Lebeau, Suzanne (Canada)

Suzanne Lebeau by François-Xavier GaudreaultSuzanne Lebeau first intended to make a career as an actress. But after founding Le Carrousel with Gervais Gaudreault in 1975, she gradually left acting to devote herself exclusively to writing. Today, she has 25 original plays, three adaptations, and a number of translations to her credit and is internationally recognized as a leader in playwriting for young audiences. She is among the most-performed Quebec playwrights in the world, with more than 130 productions of her works on four continents. Her plays have been published in many countries and translated into 18 languages; Une lune entre deux maisons, the first Canadian play written specifically for young children, L’Ogrelet, and Le bruit des os qui craquent, have been translated, respectively, into six, nine, and four languages.

Suzanne Lebeau’s exceptional contribution to the flourishing of theatre for young audiences has earned her numerous awards and distinctions, including the Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama in 2009; the Prix Sony Labou Tansi des lycéens in 2009; and Prix des Journées de Lyon des auteurs de théâtre in 2007 for Le bruit des os qui craquent, a play premièred by Le Carrousel and Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui in 2009 and staged in 2010 by the Comédie-Française. In 1998, the Assemblée internationale des parlementaires de langue française made her a Knight of the Order of the Pleiades for her body of work, and in 2010 the Government of Quebec awarded her the Prix Athanase-David, the most prestigious career recognition for Quebec authors. Finally, she taught writing for young audiences at the National Theatre School of Canada for 13 years and acts as a consultant for young authors in Canada and other countries, contributing to the emergence of new written works.