playwright

One of NOW Magazine’s TOP TEN THEATRE ARTISTS OF 2007
“There’s a flood of human warmth and compassion in anything Tara Beagan creates. In Quilchena, the simple, moving tale of a murdered native girl who relives her last hours on earth, she used expressive imagery to paint a consciousness that moves from innocence to experience. As head writer, co-director and performer in the collectively created The Fort at York, Beagan helped shape a site-specific journey through time and space, connecting today’s audiences with characters who fought at Fort York in 1813. If you want theatre with heart, Beagan’s a sure bet.”
-issue December 27, 2007

free as injuns
most reviewers hated this show. most Indigenous audience members were moved and inspired.
“What the play offers as an emotional commentary is invaluable to our Canadian repertoire at this moment in time.  The scenes flipping between extreme sensuality and unrelated humour were particularly ingenious.”
-Tiffany Budhyanto, Mooney on Theatre

“It is a wonderful work and an important work!”
-Monique Mojica, Theatre Artist

MISS JULIE: SHEH’MAH
Named one of Ten Best Productions of 2008 by Kelly Nestruck and Paula Citron for the Globe and Mail.
“In Miss Julie: Sheh’mah, playwright Tara Beagan has crafted a remarkable adaptation of August Strindberg’s lust-filled, 1888 ground-breaking naturalistic play.”… “Don’t miss this stunning and provocative reworking of Strindberg’s harrowing play”
– Classical 96.3 FM, Paula Citron

“I have seen Miss Julie done by the top classical companies in Britain and
Canada, in productions that were technically superior to this one; none of them held my attention as this one did.”
– The National Post, November19 2008, Robert Cushman

“Miss Julie: Sheh’Mah, Kick’s premiere production, packs an emotional wallop. The sexual aspect of the play is blatantly explored, as is the violent passion of each character that simmers beneath the surface, later exploding into the open”
– New Theatre Review, December 19, 2008, Catherine Kustanczy

DREARY AND IZZY
“Dreary & Izzy is a masterful play evoking a bygone era with today’s issues.”
-Shannon McArthur, The Daily News, Kamloops

“…the latest offering from director and playwright Tara Beagan is, at its core, surprisingly sweet and funny. It’s a script that trusts its audience.”-Andrea Klassen, Kamloops This Week

“If you want to see how a gifted playwright stages strong emotions, you can find no better example than Dreary And Izzy, Tara Beagan’s heartfelt look at a family affected by fetal alcohol damage.
Beagan follows up the success of the Dora-winning Thy Neighbour’s Wife with another powerful piece
of writing, capturing real feelings with remarkable brevity.
Bookending the show are a pair of masterful monologues.”
~NOW Magazine, December 8, 2005. Jon Kaplan

“A droll and engaging story… the second act is completely unpredictable. Dreary and Izzy is
a thought-provoking exploration of family dynamics, sexuality and faith. By the end of the play, the laughter had been replaced by tears.”
-Toronto Star, December 2, 2005. Ashante Infantry

QUILCHENA
Beagan and Washburn (actor/collaborator for the show) named as a duo in “Ten Artists to Watch” in NOW magazine, August 2, 2007.
“…striking production. Tara Beagan’s simple, moving script quickly brings the audience into the show.”
-NOW magazine, August 9 2007, Jon Kaplan

THY NEIGHBOUR’S WIFE
“…strong cast, imaginative direction and staging, and a really good, well-written story…”
-Calgary Herald, May 19, 2007. Bob Clark

“A production with solid, dimensional female characters… Beagan, who has already provided the sparkling script, gives her narrator a life and vitality that invigorates an already perfectly written character… Following her, not only do we have no problems understanding the tale, but we easily connect to it and enjoy its depth.”
-Calgary’s FFWD, May 24, 2007 . James Dangerous

“The author puts forward a powerful feminist reading of the material, but the show’s striking theatricality makes the piece far more than a lesson in gender issues…

The impressive writing has a poetic quality, especially in its early scenes, and a touch of choral work that never steps into pretentiousness…

Beagan is especially memorable as the talkative, philosophizing Aisling, who as a servant sees more than she reveals and ends up being, on several levels, Jennie Hawkes’ protector and friend. The actor/writer creates a warm, open and winning woman who anchors the play’s narrative and emotions… An auspicious production, full of dramatic magic.”
-NOW Magazine, June 17 2004. Jon Kaplan

“Don’t let the words “historical drama” deter you; Tara Beagan’s incisive and witty play is neither staid nor stuffy.

The performances are seamless and the pacing is tight, the whole narrated in the Irish lilt of Jennie’s maid, played by Beagan, whose stage presence is as engaging as her writing.”
-eye Magazine, June 17, 2004. Jennifer Besner

from Toronto Life piece about Theatrefront’s The Mill. Photo by Norman WongHannah Moscovitch, Damien Atkins, TB and Matt MacFadzean