Setting the Stage: Montreal Theatre 1920-1949

David E. Kemp, a former drama professor at Queen’s University, is the
author of The Pleasures and Treasures of the United Kingdom.

The noted theatre critic Herbert Whittaker championed Canadian theatre
when it desperately needed a champion. Whittaker’s critical writing,
which was firm, tolerant, wise, and demanding of the highest standards,
helped to forge a theatrical tradition that now commands international
respect. This collection of Whittaker’s writings on Montreal theatre
between 1920 and 1949 recalls the early careers of Canadian actors and
theatrical pioneers, offers glimpses of theatrical spaces that no longer
exist and descriptions of productions that would otherwise have been
forgotten, and cleverly examines the relationship between francophone
and English theatre. Whittaker’s many accomplishments are detailed in
a beautifully written foreword by Christopher Plummer.

Critic, actor, designer, director, and producer—Herbert Whittaker did
it all. Setting the Stage is a unique book about a unique man.