Stir Bedside Table: Vancouver theatre artist Libby Willoughby

Producing Pi Theatre’s upcoming Truth & Lies, Willoughby talks queer epic fantasy, Throne of Glass, and a perfect beach read

Libby Willoughby.

Stir Bedside Table is a column where Stir connects with local artists and creatives to hear about some of their favourite reads.

The reader:

Libby Willoughby

What’s your story?

My name is Libby Willoughby, I’m a Vancouver-based producer and arts administrator, and I am currently the operations manager and associate producer at Pi Theatre. I was born and raised here on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh. I’ve always had a love of stories, hence why my favourite hobby is reading and my profession is theatre. Coming up, I’ll be producing Pi’s final show of our 2022/23 season, Truth & Lies. It’s a collection of four short plays by some amazing Canadian playwrights: Pippa Mackie, Vishesh Abeyratne, Sebastien Archibald, and Lucia Frangione. We’ll be at the Vancouver Opera building [Martha Lou Henley Rehearsal Hall] from June 22 to 25.

What's on your bedside table right now?

Right now I’m reading The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon. It’s a bit of a beast in the best way. I heard good things from my fellow book-loving friends, and it was a pretty easy sell given that it’s a queer epic fantasy. What more could you want?

The book that changed your life?

There’s so many, it’s hard to pick just one. And so I won’t. I’ll say that Sarah J. Maas’s Throne of Glass series has a special place in my heart. It reignited my love of reading, and remains my favourite series ever. There are eight fabulous books that just get better and better, and it’s one of the most expansive, delightful, inspiring, and surprising series I’ve ever read.

Most inspiring biography or autobiography?

I’m a huge fan of Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi, a graphic novel (two of them, actually) about growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. It’s incredibly poignant, especially so with the current revolution taking place.

Best beach-read?

Give me a short, simple, cheesy contemporary romance and I’ll have no complaints.

Working title of your autobiography?

Snow White and the Seven To-Do Lists.

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