Trow Avenue

John Sullivan Hayes, executive producer, author

John Sullivan Hayes was intimately connected with the Stratford Festival for 40-plus years, beginning with its inaugural season, 1953.  

He was born in London, England, on Sept. 1, 1919, to British stage and screen actor George Hayes and Canadian sculptress Margaret Scobie.

Following in his father’s footsteps, John pursued a career as an actor, stage manager and theatrical producer in England, the United States and Canada.

In 1953, Tyrone Guthrie invited him to help launch the Stratford Shakespearean Festival in Stratford, Ont. He and his wife, JoAnn (Elliott), moved from her family’s ranch in Texas to Canada, where they both worked at the Stratford Festival in its first season. From that date forward John was instrumental in planning and organizing 27 consecutive seasons. The Hayes family lived at 13 Trow Ave.

After he tried to retire in 1979, he was asked to return to help the theatre so often that his retirement became merely a six-month sabbatical. Without his astute behind-the-scenes negotiations, the Stratford Festival might not have survived its early years. A member of the Festival Theatre board from 1983 until his death on July 5, 1993, John contributed to the Stratford Festival for four decades.

Originally named in his honour, the John Sullivan Hayes Program for Theatre Training is now called the Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. John Hayes was also a passionate collector of children’s literature. His superb collection of 6,000 antiquarian children’s books was donated by his children to the Osborne and Lillian H. Smith Collection in the Toronto Public Library. John died in 1993.    Source: Amazon Bio

John Hayes wrote " The Stratford Adventure of Adrian and Tiddlewinks"  

*  Click on picture to hear a sample  

His book follows the adventures of a shy boy, Adrian, and an amazingly brave mouse, Tiddlywinks, as they aspire to be actors on the stage of the Stratford Shakespearean Festival of Canada. John, a member of the original company at the Stratford Festival, uses the names and personalities of original directors, actors, and designers to create his colorful characters. This skillfully written children's chapter book teaches the young reader about what actually happens behind the scenes backstage in every theatre.

Alycin Hayes was his daughter and Elliott Hayes his son. See below.

Alycin Hayes, Author, Producer 

Alycin Hayes is a writer of poetry and prose, an actress, filmmaker, producer, singer, songwriter and wildlife conservationist. She is the creative director of Echo Hill Productions.

She grew up backstage at the Stratford Festival. Duke Ellington introduced her to music on her family's piano when she was three years old. Glen Gould played piano for her at the Hayes home when she was five. Ravi Shankar dropped by for tea with his sitar to share his insights on Indian music. She wrote a handbook on Gourd Music and has designed instruments for The Thai Elephant Orchestra's Elephants, for their third CD, Water Music. 

She is producer and co-director of the award-winning short film, Wild Florida's Vanishing Call, which won best local film at the Cinema Verde International Environmental Film and Art Festival in 2020. She is also the singer/songwriter and co-composer of the film's soundtrack.

Elliott Hayes, playwright

Elliott Hayes was a playwright born in Stratford, Ont., on June 22, 1956. He died at age 37 in a car accident on Feb. 22, 1994, in Fairview, Ont. He lived at 13 Trow Ave. during his childhood. The Hayes house is second from the right in the above coloured postcard photo. 

He was born into a theatrical family, the grandson of classical actor George Hayes, the son of John Sullivan Hayes (see above), one of the original company members of the Stratford Festival, who also was instrumental in the planning and organization of 27 consecutive Festival seasons. 

The Stratford Festival of Canada Conservatory was an outgrowth of the John Sullivan Hayes Program for Theatre Training, which was named in his honour. Elliott's mother, JoAnn (Elliott) Hayes, was instrumental in saving Stratford's historic city hall and was a founding member of Gallery Stratford. 

Hayes was surrounded in his childhood by the likes of Duke Ellington, Ravi Shankar and Robertson Davies, all friends of his family.

A graduate of the Old Vic Theatre School (Bristol, England) Elliott worked in Hollywood for several years. He returned to Canada in 1981 and served as the Stratford Festival's literary manager, dramaturge and occasional lyricist and assistant director, until his death. The Elliott Hayes Award, a prize in dramaturgy given by the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas, was created in his honour.

His career was brief but produced several important works, including short stories, novels, poems and plays, the most notable being Homeward Bound, which has been presented with resounding success across the country, after premiering at Stratford in 1991. It is a tribute to his parents, both of whom died in 1993. Further information about Elliott Hayes and his family can be found at Echo Hill Productions Echo Hill Productions-Home 

Other plays include: Blake (with music by Loreena McKennitt(see Wellington Street), 1983), Happily Ever After (Solar Stage, 1993), Hard Hearts (Oldcastle Theatre, Bennington, Vermont, 1993), Life on Mars (Solar Stage, 1993), World of Wonders (adapted from Robertson Davies, Stratford, directed by Richard Rose, 1992.

Source: Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia  and Bios - Echo Hill Productions  Material compiled by Gord Conroy