Michael Cook (playwright)

<h2 id="early-life">Early life</h2>
Cook was born in <a href="/facts/Fulham/yMrVCUaf">Fulham</a>, London, England to <a href="/facts/Anglo-Irish_people/6pkxMTxU">Anglo-Irish</a> parents. He attended boarding schools until age fifteen and joined the <a href="/facts/British_Army/StuY9Jy2">British Army</a> in 1949.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3">3</a> He served for twelve years, mostly in Asia, including Japan where he saw the <a href="/facts/Ama_(diving)/yHLWC6QE">Ama</a> (Japanese female free-divers) harvesting shellfish, sea urchins, pearls, etc., from the ocean. He married Muriel Horner in 1951 and had eight children. Between 1962 and 1966, he attended the <a href="/facts/University_of_Nottingham/PR8osn19">University of Nottingham</a>, earning teaching qualifications.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4">4</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5">5</a>

<h2 id="career">Career</h2>
After graduating in 1966, Cook left his family and moved to Newfoundland to work as a schoolteacher. In 1967, he began his career at <a href="/facts/Memorial_University_of_Newfoundland/PsfcJrFo">Memorial University of Newfoundland</a>, first as a drama specialist with the <a href="/facts/MUN_Extension_Service/7IFw4zNd">MUN Extension Service</a> and later becoming an associate professor in the English department.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6">6</a> Soon after arriving in Newfoundland, he wrote scripts for several radio dramas which were produced in St. John's.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7">7</a> He also reviewed plays and wrote articles about the importance of theatre in the St. John's Evening Telegram and the Canadian Theatrical Review.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8">8</a>
In 1970, Cook formed the amateur theatre company The Open Group with Clyde Rose and Richard Buehler and began to write plays for this group.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9">9</a> He wrote a number of plays set in Newfoundland, beginning with Tiln, written in 1971.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10">10</a> His best-known works are Jacob's Wake and The Head, Guts and Soundbone Dance, in which Newfoundland provides a sometimes realistic and sometimes symbolic backdrop for his poetic rendering of lives in continual conflict with natural elements.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11">11</a> Many of Cook's plays include dialogue written in <a href="/facts/Newfoundland_English/tJ6v3gh4">Newfoundland English</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12">12</a>
In the mid-1970s, Cook began to spend time on <a href="/facts/Random_Island/cMV2Pzur">Random Island</a> and <a href="/facts/Fogo_Island_(Newfoundland_and_Labrador)/ULhAu0sU">Fogo Island</a>, marrying Madonna Decker in 1973.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13">13</a> In 1977, he was playwright-in-residence in the Banff Playwrights Lab at the <a href="/facts/Banff_Centre_for_Arts_and_Creativity/kpCBfebp">Banff Centre for the Arts</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14">14</a> From 1982, they lived in <a href="/facts/Stratford%2c_Ontario/TSwXdnAq">Stratford, Ontario</a>, where he was playwright-in-residence in 1987. He would often spend his summers on Random Island.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15">15</a>
In 1994, while making his way to his summer home on Random Island after visiting St. John's to see a staging of The Head, Guts and Soundbone Dance, Cook became ill and died back in St. John's.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16">16</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17">17</a>
His plays have been performed throughout North America, as well Poland, Sweden, Germany, Hungary, the United Kingdom and Ireland.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:18" href="#fn:18">18</a>

<h2 id="personal-life">Personal life</h2>
Cook married three times, and fathered fourteen children, including actor <a href="/facts/Sebastian_Spence/ahNuPYYW">Sebastian Spence</a> by his second wife, Janis Spence, to whom he was married 1967–73.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:19" href="#fn:19">19</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:20" href="#fn:20">20</a>

<h2 id="works">Works</h2>
<h3>Stage plays</h3>
<ul><li>The J. Alfred Prufrock Hour (performed 1968)</li>
<li>Tiln (first broadcast 1971; performed 1972)</li>
<li>Colour the Flesh the Colour of Dust (performed 1971; published by Simon and Pierre, 1974)</li>
<li>The Head, Guts and Soundbone Dance (performed at <a href="/facts/Arts_and_Culture_Centre/NrsVxKp1">Arts and Culture Centre</a>, St. John's, 1973; published 1974)</li>
<li>Jacob's Wake (performed at Arts and Culture Centre, St. John's, 1974; published by <a href="/facts/Talonbooks/rLIQV6ha">Talonbooks</a>, 1975)</li>
<li>Quiller (performed 1975)</li>
<li>The Fisherman's Revenge (performed 1976; published by Playwrights Canada, 1985)<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:21" href="#fn:21">21</a></li>
<li>Therese's Creed (performed at Centaur Theatre, Montreal, 1977). Title also variously spelled as "Terese" and "Theresa".</li>
<li>Not as a Dream (performed at Dalhousie University, Halifax, 1976)</li>
<li>On the Rim of the Curve (performed at Newfoundland Drama Festival, 1977)</li>
<li>The Gayden Chronicles (performed 1978; published by Playwrights Canada, 1979)</li>
<li>The Apocalypse Sonata (performed at Globe Theatre, Regina, 1980)</li>
<li>The End of the Road (written 1981). Earlier drafts were titled All the Funny People Are Dead and The Deserts of Bohemia.</li>
<li>The Great Harvest Excursion (written 1986; published 1994)<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:22" href="#fn:22">22</a></li></ul>
<h4>Compilations</h4>
<ul><li>Quiller / Tiln: Two One-Act Plays (Playwrights Co-op, 1975)</li>
<li>Tiln & Other Plays (Talonbooks, 1976). Includes Tiln, Quiller and Therese's Creed.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:23" href="#fn:23">23</a></li>
<li>Three Plays (<a href="/facts/Breakwater_Books/przDwvu2">Breakwater Books</a>, 1977). Includes The Head, Guts and Soundbone Dance; On the Rim of the Curve; and Therese's Creed.</li></ul>
<h3>Radio plays</h3>
<ul><li>No Man Can Serve Two Masters, first broadcast April 8, 1966</li>
<li>How to Catch a Pirate, first broadcast June 8, 1966</li>
<li>A Walk in the Rain, first broadcast January 18, 1967</li>
<li>Or the Wheel Broken, first broadcast June 18, 1967</li>
<li>A Time for Doors, first broadcast March 13, 1968</li>
<li>The Truck, first broadcast August 18, 1968</li>
<li>The Concubine, first broadcast February 16, 1969</li>
<li>To Inhabit the Earth Is Not Enough, first broadcast September 21, 1969</li>
<li>The Ballad of Patrick Docker, first broadcast November 25, 1970</li>
<li>Journey into the Unknown, 1970</li>
<li>There's a Seal in the Bottom of the Garden, first broadcast June 19, 1971</li>
<li>Love Is a Walnut, first broadcast August 20, 1972</li>
<li>Apostles for the Burning, first broadcast December 4, 1973</li>
<li>Travels with Aunt Jane, 12 episodes broadcast weekly starting July 10, 1974 starring <a href="/facts/Jane_Mallett/6fUvjMmK">Jane Mallett</a></li>
<li>Knight of Sorrow, Lady of Darkness, first broadcast August 10, 1976</li>
<li>The Producer, the Director, 1976</li>
<li>Ireland's Eye, first broadcast April 19, 1977</li>
<li>The Gentleman Amateur, 1977</li>
<li>The Hunter, 1981</li>
<li>All a Pack o' Lies, 1981</li>
<li>The Terrible Journey of Frederick Dunglass, first broadcast January 22, 1982</li>
<li>The Preacher, first broadcast December 12, 1982</li>
<li>The Sweet Second Summer of Kitty Malone, first broadcast June 3, 1984</li>
<li>This Damned Inheritance, first broadcast November 11, 1984</li>
<li>The Bailiff and the Women, first broadcast November 16, 1984</li>
<li>The Ocean Ranger, first broadcast March 31, 1985</li>
<li>The Saddest Barn Dance Ever Held, first broadcast April 28, 1985</li>
<li>The Hanging Judge, first broadcast October 27, 1985</li>
<li>The Moribundian Memorandum, 1986</li></ul>
<h3>Other</h3>
<ul><li>In Search of Confederation, 1971, television play</li>
<li>"The Island of Fire: Chapter One of a Novel in Progress". Aurora: New Canadian Writinq 1980. Ed. Morris Wolfe. Toronto: Doubleday, 1980, pp. 33–48.</li></ul>
<h2 id="further-reading">Further reading</h2>
<ul><li><a href="/facts/Craig_Walker_(writer)/rGzfLvUD">Craig Walker</a>, "Michael Cook: Elegy, Allegory and Eschatology," The Buried Astrolabe: Canadian Dramatic Imagination and Western Tradition. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2001.</li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1">"Michael Cook". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved 15 April 2024. <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/michael-cook" target="_blank">https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/michael-cook</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:2">Kirkpatrick, D. L. (Daniel Lane) (1988). Contemporary dramatists. Chicago; London: St. James. pp. 96–98. ISBN 978-0-912289-62-5. <a href="978-0-912289-62-5" target="_blank">978-0-912289-62-5</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:3">Lisa De Leon. Writers of Newfoundland and Labrador: Twentieth Century. Jesperson Press; 1 January 1985. ISBN 978-0-920502-58-7. p. 267. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=rJAfAQAAIAAJ" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=rJAfAQAAIAAJ</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:4">Kirkpatrick, D. L. (Daniel Lane) (1988). Contemporary dramatists. Chicago; London: St. James. pp. 96–98. ISBN 978-0-912289-62-5. <a href="978-0-912289-62-5" target="_blank">978-0-912289-62-5</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:5">Michael Cook entry at The Canadian Encyclopedia <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/michael-cook/" target="_blank">https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/michael-cook/</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:6">"Michael Cook". Heritage Newfoundland, www.heritage.nf.ca <a href="http://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/arts/michael-cook.php" target="_blank">http://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/arts/michael-cook.php</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:7">Literary History of Canada: Canadian Literature in English, Volume IV (Second Edition). University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division; 15 December 1990. ISBN 978-1-4875-9116-8. p. 199–. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=FjU5DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT199" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=FjU5DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT199</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:8">Page, Malcolm (1994). Biocritical Essay (Michael Cook). University of Calgary Press. ISBN 978-1-895176-52-0. <a href="978-1-895176-52-0" target="_blank">978-1-895176-52-0</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:9">Devine, Michael (1 January 2004). "Cultural Evolution in Newfoundland Theatre: The Rise of the Gros Morne Theatre Festival". Theatre Research in Canada / Recherches théâtrales au Canada. ISSN 1913-9101. <a href="https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/TRIC/article/view/4653" target="_blank">https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/TRIC/article/view/4653</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:10">María Jesús Hernáez Lerena. Pathways of Creativity in Contemporary Newfoundland and Labrador. Cambridge Scholars Publishing; 18 September 2015. ISBN 978-1-4438-8333-7. p. 193–. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=SJDWCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA193" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=SJDWCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA193</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:11">Craig Stewart Walker. The Buried Astrolabe: Canadian Dramatic Imagination and Western Tradition. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP; 2001. ISBN 978-0-7735-2075-2. p. 83–. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=ym0epMx87McC&pg=PA83" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=ym0epMx87McC&pg=PA83</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:12">Post-Colonial Drama: Theory, Practice, Politics. Routledge; 11 September 2002. ISBN 978-1-134-87700-3. p. 179–. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=1CmIAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA179" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=1CmIAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA179</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:13">John Robert Colombo. Canadian Literary Landmarks. Dundurn; 1 January 1984. ISBN 978-1-4597-1798-5. p. 22–. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=WdPnEvbEKgQC&pg=PA22" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=WdPnEvbEKgQC&pg=PA22</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:14">"A Brief History of the Banff Playwrights Lab". www.banffcentre.ca. Retrieved 16 April 2024. <a href="https://www.banffcentre.ca/brief-history-banff-playwrights-lab" target="_blank">https://www.banffcentre.ca/brief-history-banff-playwrights-lab</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:15">"Michael Cook". Heritage Newfoundland, www.heritage.nf.ca <a href="http://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/arts/michael-cook.php" target="_blank">http://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/arts/michael-cook.php</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:16">Lynde, Denise (1 June 1994). "In Memoriam Michael Cook". Theatre Research in Canada / Recherches théâtrales au Canada. ISSN 1913-9101. <a href="https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/TRIC/article/view/7202" target="_blank">https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/TRIC/article/view/7202</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:17">"Michael Cook". Heritage Newfoundland, www.heritage.nf.ca <a href="http://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/arts/michael-cook.php" target="_blank">http://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/arts/michael-cook.php</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:18">The CTR anthology : fifteen plays from Canadian Theatre Review. Toronto; Buffalo: University of Toronto Press. 1993. ISBN 978-0-8020-6812-5. <a href="978-0-8020-6812-5" target="_blank">978-0-8020-6812-5</a> <a href="#fnref:18" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:19">"Director, actor Janis Spence dead at 61". CBC News, Feb 07, 2008 <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/director-actor-janis-spence-dead-at-61-1.714350" target="_blank">http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/director-actor-janis-spence-dead-at-61-1.714350</a> <a href="#fnref:19" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:20">Kirkpatrick, D. L. (Daniel Lane) (1988). Contemporary dramatists. Chicago; London: St. James. pp. 96–98. ISBN 978-0-912289-62-5. <a href="978-0-912289-62-5" target="_blank">978-0-912289-62-5</a> <a href="#fnref:20" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:21">Cook, Michael (1985). The fisherman's revenge. Toronto: Playwrights Canada. ISBN 978-0-88754-385-2. <a href="978-0-88754-385-2" target="_blank">978-0-88754-385-2</a> <a href="#fnref:21" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:22">Inter-plays : works and words of writers and critics : a festschrift published in honour of Albert-Reiner Glaap. St. John's, NF, Canada: Breakwater. 1994. ISBN 978-1-55081-078-3. <a href="978-1-55081-078-3" target="_blank">978-1-55081-078-3</a> <a href="#fnref:22" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:23">Cook, Michael (1976). Tiln & other plays. Vancouver: Talonbooks. ISBN 978-0-88922-107-9. <a href="978-0-88922-107-9" target="_blank">978-0-88922-107-9</a> <a href="#fnref:23" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
</ol>

Michael Cook (playwright) open-in-new

Michael Cook (playwright)