Half Man, Half Beast: Making a Life in Canadian Theatre

When Maurice Podbrey arrived in Montreal from England to teach at the National Theatre School in the autumn of 1966, Canadian theatre was in ferment and the excitement of Expo 67 and Canada’s centenary was in the air. By 1969 he had become founding artistic director of Montreal’s Centaur Theatre and embarked on twenty-eight successful seasons of theatre. The story of the Centaur and Podbrey’s reflections on theatre—directing, acting and actors, theatre administration, teaching, the audience, and critics—spotlights Canada’s remarkable cultural evolution over the last three decades.

Reviews

“Chock full of information and recounted unassumingly and with gentle humour . . . a rich and readable resource for anyone with an interest in the past, historian and general reader alike.” —Elaine Kalman Naves, Montreal Gazette

“An excellent starting point if one wishes to pursue the study of the foundation of Montreal’s Jewish community.” —Norman Goldman, Montrealtravels.com

“Wide-ranging and perceptive.” —Canadian Jewish News