Herbie Barnes

An Anishinaabe theatre artist from Aundeck Omni Kaning First Nation on Manitoulin Island, Herbie is an accomplished playwright, performer, director and arts educator whose 30-year-career spans stages across North America. Herbie was raised in Toronto and was among the generation of young Indigenous artists in the 1990s breaking down barriers to forge professional careers in Canadian theatre. His theatre career began in 1989 with Debajehmujig Theatre Group, touring Ontario with the first run of Drew Hayden Taylor’s Toronto at Dreamer’s Rock. Since then he has collaborated with some of North America’s most prestigious stages – whether appearing in productions such as Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing (Mirvish – Royal Alexandra Theatre) or collaborating with the Stratford Festival on development workshops. He was nominated for a John Hirsch Director’s Award and his new play, Bentboy, was short-listed for the Sharon Enkin Plays for Young People Award in 2020.

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