William Dumaresq

Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, William Dumaresq (1930-1998) was a playwright, novelist, lyricist, screenwriter, poet and librettist best known for his contributions to theatre and film. His work was often poignant, surrealistic or unconventional. Collaborating with fellow Canadian expatriates, director Joseph Despins and HAIR composer Galt MacDermot, Dumaresq pushed the boundaries of avant-garde stage and screen from the 1960s through the 1980s.

While an undergraduate at the University of British Columbia, Dumaresq won the prestigious Macmillan Company of Canada Creative Writing Award (1954) for his poetry, before going on to earn an MA in English (UBC, 1961). He taught English at both the University of Toronto (1956-57) and the University of Saskatchewan (1958-60). In 1962, he was accepted to University College London for doctoral work, but he was soon sidetracked into London’s theatre scene when he met MacDermot, who by that time had already won a Grammy. Their creative partnership would last more than 25 years.

Using the alter egos Fergus (MacDermot) and Angus (Dumaresq) MacRoy, the duo recorded innovative alternative folk music in the 1960s. Dumaresq’s lyrics are featured in the films Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970), Woman Is Sweeter (1973) and Rhinoceros (1974), all scored by MacDermot. Dumaresq wrote the novel and screenplay for the niche film Duffer (1971) directed by Despins, and the lyrics for Moon Over the Alley (1974) with Despins and MacDermot. In 2010 The British Film Institute released Duffer and Moon Over the Alley on DVD.

Dumaresq also left his mark on musical theatre. In 1970, Isabel’s a Jezebel opened in London’s West End featuring his script and lyrics set to MacDermot’s music. Dumaresq penned a completely sung-through script for the jazz/funk/soul production Take This Bread: ‘A Mass in Our Time’ (1973) and wrote the libretto for The Human Comedy (1984). Based on the novel by William Saroyan and with music by MacDermot, The Human Comedy opened off-Broadway at The Joseph Papp Public Theater in late 1983. It moved to Broadway in April of 1984 and became Dumaresq’s most acclaimed work.

Dumaresq died in London in 1998. His published works include Duffer (1982), The Human Comedy (libretto 1984), Blind (2002) and Strange Journey: An Autobiography in a Future Time (2003). Many unpublished poems, plays, novels and manuscripts remain in private and archival collections.