George Ryga

(1932 - 1987)

Canadian playwright. Born in Deep Creek, Alberta, in July 1932. Married ; has five children. Worked on farms, in construction, and for a radio station in Edmonton. Full-time Writer since 1962. Died in Summerland, British Columbia in 1987.

Stage Works

  1. Indian (televised, 1962; produced Winnipeg, I974)
  2. Nothing But a Man (produced Vancouver, I966).
  3. The Ecstasy of Rita Joe (produced Vancouver, 1967; Washington, D.C., 1973 ; London, 1975).
  4. Grass and Wild Strawberries (produced Vancouver, 1969).
  5. Captives of a Faceless Drummer, music and lyrics by George Ryga (produced Vancouver, 1971).
  6. Sunrise on Sarah, music by George Ryga (produced Banff, 1972).
  7. A Portrait of Angelica (produced Banff, 1973).
  8. A Feast of Thunder, music by Morris Surdin (produced I973).
  9. Paracelsus - 1974.
  10. Twelve Ravens for the Sun, music by Mikis Theodorakis (produced 1975).
  11. Ploughmen of the Glacier (produced Vancouver, I976).
  12. Night Desk (1976)
  13. Seven Hours to Sundown (produced Edmonton, 1976).
  14. Beyond the Crimson Morning (1979)
  15. Prometheus (1982).


Radio Plays :

  • A Touch of Cruelty, 1961
  • Half-Caste, 1962
  • Masks and Shadows, 1963
  • Bread Route, 1963
  • Departures, 1963
  • Ballad for Bill, 1963
  • The Stone Angel, 1965
  • Miners, Gentlemen, and Other Hard Cases series, 1974-75
  • Seasons of a Summer Day, 1975
  • Advocates of Danger series, 1976.

Television Plays

  • Indian, 1962
  • The Storm, 1962
  • Bitter Grass, 1963
  • For Want of Something Better to Do, 1963
  • The Tulip Garden, 1963
  • Two Soldiers, 1963
  • The Pear Tree. 1963
  • Man Alive, 1965
  • The Kamloops Incident, 1965
  • A Carpenter by Trade (documentary), 1967
  • The Manipulators series (2 scripts), 1968
  • The Name of the Game series (1 script), 1969
  • Ninth Summer, 1972
  • The Mountains (documentary), 1973
  • The Ballad of Iwan Lepa (documentary), 1976.

Novels

  • Hungry Hills. Toronto, Longman, 1963; London, Joseph, 1965.
  • Ballad of a Stone-Picker. Toronto, Macmillan, and London, Joseph, 1966.
  • Night Desk. Vancouver, Talonbooks, 1976.

Critical Study

  • Four Canadian Playwrights by Mayor Moore, Toronto, Holt Rinehart, 1973.