O.C. CHRISTOPHER NEWTON

NEWTON, O.C., CHRISTOPHER Artistic Director of the Shaw Festival (1980-2002) Artistic Director of the Vancouver Playhouse (1973-1979) Founding Artistic Director of Theatre Calgary (1968-1971) It is with profound sadness that the family of Christopher Newton announces his passing on December 20, 2021, at the age of eighty-five. He was born June 11, 1936 in Deal, Kent, UK, the son of Albert and Gwladys Newton (née Emes) of Upton House, Worth, Kent. Christopher Newton was educated at Sir Roger Manwood's School and the University of Leeds (UK) and the University of Illinois (USA). After a year of teaching at Bucknell University, he was hired in the fall of 1961 by the Canadian Players for a tour of Canada. Playing Shakespeare and Shaw in small towns and cities across Canada, he fell in love with the country and learned how to hold an audience with honest acting. After much TV work, he played at Manitoba Theatre Centre and was invited to the fledgling Shaw Festival and to the Vancouver Festival where he acted with, and was directed by, Mike Nichols. The next year, he was engaged by Nichols to play the lead in The Knack at the New Theatre in New York. This led to his hiring by Stratford for three seasons (1966-1968). In 1968 he gathered a small ensemble of actors (Neil Munro, Dana Ivey, Pat Armstrong, Eric Donkin, Kenneth Welsh) plus one director (William Hutt) and began three years as Founding Artistic Director of Theatre Calgary. Following two years of freelance work, he was invited to take over the Vancouver Playhouse where in 1976 he completely re-organized the structure of the company, creating two ensembles of actors and an Acting School headed by Powys Thomas. The new arrangement allowed the Playhouse to become celebrated though never duplicated. In the late seventies, he was invited to revive the ailing Shaw Festival. After several refusals to move from Vancouver, he relented and took over in the winter of 1979. The first few years were very stressful as he slowly put together a first rank company. Luckily, Newton brought with him from the West Coast, a great Head of Design, Cameron Porteous, a prestigious Lighting Designer, Jeffrey Dallas, and an imaginative producer, Paul Reynolds, together with several core members of the Acting Ensemble (Nicola Cavendish, Andrew Gillies, Susan Wright and Jim Mezon). By 1985, with the help of Allan Slaight as Chairman, he was successfully playing to large enthusiastic audiences in all three theatres. The success was refined over the years and included the establishment of The Academy of the Shaw Festival, both a publishing house and an educational centre for the company and its audience. Christopher Newton retired in 2002 and devoted his last years to freelance work and gardening. Newton was greatly honoured not only with the Order of Canada but also with the Governor General's Award, the Molson Prize, the Chalmers Award, all the Jubilee Medals, five doctorates (Brock University, University of Guelph, Wilfred Laurier University, University of Toronto and New York – SUNY) and two fellowships (Ryerson University and the Royal Conservatory of Music). There were many other awards. He leaves his spouse of thirty-seven years, Nicholas MacMartin, and two sisters in the UK, Josephine Dempster and Marguerite Beard-Gould. A celebration of Christopher's life will be held at a later date. For those who wish, memorial gifts may be made to the Shaw Festival in Christopher's memory, and will support The Newton Awards; an endowment fund established in Christopher's honour.