Tom Bentley-Fisher’s work as a director has been seen in regional theatres across Canada, including the Citadel in Edmonton, Theatre London, Theatre Direct, and the Stratford Festival. He spent early years directing theatre for youth, sending many bus loads of actors into the cold Canadian winter touring communities across the country, where his work became known for its relevance to social issues. As an artistic director of several theatres in Eastern Canada, Tom became more associated with the classics, where some of his favorite productions include Spring Awakening, by Wedekind, The Threepenny Opera, by Brecht, and La Ronde, by Schnitzler. 

During the mid-eighties Tom began to work almost exclusively on developing and directing new Canadian plays. As Artistic Director of 25th Street Theatre Centre, one of Canada’s flagship companies dedicated to new work, Tom produced or directed close to sixty premiere productions. Playwrights he premiered include Paula Vogel, Connie Gault, and Joanna Glass. During that tenure, Tom was also founder of the Saskatoon International Fringe Festival and initiated much of the new work coming from Canada’s indigenous communities. 

In the nineties Tom returned to Europe when he was the recipient of an Arts Board Grant, enabling him to spend a year working with and observing some of the most innovative theatre companies in Europe and Asia. On his return he began developing work that incorporated less tradition theatrical means and new relationships between the artist and audience.

For the past decade Tom has begun to work more internationally. He has lived and directed in San Francisco, where his favorite productions include The Maids, by Genet, and The Taming of the Shrew, by Shakespeare. 

Presently Tom is the artistic director of Tant per Tant, an international theatre company dedicated to the exchange and production of Canadian and Catalan plays. Most recently he directed the Canadian premiere of Temptation, by Catalan playwright Carles Batle and in 2009 spent five months adapting and directing Iliada, a production based on The Iliad, which was featured at the Grec 09 Festival de Barcelona before touring theatres in the Catalan region of Spain. Upcoming projects include dividing his time between Barcelona, the U.S. and Canada.