Thompson, Paul, 1940- : William Paul Thompson O.C. (b. Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, 1940) is a Canadian playwright, dramaturg, artistic director, director and teacher. He was raised in the farming community of Listowel, Ontario, where he worked on his uncle's farm during the summer months.
He began his undergraduate studies at the University of Western Ontario, where he obtained his Honours B.A. (English and French), and in 1963 won a scholarship to the Sorbonne University in Paris, studying with the renowned director Roger Planchon at the Théâtre National Populaire in Lyon. After completing his M.A. in French (specializing in Theatre) at the University of Toronto, he returned to France to work with Planchon as apprentice director (1965 - 1967). Back in Canada, he began his apprenticeship with Jean Gascon at the Stratford Festival, where he worked as his assistant director until 1970.
During those years, Thompson developed his own form of collective creation theatre through research in the field and acting improvisation. In 1969, he joined one of Canada's most innovative and provocative theatre companies, Toronto's Theatre Passe Muraille, before becoming its artistic director in 1970.
From 1970 to 1982, Thompson participated in the writing and staging of numerous collective productions presented by Theatre Passe Muraille, such as the Doukhobors (1971), The Farm Show (1972), The Farmers Revolt (1973, with Rick Salutin), Les Maudits Anglais (1978, with Gary Geddes and Claude Roussin), Maggie and Pierre (1979 - Linda Griffiths), all of which were based on Canadian subjects and history. Several of these productions toured major theatres across Canada. Thompson also programed and produced over 174 plays by various Canadian authors for Theatre Passe Muraille during his twelve years with the company.
He went on to direct several of Canada's most acclaimed theatre and performing arts companies and institutions such as the Centaur Theatre, Blyth Festival, Stratford Festival, Alberta Theatre Projects, and the Native Earth Performing Arts (NEPA). He has been involved in 200 original theatre productions and assisted in the establishment of some of Canada's most renowned performing arts companies, such as the Twenty-Fifth Street Theatre (Saskatoon), Nightwood Theatre (Toronto), Buddies in Bad Times (Toronto), and Newfoundland's Codco.
Thompson has collaborated with some of Canada's most notable writers, including Michael Ondaatje, David Fennario, and Timothy Findley, with whom he wrote the successful play, Elizabeth Rex, in 2000, and which won a Governor General's Literary Award for English-Language Drama. In addition to his collaborative playwriting, Thompson has written numerous works independently, such as The Games of Winter (presented during the 1988 Calgary Winter games).
From 1987 to 1994, he was the Director General of Canada's National Theatre School, ensuring its management and setting up its playwrights' and directors' programs. He also established the Gascon-Thomas Prize for excellence in Canadian Theatre. During these years, Thompson was instrumental in the renovations of the historic Monument National building, which houses the NTS, in Montreal. Thompson has also taught theatre in various universities, including Brock University, Glendon College, the University of Alberta, and University of Ottawa, to name a few. Paul Thompson is one of the first non-Indigenous Canadians artists to take an interest in Indigenous theatre, and has taught and directed at the Native Earth Performing Arts (NEPA), as well as at the Centre for Indigenous Theatre in Toronto.
During his career, Thompson has received numerous honours and awards, notably the Silver Ticket Award (Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts), several Canada Council for the Arts awards, a Dora Mavor Moore trophy, and Chalmers awards. He was honoured during a special tribute at Toronto's International Festival of Authors in 1997. In 2008, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada for his contributions to Canadian Theatre. In 2011, he was awarded a Governor General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement Thompson has also received honorary doctorates from the University of Western Ontario (2010) and Algoma University (2017).
Paul Thompson is married to Canadian performer and actress Anne Anglin, and is the father of stage actress Severn Thompson and documentarian and teacher Rachel Thompson.
