Marcel Dubé

Marcel Dubé (January 3, 1930 – April 7, 2016) was a Canadian playwright. He produced over 300 works for radio, television, and stage. During his career he promoted the preservation and sanctity of the French language in Quebec.

Dubé studied at Collège Sainte-Marie where he first became interested in theatre, frequenting the school's auditorium, the historic Salle du Gésu. He attended Westminster School during his high school years.

Dubé began writing plays as a young man, including Le Barrage which was staged by Theatre-club in 1955. He was soon able to earn his living as a writer. He founded the group Jeune Scène, and at the Dominion Drama Festival in 1953 won several awards with his play, De l'autre côté du mur which later became Zone. The play is still being performed sixty years later. He was also considered a founder of contemporary Quebec dramaturgy.

Over the next five years Radio-Canada presented, on radio and television, over 30 of his works (many of which he later adapted to the stage). He has produced over 300 works for radio, television and the stage. He wrote mainly in French; some of his works have been translated or subtitled in English.

His concerns for the preservation and sanctity of the French language in Quebec and around the world led him to participate in several organizations: He was first secretary, then president, of the Conseil de la langue française, president of the Rencontres francophones du Québec and cofounder and director of the Sécretariat permanent des peuples francophones.

In February 2001, he was named an Officer of the Order of Canada. and in 1993 became an Officer of the Order of Quebec.

Source: Article "Marcel Dubé" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.