Johnna Wright

Johnna Wright has always been drawn to theatre for the chance to tell a story that moves and connects people, both to each other and to the storytellers. The daughter of director John Wright and novelist L.R. “Bunny” Wright, she grew up and began her career in Western Canada. In 1990 she and her sister, actor/producer Katey Wright, were co-founders of Vancouver’s Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival (now Canada’s largest Shakespeare festival outside of Stratford).

Johnna received her BA in Theatre from UBC, and MFA in Directing from the University of Alberta. With collaborator Aaron Bushkowsky, she then co-founded and ran Vancouver’s Solo Collective Theatre, premiering more than 25 new works by Western Canadian playwrights over nine years.

Johnna is a two-time recipient of Vancouver’s Jessie Richardson Awards for both Outstanding Direction and Outstanding Production, as well as other directing awards. Directing projects include Much Ado About Nothing for Bard on the Beach (2025), Sheridan’s The Rivals for Blackbird Theatre in Vancouver, and Tomson Highway’s The (Post) Mistress, with himself as Musical Director, for Gordon Tootoosis Nīkānīwin Theatre.

As a dramaturg, Johnna has supported the development of dozens of new Canadian plays and playwrights. She also works as an editor for writers of long-form fiction and memoir.

The Three Musketeers, Patty and Johnna’s next play after Deceived (originally titled Gaslight), is now in development. Johnna also wrote The Suspect, an adaptation of her mother’s novel of the same name.

After the many complex challenges faced by live performance in recent years, Johnna believes more than ever in the power of theatre to change the way we see the world, and in the need for audiences to have that experience together.