Erik Hillar Liitoja (June 18, 1954 – June 2, 2023) was a Canadian playwright and theatre director.[1] He was most noted for his 1993 play The Last Supper,[2] which won the Floyd S. Chalmers Canadian Play Award in 1994[3] and was adapted by Cynthia Roberts into the 1994 feature film The Last Supper.[4]
Hillar Liitoja | |
|---|---|
| Born | Erik Hillar Liitoja June 18, 1954 |
| Died | June 2, 2023 (aged 68) |
| Occupation | Playwright, theatre director |
| Notable works | The Last Supper |
| Notable awards | Floyd S. Chalmers Canadian Play Award (1994) |
Trained as a concert pianist, Liitoja founded his own Toronto, Ontario theatre company, DNA Theatre, in the 1980s.[1] His other plays have included This Is What Happens in Orangeville,[5] The Panel,[6] The Deputation,[1] Sick,[7] Poundemonium,[8] Artaud and His Doubles,[9] Phalanx,[10] Paula and Karl,[1] Wit in Love[1] and I Know and Feel That Fate Is Harsh But I Am So Loathe to Accept This.[1]
Liitoja won several Dora Mavor Moore Awards for Best Direction of a Play in the Small Theatre division, winning in 1989 for a production of Hamlet,[11] in 1991 for Sick,[12] and in 1994 for The Last Supper.[13]
Liitoja died on June 2, 2023, at the age of 68.[14]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f "Liitoja, Hillar". Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia, October 25, 2015.
- ^ H. J. Kirchoff, "Theatre: The Last Supper". The Globe and Mail, October 29, 1993.
- ^ "Four playwrights win 1993 Chalmers awards". Ottawa Citizen, May 10, 1994.
- ^ Kelly, Brendan (September 26, 1994). "The Last Supper". Variety.
- ^ Liam Lacey, "Force of evil unveiled in play about murder". The Globe and Mail, January 31, 1987.
- ^ Ray Conlogue, "Theatre Review: The Panel". The Globe and Mail, November 23, 1990.
- ^ Vit Wagner, "The AIDS sufferer in writer-director Hillar Liitoja's confrontational drama, Sick, does not go gently into that uncertain night". Toronto Star, March 28, 1991.
- ^ Mira Friedlander, "Poundemonium a visual delight". Toronto Star, May 3, 1993.
- ^ Vit Wagner, "Confounding the fence-sitters: Avant-gardist unveils work in spirit of Artaud". Toronto Star, May 23, 1996.
- ^ Vit Wagner, "Theatre shows off its street smarts". Toronto Star, June 17, 1999.
- ^ Robert Crew, "Passe Muraille sweeps up Doras". Toronto Star, June 26, 1989.
- ^ Geoff Chapman, "The Doras gild Lilies as top drama/comedy". Toronto Star, June 18, 1991.
- ^ Vit Wagner, "Dora Awards crazy for Crazy For You". Toronto Star, June 21, 1994.
- ^ "Erik Hillar Liitoja". The Globe & Mail. Retrieved September 9, 2023 – via Legacy.com.
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