Dora Mavor Moore actress, teacher, director and Theater Pioneer
On my walk through Mt. Pleasant Cemetery in Toronto, carrying a French papier-mâché theatre mask I’d recently purchased from the estate of the late Gordon Pinsent, I came upon the grave of a towering figure in Canadian theatre—Dora Mavor Moore.
Born Dora Maver in Glasgow, Scotland, she immigrated to Toronto in 1894 when her father accepted a position at the University of Toronto. From an early age, Dora’s talent and passion for the arts were undeniable.
Dora at 12 years old.
In 1912, she made history by becoming the first Canadian ever accepted into the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London. She joined the ranks of its storied alumni, which includes Sir John Gielgud, Glenda Jackson, Richard Attenborough, and Anthony Hopkins.
After completing her studies, Dora returned to Canada, married Army Chaplain Francis Moore, and raised three children—including James Mavor Moore, a celebrated writer, producer, and arts advocate in his own right.
James Mavor Moore
Following the Second World War, Dora founded The New Play Society, Toronto’s first professional theatre company, ushering in a new era of Canadian stage performance. She is also credited with encouraging legendary theatre director Tyrone Guthrie to come to Canada—an invitation that would ultimately lead to the founding of the Stratford Festival.
In the basement of the Royal Ontario Museum, there lay a theatre. It was a proscenium arch theatre without windows, wings, or bathrooms, and it measured only 20 feet wide by 15 feet high by 21 feet deep. But Dora Mavor Moore was offered this theatre as a permanent home, and so she formed the New Play Society (NPS) at the age of 58 in 1946.
In 1978, just a year before her death, the Dora Mavor Moore Awards were created in her honour. These awards continue to celebrate excellence in theatre, dance, and opera across Toronto’s vibrant performing arts scene.
A recipient of the Order of Canada and the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal, Dora Mavor Moore passed away on May 15, 1979, at the age of 91.
1888-1979
