John Orrell  (1934 - 2003)

Born in Kent, England, John Orrell received a PhD in English from the University of Toronto, and began teaching at the University of Alberta in 1961. A prolific author, he wrote several books, including: The Quest for Shakespeare’s Globe, The Theatres of Inigo Jones and John Webb, The Human Stage: English Theatre Design 1567–1640, and co-authored with Andrew Gurr, Rebuilding Shakespeare’s Globe. In addition to teaching and writing, Orrell worked as the advisor to the architect who reconstructed Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London. After his death in 2003, Orrell was posthumously given the Sam Wanamaker Award, and was named as one of the 100 most influential Edmontonians of the century. His book on the Edmonton theatre scene, Fallen Empires , was first published in 1981, then again in April 2007