Photo of Diane Brown

Diane Brown

artistic and Producing director

Ruby Slippers theatre

Diane is a multi-award-winning director and actor and is the Artistic Director of one of Canada’s most successful independent theatre company’s, Ruby Slippers Theatre. She is a recipient of the prestigious Bra D’Or Award, a national award presented by the Playwrights Guild of Canada, in recognition of her years of championing works by under-represented artists.

Under the leadership and curatorial eye of Diane Brown, Ruby Slippers Theatre has commissioned English language translations of provocative Québec works and then produced their premiere productions in Vancouver, fostering cross-cultural exchange, challenges to form and content, independent critical thought, and diversity. These highly acclaimed productions include Benevolence by Fanny Britt, translated by Leanna Brodie, I Lost My Husband and Home Deliveries by Catherine Léger, translated by Leanna Brodie, After Me by Christian Bégin translated by Leanna Brodie, You Will Remember Me by François Archambault translated by Bobby Theodore, Life Savers by Serge Boucher translated by Shelley Tepperman, The Winners by François Archambault translated by Shelley Tepperman, Down Dangerous Passes Road by Michel Marc Bouchard translated by Linda Gaboriau, The Leisure Society by François Archambault, translated by Bobby Theodore. Other celebrated RST productions include Dil Ka by Lee Nisar, Grandma. Gangsta. Guerrilla. by Abi Padilla, The Duchess a.k.a. Wallis Simpson by Linda Griffiths, Communion and A Beautiful View by Daniel MacIvor, Trout Stanley by Claudia Dey, and The List by Jennifer Tremblay. 

For many years Diane Brown and Ruby Slippers Theatre have consistently championed under-represented voices and inclusivity in theatre. As Artistic Director, Diane has an extensive history of showcasing works by female identifying and gender non-conforming artists. An example of this was a program she initiated called The Femmes Fatales Series which ran for ten years and focused on female identifying Canadian artists who create and perform their own work. Some Femme Fatales featured were Denise Clarke, Marie Brassard and Karen Hines.

More recently, in 2015, Diane created and initiated The Advance Theatre Festival, a five-day Festival that workshops and showcases five new plays written and directed by female identifying and gender non-conforming artists who also identify as IBPOC. Many of these works go on to receive further development and a professionally realized premiere production, often with Ruby Slippers Theatre. RST receives over 100 submissions from across Canada annually for this celebrated Festival. Diane and Ruby Slippers Theatre are expanding the series to include more works over a longer period of time and are committed to ensuring that at least one of the Advance Theatre offerings per year receives further development and a full production.

Diane and RST have created seven full-length new Canadian works and toured nationally three times. She and RST have earned the reputation for being Vancouver’s premiere producers of French-Canadian plays in English translation, purveyors of smart social satire that is infectiously entertaining, and champions of DEI focused programming and hiring.

Diane is very active in the Vancouver cultural community. She led Theatre Cares Vancouver for many years, a volunteer organization that raised funds and awareness for people living with HIV/aids, was a member of Studio 58’s Theatre Advisory Committee, the Professional Association of Canadian Theatre’s national Advocacy Committee, and was a founding member and Past President of the See 7 Performing Arts Society. Currently she sits on the Vancouver Civic Theatre’s Advisory Board and the Vancouver Arts and Culture Advisory Committee and is involved with several environmental and social justice initiatives.

Diane earned a BFA in Theatre from Simon Fraser University, and a Master’s Degree in Directing from the University of British Columbia. She lives with her family in Vancouver.

The Duchess aka Wallis Simpson

The Duchess aka Wallis Simpson By Linda Griffiths. Directed by Sarah Rodgers. Featuring Diane Brown, Eileen Barratt, Raugi Yu, Georgia Beatty, Craig Erickson, Joel Garner, Melissa Oei, Kamyar Pazandah, Matt Reznek, Xander Williams. Photographed by Tim Matheson.