Dawn Jani Birley
about her
Dawn Jani Birley is an award-winning actor, translator, and theatre consultant, with a strong background in physical theatre. Known for her versatile acting skills, Birley has taken on a wide range of roles. Among her notable achievements is winning the Toronto Theatre Critics Award for Best Actress in a Play in 2017 for her powerful portrayal of Horatio in Prince Hamlet in Canada. Another highlight of her career was her performance as Sarah in Sanaton Rakkaus (Children of a Lesser God) alongside Santeri Kinnunen in Finland in 2019.
Dawn Jani refined her craft through years of work with acclaimed theatre companies, including Teatteri Totti in Helsinki, Riksteatern Teater Crea in Stockholm, and Teater Manu in Oslo, to name just a few. Birley pursued higher education in London, earning a Master of Arts degree in Physical Theatre with Merit from St. Mary’s University.
Dawn Jani Birley was born in Saskatchewan to a third-generation Deaf family and proudly identifies as culturally and linguistically Deaf. Fluent in multiple languages and gifted with an uncanny talent for storytelling, she founded 1s1 Theatre, a Deaf-led company dedicated to bringing more Deaf-led stories to the stage.
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