Rachel Blair is a Dora-nominated playwright and performer based in Toronto. Her work focuses on feminism, masculinity, and gender politics.

Rachel studied playwriting in York University’s theatre program. She holds a Masters in Performance from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama; while in London she performed work at the Shunt Vaults, Proud Camden, and Old Vic Tunnels.

Her play A Man Walks Into a Bar was a runaway hit at the Toronto Fringe Festival, continuing on to the Best of Festival. It was remounted to sell-out runs at the Next Stage Theatre Festival and the Undercurrents Festival in Ottawa, where it broke the box office record. Recognized by The Globe and Mail as a ‘Favourite Cultural Moment of 2015’, A Man Walks Into a Bar was nominated for Outstanding New Play at the 2016 Dora Awards.

Her first play, Wake, won the Toronto Fringe’s New Play Contest. She has been shortlisted for the Tarragon Theatre RBC Emerging Playwright’s Competition and has developed work through Tarragon Theatre’s Playwright’s Unit and the Banff Centre’s Playwright’s Lab. She is currently developing her next play, Ladies, at Factory Theatre in Toronto.

Rachel also works with students, having created two original devised pieces for the University of Toronto Mississauga/Sheridan joint acting program.