Canadian Performance Documents and Debates provides insight into performance activities from the seventeenth century to the early 1970s, and probes important yet vexing questions about Canada as a country and a concept. The volume collects playscripts and archival material to explore what these documents tell us about the values, debates, and priorities of artists and their audiences from the past 400 years. Analyses throughout rethink the significance of theatre, dance, opera, circus, and other performance genres and events. This landmark collection challenges readers to reconsider Canadian theatre and performance history. Foreword by Jerry Wasserman.

Contributors: Clarence S. Bayne, Kym Bird, Justin A. Blum, Amy Bowring, Jill Carter, Jenn Cole, Cynthia Cooper, Heather Davis-Fisch, Moira J. Day, Ray Ellenwood, Alan Filewod, Howard Fink, Liza Giffen, J. Paul Halferty, James Hoffman, Erin Hurley, John D. Jackson, Stephen Johnson, Sasha Kovacs, Sylvain Lavoie, Louis Patrick Leroux, Allana C. Lindgren, Denyse Lynde, Erin Joelle McCurdy, Wing Chung Ng, Glen F. Nichols, M. Cody Poulton, VK Preston, Daniel J. Ruppel, Jordan Stanger-Ross, Paul J. Stoesser, Christl Verduyn, Anthony J. Vickery, Anton Wagner

Anthony J. Vickery is Teaching Professor in the Department of Theatre at the University of Victoria.

Anthony J. Vickery's profile page

Glen F. Nichols is Professor of Drama at Mount Allison University.

Glen F. Nichols' profile page

Allana C. Lindgren is an Associate Professor in the Department of Theatre at the University of Victoria. Recent co-edited publications include The Modernist World and Renegade Bodies: Canadian Dance in the 1970s. She is also the Dance Subject Editor for the Routledge Encyclopedia of Modernism.

Allana C. Lindgren's profile page

• Winner, Learning Book of the Year | Alberta Book Publishing Awards, Book Publishers Association of Alberta
• Short-listed, Scholarly & Academic Book of the Year | Alberta Book Publishing Awards, Book Publishers Association of Alberta

“Through the invaluable service of gathering together the breadth of crucial texts and materials addressed in its exploratory essays, Canadian Performance Documents and Debates creates, defines, and shapes the very subject of Canadian performance.” Shelley Scott, Professor, University of Lethbridge

"Canadian Performance Documents and Debates: A Sourcebook undeniably fills a gap in resources for the Canadian performance history community through its unique content. The collection is aptly titled A Sourcebook as it spans four centuries, containing carefully considered content in which the compilation juxtaposes new publications and fresh points of view with previously available Canadian performance history materials. The text distinguishes itself as an accessible resource with the inclusion of a thematic Table of Contents which uses resonant and relevant categories, including race and gender, and allows a reader to hone in on topic(s) related to their interests. This organizational format contextualizes the contents and sutures the events and documents in time and place while putting them in conversation with one another…. Racism in performance is a thread that runs through many of the chapters, and the accu­mulation of these examples reifies a vivid tapestry illustrating Canada’s settler colonial rela­tions.” Tanya Berg, Theatre Research in Canada, 2023 (Full review at DOI: 10.3138/tric-2023-0027)

“A gargantuan undertaking by the editors and publisher, [Canadian Performance Documents and Debates] is highly informative, engaging, and enlightening with extremely high-quality editing. Considering the wide variety of themes, genres, and materials included, the designer did a fantastic job ensuring the content is manageable and easy to navigate.” Jury comments, 2023 Alberta Book Publishing Awards

“Canadian Performance Documents and Debates reflects profoundly upon conceptualizations of Canadian identity and upon debates over the role of the arts in the formation of that identity: both vital questions for us to understand more deeply as we strive to move towards reconciliation and a more just, equitable, and compassionate society.” Roberta Barker, Associate Professor, Dalhousie University