Elliott Hayes was born in Stratford, Ontario to a theatrical family, the grandson of classical actor George Hayes and the son of John Sullivan Hayes, one of the original company members of the Stratford Festival.
He worked on stage at the Crest Theatre, Stratford Shakespeare Festival, St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts and Guthrie Theater in the 1960s through 1980s before moving to television and film.
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Semple's stage work included performances with the Alberta Theatre Projects, Canadian Stage Company, Manitoba Theatre Centre, Shaw Festival, Stratford Shakespeare Festival, Tarragon Theatre and Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company.
He is an actor, director, producer, teacher, and arts educator who has directed many contemporary and Shakespearean plays and taught master classes for The Stratford Festival, the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival and Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London.
With book writer Brian Hill, Neil is currently developing Not Wanted On The Voyage (which is being workshopped as part of Northwestern University’s AMTP project under the direction of Amanda Dehnert) and Clara’s Piano (workshopped in July 2008 by the Stratford Shakespeare Festival with director and conceiver Susan H. Schulman).