Head and shoulders of Henry Woolf, Drama.

Bio/Historical Note: Born to Jewish parents on 20 January 1930 in London, Henry Woolf built a career in theatre, television and film that spanned eight decades. He was educated at Hackney Downs School, where he met Harold Pinter (1930-2008); he and Pinter were friends and collaborators for over 60 years. Woolf earned a BA from the University of London and then pursued a postgraduate course in directing at the University of Bristol, before going to the United States to earn a postgraduate diploma from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. In the process of undertaking his directing course at Bristol, he commissioned and directed Harold Pinter's first play, The Room (1957), in which he also originated the role of Mr. Kidd. In 1978 Woolf moved to Canada to teach drama and work in theatre. At the Vancouver Shakespeare Festival he directed a number of productions, including A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Comedy of Errors. Woolf joined the Department of Drama at the University of Saskatchewan in 1983, serving as head of the department for many years. He received the Master Teacher Award in 1994 and retired in 1997 at the compulsory age of 67. Woolf received an honourary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Saskatchewan in 2001. In 2006 he received the Saskatchewan Centennial Medal in 2006 and the Saskatchewan Order of Merit in 2015. On Woolf’s 90th birthday in 2020, the Department of Drama named the John Mitchell Building’s north studio the Henry Woolf Theatre. A portrait of Woolf in the role of Shylock in Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice hangs outside the theatre. As part of the event, the department announced the creation of the Henry Woolf Bursary in Drama. Woolf died 11 November 2021 in Saskatoon at age 91. Woolf’s adopted home city has honoured him with Woolf Bay, Woolf Bend and Woolf Place in the Brighton neighborhood.