Sad news. Joan Brown passed away on June 18. One of Esca Brooke Daykin’s two surviving grandchildren, Joan was born in Toronto to John Beverley Robinson and Kathleen Brooke-Daykin in 1936. She atended Ryerson, where she met her future husband Ron. After marriage, she moved with him Deep River, where Ron worked at the Atomic Energy Chalk River Labs. They had two children, Leslie and Steven. They all survive Joan, as does her older sister, Shirley Cooke.

Joan was very proud of her grandfather, and had many happy memories of him. She put many of those reminiscences to paper, and some of them have been included in the print edition of Canadian Rajah. I am very grateful for her support and encouragement over the years, as well as her first person accounts of her grandfather. Joan was a woman of humour and insight, with an active, inquiring mind and impressive strength of character. She will be missed.

When illness forced the actor portraying Ranee Ghita Brooke out of the show at the start of production week, Barbara Worthy came riding to the rescue – or at least driving to it… She was up and running within the week, and the show at Campbell House Museum went on…

Esca was an ardent hunter and belonged to a club in eastern Ontario. He was an even more ardent fisherman and was the go-to person for all the best angling spots on Big Rideau Lake.

Canadian Rajah has been published by Scirocco and is available thru bookstores or directly from the publisher – http://www.jgshillingford.com

The new edition includes a forward, afterward and special notes from Esca Brooke Daykin’s granddaughter, Joan Brown.

Photography by Domenico Menicucci & Amanda Duff

On behalf of the Canadian Rajah Collective we wish to extend our deepest gratitude to audience members who attended the World Premiere of Dave Carley’s new play: CANADIAN RAJAH.

Thank you for supporting independent theatre in Toronto, and for your interest in the incredible – and TRUE – story of Esca Brooke.

Please check back to this website often for updates on the future presentations of Dave Carley’s masterpiece production.

Sincerely,

Vince Deiulis – Producer, Canadian Rajah

After nearly twenty years of research, writing, non-writing, avoiding, re-researching, immersing and emerging with a script… finally, the story of Esca Brooke is about to be told.

Welcome to one of the most rewarding projects of my life.

– Dave Carley, Playwright – Canadian Rajah