Maurice Podbrey

Maurice Podbrey is a South African-born actor and theater director who built much of his career in Canada. Born in Durban in 1934, he studied at the University of the Witwatersrand and the College of Education, then moved to England and taught school. In 1959 he switched to acting and directing. He briefly served as artistic director of the Chester Playhouse, and in 1967 he moved to Montreal to teach at the National Theatre School of Canada. With Herb Auerbach, he founded a theater company in Montreal's old Stock Exchange building and became artistic director of the new Centaur Theatre. After admiring Athol Fugard in London, in 1975 Podbrey staged People Are Living There at the Centaur, bringing the playwright's work to North America. He led the Centaur until 1997, then returned to South Africa and started Mopo Cultural Trust, a nonprofit for developing South African theater. He was awarded the Order of Canada in 1991.