Elliott Hayes
Encyclopedia
Elliott Hayes was a rising Canadian playwright when he was killed in a car accident by a drunk driver.
Elliott Hayes was born in Stratford, Ontario
to a theatrical family, the grandson of classical actor George Hayes and the son of John Sullivan Hayes, one of the original company members of the Stratford Festival.
He graduated from the Old Vic Theatre School in Bristol, and worked in Hollywood for several years before returning to Canada in 1981. He then served for many years as the literary manager, dramaturge and occasional lyricist and assistant director at the Stratford Festival. After his death in 1994, the Festival created the Elliott Hayes Award, a prize in Dramaturgy sponsored by the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas.
His career was brief but produced several important works, including short stories, novels, poems and plays. His most produced work Homeward Bound was noted by author Margaret Atwood
as “a brisk, intricate, and tightly-strung play with a lot of laughter”. It was first produced at the Stratford Festival and has since been performed across Canada
and the United States
.
Elliott Hayes was born in Stratford, Ontario
Stratford, Ontario
Stratford is a city on the Avon River in Perth County in southwestern Ontario, Canada with a population of 32,000.When the area was first settled by Europeans in 1832, the townsite and the river were named after Stratford-upon-Avon, England. It is the seat of Perth County. Stratford was...
to a theatrical family, the grandson of classical actor George Hayes and the son of John Sullivan Hayes, one of the original company members of the Stratford Festival.
He graduated from the Old Vic Theatre School in Bristol, and worked in Hollywood for several years before returning to Canada in 1981. He then served for many years as the literary manager, dramaturge and occasional lyricist and assistant director at the Stratford Festival. After his death in 1994, the Festival created the Elliott Hayes Award, a prize in Dramaturgy sponsored by the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas.
His career was brief but produced several important works, including short stories, novels, poems and plays. His most produced work Homeward Bound was noted by author Margaret Atwood
Margaret Atwood
Margaret Eleanor Atwood, is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, and environmental activist. She is among the most-honoured authors of fiction in recent history; she is a winner of the Arthur C...
as “a brisk, intricate, and tightly-strung play with a lot of laughter”. It was first produced at the Stratford Festival and has since been performed across Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Works
- Blake, 1983
- Homeward Bound, 1991
- World of Wonders (adapted from the novel by Robertson Davies), 1992
- Happily Ever After, 1993
- Hard Hearts, 1993
- Life on Mars, 1993