TNB Director Walter Learning Has Died

The theatre community is mourning the loss of a well-known director, actor and playwright.

Walter Learning passed away in Fredericton on Sunday at the age of 81.

Learning founded Theatre New Brunswick — Canada’s only full-time touring regional theatre — in 1968.

“There are no words to express the admiration and gratitude we all share for Walter and his work,” wrote Theatre New Brunswick in a Facebook post Monday.

“He was an amazing man and a tireless supporter of theatre here in New Brunswick and across the country.”

Born in Newfoundland, Learning served as artistic director of TNB from 1968 to 1978, and executive director from 1995 to 1999.

In the years between, Learning was head of theatre at the Canada Council for the Arts in Ottawa, and artistic director of the Vancouver Playhouse and P.E.I.’s Charlottetown Festival.

He collaborated with the late poet Alden Nowlan, with whom he wrote plays including The Dollar Woman, Frankenstein: The Man Who Became God, and The Incredible Murder of Cardinal Tosca.

Learning received the Order of New Brunswick in 2018 “for his achievements in the performing arts and for his contributions to the theatre community and industry in New Brunswick.

In 2019, he became a member of the Order of Canada for cultivating “excellence in theatre across Canada.”