Allan Stratton

Who is Allan Stratton?

Allan Stratton is a Canadian playwright and novelist.

Born in Stratford, Ontario, Stratton began his professional arts career while he was still in high school, when James Reaney published his play The Rusting Heart in the literary magazine Alphabet. It was broadcast on CBC Radio in 1970. The focus of his early work, however, was acting. While working on an Honours degree in English at Victoria University in the University of Toronto, he performed with the Stratford Festival and the Huron Country Playhouse. After completing his M.A. at The Graduate Centre for the Study of Drama, University of Toronto, he appeared with regional theatres across the country, originating a range of roles in new works by playwrights such as James Reaney, Rex Deverell and Sharon Pollock.

Throughout this period, Stratton continued to write, and in 1977 his first professional stage play, 72 Under the 0, was produced by Christopher Newton at the Vancouver Playhouse. A few years later, he turned to writing full-time, thanks to the success of Nurse Jane Goes to Hawaii, a play that has had over three hundred productions internationally.