Baņuta Rubess (born 1956) is a Latvian-Canadian theatre director and playwright. She co-wrote '' This is For You, Anna'' as a member of the Anna Project. Rubess was a co-recipient of the 1988

Floyd S. Chalmers Canadian Play Award The Floyd S. Chalmers Canadian Play Award was a Canadian literary award given to Canadian plays produced by any professional Canadian theatre company, and having performances in the Toronto area. The prize had a monetary value of $25,000, and wa ...

for children's theatre for her play ''Thin Ice''.

Early life

Rubess was born in 1956 in Toronto to Latvian parents. She spent six years living in Germany as a child. Rubess graduated with a BA honours in history and drama from Queen's University in 1977. In 1978, she received a

Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Established in 1902, it is ...

to the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

. Rubess completed a doctorate of modern history at

St Antony's College St Antony's College is a colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1950 as the result of the gift of French merchant Sir Antonin Besse of Aden, St Antony's specialises in intern ...

in 1982.

Career

In 1982, Rubess co-founded the 1982 Theatre Company in London, England. Rubess was a member a theatre collective called The Midnight Hags, founded by Mary Ann Lambooy. The collective created a piece called ''Burning Times'' which premiered in August 1983 at

The Theatre Centre The Theatre Centre is a performing arts organization and theatre venue in Toronto . It is nationally recognized as a live-arts incubator for the cultural sector in the city, and also provides a meeting space for Toronto residents. The Theatre ...

. ''Burning Times'' used quotations from the ''Malleus Malificarum'' and told the story of female travellers who encountered the witch hunts. During the play's development, Lambooy disagreed with the other collective members about how they should run the collective. This dispute was so extreme as to have needed to be resolved by the Canadian Actor's Equity Association. After the initial production, Lambooy distanced herself from the collective and eventually wrote a letter to

Nightwood Theatre Nightwood Theatre is Canada's oldest professional women's theatre and is based in Toronto. It was founded in 1979 by Cynthia Grant, Kim Renders, Mary Vingoe, and Maureen White and was originally a collective. Though it was not the founders' o ...

to attempt to bar the group from re-staged ''Burning Times'' by invoking her copyright ownership. Nightwood staged ''Burning Times'' under the name, ''Smoke Damage,'' in October 1983. The program for the production listed the play as being "written by Baņuta Rubess in collaboration with Peggy Christopherson, Mary Ann Lambooy,

Ann-Marie MacDonald Ann-Marie MacDonald (born October 29, 1958) is a Canadian playwright, author, actress, and broadcast host who lives in Toronto, Ontario. Life and career MacDonald is the daughter of a member of Canada's military; she was born at an air force ...

, Mary Marzo,

Kim Renders Kim Renders (January 14, 1955 – July 17, 2018) was a Canadian writer, director, actor and designer and a founding member of Nightwood Theatre, the oldest professional feminist theatre company in Canada. Early life Renders was born in Toronto, ...

, and

Maureen White Patricia Maureen White, more commonly known as Maureen White, is a specialist in international humanitarian affairs and a fundraiser for the American Democratic Party. She is a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute at Johns Hopkins Schoo ...

". Shortly thereafter, the authorship of ''Burning Times'' became the subject of a legal dispute. By December 1983, Lambooy stated that she would not give up copyright to ''Burning Times'' in addition to refusing to acknowledge Rubess as its principal author. The two parties came to the following agreement by the end of 1983:

"Rubess would receive all revenue up to $500 as playwright's royalties; any amount above that would be split as follows: 51 percent to Rubess, 45 percent to the ''Smoke Damage'' collective, and 4 percent to Lambooy."

Rubess was a member of The Anna Project which collectively created the play '' This is For You, Anna''. The Anna Project consisted of Rubess, Suzanne Odette Khuri, Ann-Marie MacDonald, Patricia Nichols, Tori Smith, Barb Taylor, and Maureen White, though the play is usually credited only to Khuri, Macdonald, Rubess, and White. ''This is For You, Anna'' was originally presented as a twenty-minute play and premiered as a full-length play in 1984. Rubess went on to perform ''This is For You, Anna'' on tour with the Anna Collective, usually playing the roles Marianne #3, Narrator, Allegra, Eena, Interviewer, and Woman 1. In the fall of 1984, Rubess and

's co-adaptation of

Deena Metzger Deena Metzger (born 1936) is an American writer, healer, and teacher whose work spans multiple genres including the novel, poetry, non-fiction, and plays. Metzger is a creative writing teacher and feminist scholar. In the 1960s and 1970s Metzger ...

''The Women Who Slept With Men to Take the War Out of Them'' premiered with Nightwood Theatre at The Theatre Centre's R&D Festival. The pair were invited to the Playwright's Workshop in

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 ...

to further develop the piece. Rubess' play ''Froth'', a theatrical exploration of shopping and materialism, premiered as a work-in-progress in 1994 as part of The Gathering, a women's theatre festival in Toronto. The production was staged at

Kensington Market Kensington Market is a distinctive multicultural neighbourhood in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Market is an older neighbourhood and one of the city's best-known. In November 2006, it was designated a National Historic Sites of Canada, ...

and featured

Alisa Palmer Alisa Palmer is a Canadian theatre director and playwright. She was the artistic director of Nightwood Theatre from 1993 to 2001. Palmer served as the artistic director of the English section of the National Theatre School of Canada for eleven ye ...

, Susan McKenzie, and Rubess herself as actors. Two years later, ''Froth'' was performed again under the direction of Leah Cherniak. Rubess did not perform in the 1996 staging of ''Froth''. The 1996 cast was Palmer, McKenzie, Janet Burke, and Bonnie Kim. From 1985 to 1988, Rubess served as a board member of

. In 1992, Rubess was appointed co-artistic associate of

Theatre Passe Muraille Theatre Passe Muraille is a theatre company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is on Ryerson Avenue in the Alexandra Park neighbourhood of Toronto. Brief history One of Canada's most influential alternative theatres, Theatre Passe Muraille ("theat ...

. She continued on in that position until 1996. Rubess has taught at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

in the theatre department since 2011.

Select directorial credits

* 1985: ''Portrait of Dora'' by Hélène Cixous at Nightwood Theatre * 1988: ''

Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) ''Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet)'' is a 1988 comedic play by Ann-Marie MacDonald in which Constance Ledbelly, a young English literature professor from Queen's University, goes on a subconscious journey of self-discovery. Constanc ...

'' by Ann-Marie MacDonald at Nightwood Theatre * 1991: ''The Avenging Woman'' by

Aspazija Aspazija was the pen name of Elza Johanna Emilija Lizete Pliekšāne (née Elza Rozenberga; 16 March 1865 – 5 November 1943), a Latvian poet and playwright. Aspazija is the Latvian transliteration of Aspasia. Biography Aspazija was born ...

at The Berkley Theatre – co-directed with Neil Barlett * 1994: ''Still Clowning'' by Martha Ross and Leah Cherniak at Theatre Passe Muraille * 1995: ''

The Stillborn Lover ''The Stillborn Lover'' is a theatrical play by Timothy Findley, first staged in 1993."Theatre Review: The Stillborn Lover". ''The Globe and Mail'', March 29, 1993. Based in part on the true stories of Canadian diplomats E. Herbert Norman and John ...

'' by

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

at Theatre Passe Muraille * 1996: ''Wedding Day At The Cro-Magnons'' by

Wajdi Mouawad Wajdi Mouawad, OC, (; born 1968) is a Lebanese-Canadian writer, actor, and director. He is known in Canadian and French theatre for politically engaged works such as the acclaimed play ''Incendies'' (2003). His works often revolve around famil ...

(translated by

Shelley Tepperman Shelley Tepperman is a Quebec-based Canadian filmmaker, writer and translator. She has been nominated for the Governor General's Award for French to English translation multiple times. Early life and education Tepperman was born in Toronto. She ...

) at Theatre Passe Muraille * 2005: '' Nigredo Hotel'' by

Nic Gotham Nicholas Ivor Gotham, known as Nic Gotham, (27 September 1959 – 25 July 2013) was a Canadian jazz saxophonist and composer. His 1992 chamber opera, '' Nigredo Hotel'', won two Dora Awards and was nominated for the Floyd S. Chalmers Canadian Play ...

and

Tapestry New Opera Works Tapestry Opera is a Canadian opera company located in Toronto, Ontario. According to its website, it is "the only Canadian company solely dedicated to the creation and performance of original Canadian opera". To date, the company has produced 18 ...

Plays

* ''Heroica'' – musical, in Latvian (1979) * ''The Last Latvians'' (1983) * ''Smoke Damage: A Story of the Witch Hunts'' – originally titled ''Burning Times'' (1983) * ''Pope Joan'' (1984) * ''The Women Who Slept With Men to Take the War Out of Them'' – adapted from

with

(1984) * ''This is For You, Anna'' – with Suzanne Odette Khuri,

, Patricia Nichols, Tori Smith, Barb Taylor, and

(1985) * ''To Humbert Humbert'' – co-created with Maureen White, Peggy Thompson and Louise Garfield (1986) * ''Thin Ice'' – co-written with

Beverley Cooper Beverley Cooper is a Canadian actor, director, dramaturg, and playwright who works in film, radio, television, and theatre. Acting Cooper trained in acting and graduated from Studio 58 in Vancouver in 1979. In 1982, ''Toronto Star'' critic Gina ...

(1987) * ''The Last Will and Testament of Lolita'' – collective creation with

Louise Garfield Louise Garfield is a Canadian performance artist, choreographer, film and television producer and arts administrator. Her work as a producer includes the films '' Zero Patience'' in which she has a cameo role playing a virus, and '' The Hanging Gard ...

Peggy Thompson Margaret "Peggy" Thompson, later Margaret Neilson, was the housekeeper at Coilsfield House or Montgomery Castle in Ayrshire, Scotland. She married John Neilsen of Monyfee. The couple lived at Minnybae Farm near Kirkoswald. She was the 'charming ...

, and

(1987) * ''Boom, Baby, Boom!'' – with

(1988) * ''Tango Lugano'' – in Latvian (1989) * ''Horror High'' (1989) * ''Bonnie and Clyde are Dead'' (1989) * ''Froth'' (1994) * ''Jaded'' (1998) * ''Head in a Bag'' (1992) * ''Oblivion'' –

radio play Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

(1994){{Cite journal, last=Redhill, first=Michael, date=1994, title=From page to stage: if printed plays are pure potential, they also offer readers many plaisirs du texte, journal=Books in Canada, volume=23, issue=3, pages=23–25, id={{ProQuest, * ''No. Here Comes Ulrike Meinhof'' – radio play (1994) * ''Oh Pilot'' – with Nic Gotham (2000)

Awards

{, class="wikitable" , + !Year !Award !Category !Work !Result !Notes !Ref. , - , 1995 ,

Dora Mavor Moore Award 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 ...

s – Mid-Size Theatre , Outstanding Direction , ''The Stillborn Lover'' , {{nom , , , - , 1989 , Dora Mavor Moore Awards – Small Theatre , Outstanding Production , ''Boom, Baby, Boom!'' , {{Nom , for Banuta Rubess, Claire Hopkinson,

, and Company , , - , 1988 , Floyd Chalmers Award , Children's Play Award , ''Thin Ice'' , {{Won , for Beverley Cooper and Banuta Rubess ,

Personal life

In 1998, Rubess moved to

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

. She returned to Canada in 2012. She was married to

until his death in 2013.{{Cite web, last=Timar, first=Andrew, date=July 29, 2013, title=Nic Gotham (1959-2013): Jazz Saxophonist, Composer of Most Performed Canadian Opera – Obituary and Concert Review, url=https://www.thewholenote.com/index.php/newsroom/blog/general-music/24326-nic-gotham-1959-2013-jazz-saxophonist-composer-of-most-performed-canadian-opera-obituary-and-concert-review, access-date=October 23, 2020, website=www.thewholenote.com They have two children.

Notes

{{reflist, group=note

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control {{DEFAULTSORT:Rubess, Baņuta Living people Canadian women dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights Academic staff of the University of Toronto Queen's University at Kingston alumni Alumni of University College, Oxford Alumni of St Antony's College, Oxford Canadian Rhodes Scholars 1956 births Canadian people of Latvian descent Writers from Toronto 20th-century Canadian women writers 21st-century Canadian women writers Date of birth missing (living people)