Jillian Keiley

Jillian Keiley is an Artistic Director, director and educator who has worked extensively across Canada and internationally. She began her career as the Associate Artistic Director at the Resource Centre for the Arts in St. John’s, Newfoundland, was the founding Artistic Director of Artistic Fraud of Newfoundland, and remains an Associate of the company alongside current Artistic Director Robert Chafe.

At Artistic Fraud, Jillian helmed acclaimed productions such as In Your Dreams Freud, Under Wraps, Afterimage, The Cheat, The Chekhov Variations, Salvage: The Story of a House, Oil and Water, Between Breaths, The Colony of Unrequited Dreams, and I Forgive You, most of which toured national

In 2012, she became the Artistic Director of English Theatre at the National Arts Centre (NAC) in Ottawa, a role she held until 2022. Her highlights at the NAC include Tartuffe by Andy Jones, A Christmas Carol, Twelfth Night (in collaboration with the Old Trout Puppet Workshop), Metamorphoses, and Copenhagen.

Jillian’s versatility as a director extends past plays to opera, musicals, children’s theatre, large-scale experiential installations, ceremonies and awards shows. For the Stratford Festival she directed Anne Carson’s Bakkhai, The Diary of Anne Frank, As You Like It, The Neverending Story, a radical adaptation of Richard II by Brad Fraser, and Alice Through the Looking Glass. Her production of Alice toured across Canada, incorporating local casts in Ottawa, Edmonton, Charlottetown, Stratford, and Winnipeg.

Her collaboration with playwright Robert Chafe on Tempting Providence for Theatre Newfoundland Labrador toured nationally and internationally for 13 years. More recently, Jillian directed Tell Tale Harbour for the Charlottetown Festival and became the Artistic Director of You Are Here Inc., a company dedicated to producing an all-new production of Come From Away set in Gander, Newfoundland. Both productions were among Canada’s top-selling shows the year they were first produced.  This summer Jillian remounted Come From Away in Gander in its third year, and she was the show director for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Canada Games.  She was the director of the highest selling show in the history of the Charlottetown Festival (Telltale Harbour) and The Globe Theatre in Regina (Frozen) 

For the 2025-2026 season she created work for Theatre Calgary/Vancouver Arts Club, The Globe Theatre, Resource Centre for the Arts, Vancouver’s Firehall Theatre, Perchance, Tarragon Theatre, and Artistic Fraud of Newfoundland. She will lead the fourth iteration of Come From Away in Gander.  Internationally, Jillian has directed productions in Italy, Australia, and Ireland. She also regularly teaches and mentors emerging artists, including ongoing engagements with The National Theatre School of Canada in Montreal.

Her contributions have earned her numerous accolades, including the Canada Council John Hirsch Prize, the 2004 Siminovitch Prize for Directing, and honorary doctorates from Memorial University and York University. 

Last Updated August 2026