Dominion Drama Festival

Season 24

Apr 26 to May 1, 1937

19 groups from across Canada came to the Little Theatre to compete over six nights in the fifth edition of the Dominion Drama Festival under the patronage of Lord and Lady Tweedsmuir. The plays were adjudicated by Michel St. Denis, a Frenchman making his first visit to North America from his successful London Theatre Studio in the UK.

The Ottawa Drama League entry was "Release" by Ottawa writer Luke Stewart, presented on April 26 after winning second place in the Eastern Ontario Regional Festival in February. For its cast and crew, see Feb. 10, 1937.

The winner of the Bessborough Trophy for Best Production was the Toronto Masquers production of "The House in the Quiet Glen" by Toronto writer John Coulter who also won the Barry Jackson Trophy for Best Production of a Canadian Play.

Trivia: Lorne Greene co-directed and performed in "The Secret" by Ramon Sender, presented at the Festival by the Queen's University Dramatic Guild.

After taking place at the Little Theatre for its first five editions, in 1938 the Dominion Drama Festival began moving to a different city each year. It was hosted in Winnipeg in 1938 and in London in 1939, but was then suspended during World War II. It was revived in 1947 and returned to Ottawa in 1948.

Cast

Production Team