Sierra Haynes wanted to know “How do you write a play?” Globe Theatre’s Artistic Director, Jennifer Brewin thought it was a good question and commissioned her to create Stage Write: The Playwrights’ Podcast. Sierra interviewed 5 playwrights who inspired her and shaped her dedication to Canadian Theatre. Then she flipped the script and asked them to interview the playwright that got them writing. These are exceptional conversations, uncovering a wealth of knowledge about the people who shape our stories for the stage. The fourth episode features a conversation with Rex Deverell.
Over a long and productive career in Canadian Theatre, Rex Deverell has pursued a fascination with issues of social justice and conviction. He holds arts and theology degrees from McMaster University and from Union Theological Seminary, New York City. In 1971, Rex began to write plays at first for Regina’s Globe Theatre school company and ultimately became the Globe's first long term Playwright-in-Residence. Deverell's first work for the Globe main stage was Boiler Room Suite, the story of two sad transients dreaming an afternoon away in the boiler room of an old hotel. Since then, Boiler Room Suite has received international productions, including translations in French and Japanese. The Banff Centre toured an operatic version of the play in the U.K. (music by Quentin Doolittle.)
Honours and awards: McMaster Honour Society; Playwright's Award, University of Western Ontario, (The Invitation); Ohio State Award, (radio adaptation of The Mule); Canadian Authors Award, (Boiler Room Suite); McMaster University Alumni Gallery; Major Armstrong Award, (The Riel Commission); Chalmers Award (Belonging); The Short Circuit was nominated for a Chalmers in 1994; Margaret E. Woodward Hall of Fame (Theatre Saskatchewan) 2005; life membership in the Guild of Canadian Playwrights.
He has written libretti and lyrics with composers Quentin Doolittle, (Boiler Room Suite, Leviathan Hook), Andrew Ager, (Ellis Portal), Tom Schudel, (Oresteia), Rob Bryanton (Globe Theatre Revues and Plays with Music).
The Globe Theatre is located in Regina, Saskatchewan and has a mission to entertain, educate and engage in the art of professional theatre. Globe Theatre is located on Treaty 4 territory, the traditional lands of the nêhiyawak, Anihšināpēk, Dakota, Nakoda, Lakota, and the homeland of the Métis/Michif Nation.
