Biography

Richard Monette played in small theatre roles, including the British staging of "Oh, Calcutta" in 1967. Achieved great success as a theatre director, becoming first Canadian-born artistic director of the Stratford Festival (Ontario) in 1993. He retired from that role in 2007. He suffered from vascular disease, and was going into hospital for tests when he suffered a pulmonary embolism.
- IMDb mini biography by: Fred Freud

Stopped acting on stage in 1987 for several years due to stage fright

Graduate of Canada's National Theatre School

His Shakespearean directorial debut was The Taming of the Shrew (1988) in Stratford.

He was awarded the C.M. (Member of the Order of Canada) on October 23, 1997 for his services to the performing arts in Canada.

(1994-2007) Artistic Director of Canada's Stratford Festival.

I do theatre for people, so I don't see what's wrong with having a populist touch. You certainly can't do it for a critic -- you don't know what he's eaten for supper and how that's going to affect what he writes. You never do anything for the critics.