Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter
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A theatre icon who championed others
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It came as a profound shock last week to hear of playwright Ian Ross’s death.
It’s always startling when a well-known member of the community dies, especially at such a young age, but it felt especially unexpected, as I’d just seen Ross the previous week at the Tom Hendry Warehouse for the opening of A Number.
And I was honestly taken aback to learn he was just 57. The affable creator of the popular CBC radio character Joe From Winnipeg had always seemed much older than me, mostly because he won the Governor General’s Award for his debut play, fareWel, in 1997, when I was still farting around, trying to figure out what to do with my life.
I worked with him just once, when he reviewed Frances Koncan’s Women of the Fur Trade for the Free Press in 2020, but his reputation was such that I felt I knew him.
The tributes came fast and furious on social media — including one from Premier Wab Kinew, who recalled on Instagram that Ross nominated him to be the NDP candidate for Fort Rouge.
“He was literally the reason it was possible for me to run and become an MLA, which made it possible for me to become party leader, which eventually made it possible for me to become Premier,” Kinew wrote.
Manitoba playwright Ian Ross has died at 57. (Daniel Crump / Free Press files)
What’s notable about most of the remembrances is that, while obviously mentioning his many professional successes, they also stress the indelible mark he made through his teaching and mentoring, the way he supported people not just in their artistic endeavours but as a friend.
Last Thursday, while hosting the Julian Taylor show at the Park Theatre, NCI’s Dave McLeod asked the audience to take a moment to remember his friend Ross, mentioning that his loss would be keenly felt by the many people he supported and championed over the years.
McLeod had personal experience with that support, writing on Facbook: “Ian was a major factor and mentor in my play Elevate that was staged at the Manitoba Theatre Centre. I will forever be in thanks for his guidance and challenging questions that pushed my mind and connection to the humility of a character.”
In 2020, Ross began leading Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre’s Pimootayowin Creators Circle program, which supports the development of new plays by Indigenous artists. Under his tutelage, several budding local playwrights have seen their plays produced for the first time.
Earlier this year, participant Andrea Friesen told the Free Press, “To be able to sit and learn from Ian Ross was a great honour. He is someone who really cares about the people in the community and helping people become the best that they can be.”
A sacred fire will be held at Oodena Celebration Circle at The Forks on Saturday, Nov. 29, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. to remember Ross. Donations of wood are appreciated.
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Jill Wilson
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RECOMMENDED
I usually use the end of this newsletter to rave about something I’m watching or reading. Today, I use this space to implore you NOT to follow my lead and refrain from watching the utter travesty that is Ryan Murphy’s All’s Fair (streaming on Disney+), a drama about an all-female firm of divorce lawyers who only represent women. (It’s feminism, you see, but with elbow-length leather gloves and often wildly inappropriate cleavage.)
I watched the first 10 minutes of Episode 1 with my mouth literally agape. What is Naomi Watts thinking? Are capes in style? Is Kim Kardashian able to move her face muscles in any way? Do lawyers really expose so much skin during depositions? WHY IS EVERYONE WEARING ELBOW-LENGTH LEATHER GLOVES?
And then, I hesitate to admit, I kept watching. Long enough to see Broadway star Steven Pasquale pop up, along with Jennifer Jason Leigh, Rick Springfield, Michael Nouri. Did Naomi Watts not warn them? Do they have no pride? (Clearly, I do not, as I know I will finish the season.)
What I do recommend unreservedly, however, is the aforementioned A Number at Tom Hendry Warehouse Theatre. The Caryl Churchill two-hander wraps up Saturday afternoon and it’s one of my theatre highlights of 2025 — thoughtful, funny, heartbreaking and profound.
Read Ben Waldman’s preview with one of the play’s actors, as well has his glowing review, and then get tickets on the RMTC’s website. You have two opportunities left to see it: tonight and Saturday afternoon.
Victor Ertmanis and Rodrigo Beilfuss in A Number, which Beilfuss describes as a “psychological thriller about cloning, but really, it’s an intimate chamber piece about parenting, about love and second chances.” (Dylan Hewlett / Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre)
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