Setting the Stage : Montreal Theatre 1920-1949

Setting the Stage is the story of Montreal's theatrical cultures and their part in the development of Canadian theatre - a story that only Herbert Whittaker, Canada's first and foremost theatre critic, can tell. Before his long and distinguished career with the Globe and Mail, Whittaker had already had three careers in Montreal - as stage designer, theatre director, and critic for the Montreal Gazette. In Setting the Stage Whittaker recreates the vibrancy of the Montreal theatre scene in the 1930s and 40s and gives vivid portraits of important Canadian actors, directors, and producers. He highlights the enriching interaction and tensions between francophone and anglophone artists and companies at a time when both English and French artists were struggling to establish a professional theatre.