Rick McNair left his mark at Theatre Calgary

Rick McNair was a gambler who put the plays of Canadian writers W.O. Mitchell, Sharon Pollock and John Murrell on the main stage at Theatre Calgary at a time when artistic directors at other English-language regional theatres across the country thought that Canadian audiences were interested only in plays that had been hits on Broadway or the West End.

McNair succeeded admirably. Mitchell enjoyed new recognition in the autumn of his career as the author of such stage hits as The Kite and The Black Bonspiel of Wullie MacCrimmon. Pollock scored big with such plays as Blood Relations, Whiskey Six and Doc. Murrell triumphed with Farther West, and demonstrated his talents as a translator with Machiavelli’s Mandragola.

McNair is one of the featured characters in my book Rogues and Rebels: Unforgettable Characters from Canada’s West. Hear what I said about him to Chris dela Torre of CBC Radio’s Daybreak Alberta by clicking HERE.