Dwayne Brenna

 It was both providence and necessity that created Canada’s and the Commonwealth’s first degree-granting drama department at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. Born out of the University’s Dramatic Society that flourished in the first three decades of the Twentieth Century, the Greystone Theatre emerged to become a force in theatre development and a prominent shaper in the family tree of Canadian theatre. Known for its program range — from classic repertory to cutting-edge new plays — it continues to this day to teach and inspire theatre production, management, artistic direction, and acting. Its history is a fascinating amalgam of anecdote, commentary, and biography that show its contribution to the cultural evolution of Canadian theatre in the last century.

Emrys’ Dream captures the energy that has driven and sustained the Greystone Theatre. Drawing on the well-preserved and substantial visual and written archives at the University of Saskatchewan, and selectively reconstructing interviews of directors, actors, and alumni whose Greystone experience animates the book’s text, actor, writer and present Greystone director, Dwayne Brenna, has forged a lively testament: that Emrys’ Dream is alive and the Greystone Theatre lives on revealing the quiet, steady influence it has had on Canadian theatre.