an old Canadian play: Marsh Hay

[Shawn Huffman]

The idea of a list, while perhaps helpful in some ways, certainly
provides ammunition for canon critics.  What would be the criteria for
inclusion -- "good" plays worth reviving?  Seems a bit vague...

Secondly I don't know how true it is that a body of criticism is not
built up around Canadian plays.  Canadian drama has carved out a place in
theory and criticism, has journals, forums, conferences.  In terms of
practise, documentation has always been weak, but I think that theatre
companies in general have realized the importance of keeping archives.

When we are speaking about older plays different problems tend to present
themselves.  Archival documents are understandably not readily
available.  More importantly, I think we have to consider the whole
notion of "Canadian theatre" as critics in Canadian literature in general
have done.  The concept of Canadian literature is relatively new --
Northrop Frye writes in the early seventies of having to convince
Canadians that there is such a thing as Canadian literature.  With the
importance placed on the novel, and in the sixties and seventies on
poetry, it would seem that drama has perenially played the role of poor
cousin in the past.  Colonialism.  If something is not valued
artistically a body of criticism does not accrete.  Let me stress that
this point seems valid only for older plays.

That said, and regrets aside, nothing prevents practitioners and
critics/theorist from taking another look at older Canadian drama.

Shawn Huffman