Francophone theatre director Joël Beddows is the winner of the Ontario Arts Council’s John Hirsch Director’s Award. This is the first time the award has been given to a director of French-language theatre since it was established in 1993.
Beddows is currently an associate professor in the Department of Theatre of the University of Ottawa.
The $5,000 award is presented every three years to a promising Ontario theatre director to further the recipient’s professional development.
Born in Sturgeon Falls, Ontario, Joël Beddows began his theatre training with the University of Ottawa’s theatre department before going on to studies at la Sorbonne in Paris and at the University of Toronto. In 1998, he became artistic director of Théâtre la Catapulte in Ottawa. Under his direction, the company has achieved considerable success including, a 2001 Lieutenant Governor’s Award for the Arts. His first efforts in play direction for Richard Léger’s Faust : chroniques de la démesure won an award from the Cercle des critiques de la capitale for best theatre production in Ottawa in 2000-2001.
