Milner was a student 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 ...

in Ottawa when friends and colleagues founded the

Great Canadian Theatre Company The Great Canadian Theatre Company (GCTC) is a professional theatre company based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1975 by a group of professors and graduate students at Carleton University. Riding a wave of cultural nationalism ...

(GCTC) in 1975. He soon joined GCTC as an actor and Board member. He was appointed resident playwright in 1984 and Artistic Director in 1991. He was elected president of the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres in 1993. He has worked as a dramaturge at the Banff Playwrights Colony, the Manitoba Association of Playwrights, and Playwrights Workshop Montréal. He has taught at

Concordia University Concordia University () is a Public university, public English-language research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College (Montreal), Loyola College and Sir George Williams Universit ...

, Carleton University,

Algonquin College Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology is a publicly funded English-language college located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The college has three campuses, all in Ontario: a primary campus in Ottawa, and secondary campuses in Perth and ...

, the National Theatre School in Montreal. Recently, he taught courses in political theatre at the

University of Calgary {{Infobox university , name = University of Calgary , image = University of Calgary coat of arms without motto scroll.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms , former ...

and the

University of Regina The University of Regina is a public university located in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Founded in 1911 as a private denominational high school of the Methodist Church of Canada, it began an association with the University of Saskatchewan as a j ...

. He has directed his own work as well as ''Criminals in Love'' by George F. Walker; ''Odd Fish'' by Pamela Boyd; ''Stephen and Mr. Wilde'' by Jim Bartley; ''Brothers of the Brush'' by Jimmy Murphy; ''Bedtime Story'' by Seán O’Casey; ''The London Vertigo'' by

Brian Friel Brian Patrick Friel (c. 9 January 1929 – 2 October 2015) was an Irish dramatist, short story writer and founder of the Field Day Theatre Company. He had been considered one of the greatest living English-language dramatists. (subscription requ ...

; ''Our Country's Good'' by Timberlake Wertenbaker; ''On the Razzle'' by

Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (; born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech-born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and politi ...

; and, in 2014, the world premiere of George F. Walker's ''The Burden of Self-Awareness''. Since its founding in 1992, he has written on arts and politics for ''Inroads, the Canadian Journal of Opinion''. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in English, Carleton University (1975); and a Master of Arts in English and Cultural Studies, Carleton University (2002) — Thesis: “''Political Theatre, Modernist Marxism, and the Avant-Garde''”; Thesis Advisor: Paul Keen Milner now lives in

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina ( ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 Canadian census, ...

, where his wife, Jennifer Brewin, is

Artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogu ...

Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a Theater (structure), theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 at Southwark, close to the south bank of the Thames, by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men. It was ...

Playwriting career

Milner joined GCTC as an actor but soon turned to writing plays. His first plays were adaptations of novels for children. He then worked on several collective creations, including ''Sandinista!'' which opened in Ottawa in 1982 and toured Canada. He was appointed resident playwright in 1984 and wrote a new play for GCTC every year until his appointment as Artistic Director in 1991. He has also been commissioned to write plays for

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

’s Workshop West Playwrights’ Theatre,

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

’s

Green Thumb Theatre Green Thumb Theatre (also known as The Green Thumb Players Society and simply as Green Thumb) is a Canadian children's theatre company based in Vancouver, British Columbia. It was founded in 1975 by playwrights Dennis Foon and Jane Howard Baker. I ...

the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its English-language and F ...

, the Canadian Union of Public Employees and the Caravan Farm Theatre. His play ''Facts'', a

murder mystery Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, crime novel, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives or fiction that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a profession ...

set in the Palestinian West Bank, premiered at GCTC in 2010 and was subsequently produced in Toronto and Vancouver; in London, U.K. (Time Out Critic's Choice), and in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

(in Turkish); and for a 9-city tour through

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

and Israel (in Arabic). ''Getting to Room Temperature'' — a one-person play about Milner's mother's polite quest for

assisted suicide Assisted suicide, sometimes restricted to the context of physician-assisted suicide (PAS), is the process by which a person, with the help of others, takes actions to end their life. Once it is determined that the person's situation qualifie ...

— toured for several years after it premiered at Ottawa's Undercurrents Festival in 2016. In February 2022 it was produced by Regina-based theatre company Curtain Razors with the use of

teleprompter A teleprompter, also known as an autocue, is a display device that prompts the person speaking with an electronic visual text of a speech or script. Using a teleprompter is similar to using cue cards. The screen is in front of, and usually bel ...

technology.

Awards and honours

Milner is the recipient of numerous awards from the

Canada Council for the Arts The Canada Council for the Arts (), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It is Canada's public arts funder, with a mandate to foster and promote the study a ...

, the

Ontario Arts Council The Ontario Arts Council (OAC) is a publicly funded Canadian organization in the province of Ontario whose purpose is to foster the creation and production of art for the benefit of all Ontarians. Based in Toronto, OAC was founded in 1963 by O ...

, and the City of Ottawa. He has been awarded an Honorary Membership by the Canadian Association for Theatre Research (1998); the Victor Tolgesy Award for Contribution to the Arts in Ottawa (1993); and a

Canada 125 Medal The 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal () is a commemorative medal struck by the Royal Canadian Mint to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the Confederation of Canada and was awarded to Canadians who were deemed to have made ...

Major works

* ''Sandinista!'' (Collective) — 1982 * ''1997'' — 1984 * ''Cheap Thrill'' — 1985 * ''Zero Hour'' — 1986 * ''Learning to Live with Personal Growth'' — 1987 * ''The City'' — 1990 * ''Sisters in the Great Day Care War'' — 1990 * ''Masada'' — 1991 * ''It's Not a Country, It's Winter'' — 1998 * ''Crusader of the World'' — 1999 * ''Joan Henry: The Musical'' (with Allen Cole and Estelle Shook) — 2003 * ''Facts'' — 2010 * ''

The Vicar of Dibley ''The Vicar of Dibley'' is a British sitcom. It consists of three series, which aired on BBC One from 10 November 1994 to 1 January 2000, and several specials, the most recent of which aired on 23 December 2020. It is set in the fictional Oxfor ...

'' (Adaptation) — 2015 * ''Getting to Room Temperature'' — 2016

Works about Arthur Milner

* Samer Al-Saber, "Arabic Facts in Palestine: Clashing Hybridities in Transnational Cultural Production.” ''Theatre Research in Canada'', * Aaron Ellis, “Arthur Milner, Two Plays about Israel/Palestine: Masada/Facts,” ''Journal of Jewish Ethics, Vol. 3, No. 2'' (2017), pp. 276–279, Penn State University Press, * Kevin De Ornellas, "Arthur Milner". In Gabrielle H. Cody and Evert Sprinchorn, eds, ''The Columbia Encyclopedia of Modern Drama'', 2 volumes (Columbia University Press, 2007), volume 2, pp. 909-10.

References

External links

* "Arthur Milner", ''Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia'', * "Arthur Milner", ''Marquis Literary'', * "Arthur Milner", ''Playwrights Guild of Canada'', https://playwrightsguild.ca/paupress/profile/3284/view/ * "Great Canadian Theatre Company", ''Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia'', * "Arthur Milner", ''Encyclopedia of Literature in Canada'' * "Interview with ''FACTS'' playwright Arthur Milner", ''Review Vancouver'', * ''Facts'' Review, ''Time Out'', March 1, 2013, “A Deservedly Brilliant UK Premiere”; http://www.timeout.com/london/theatre/facts * ''Facts'' Review, ''Countercurrents'', “The Masterly Intellectual Gravitas of Milner’s Unflinching...”; Dr Vacy Vlazna, {{DEFAULTSORT:Milner, Arthur 1950 births Living people Canadian male dramatists and playwrights Polish refugees Polish emigrants to Canada Jewish Canadian writers Polish expatriates in Germany Canadian people of Polish-Jewish descent Canadian male stage actors Carleton University alumni 20th-century Canadian male actors 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian male writers