Mike Shara

It’s been a strong year for Toronto theatre. I saw 145 shows this year in Toronto and beyond, and am happy to report that theatre is alive and well. I’ve laughed, sobbed, coughed (discreetly into a mask), and cheered my way through our stages in 2023. Here are some local highlights.

The 2023.24 Crow’s Theatre 40th anniversary season kicks off with multi-award-winning playwright Michael Healey’s THE MASTER PLAN, the highly anticipated stage adaptation of the best-selling book Sideways: The City Google Couldn’t Buy.

The Stratford Festival's filmed performance of 1939 will debut for streaming worldwide on Monday, March 13. This powerful new work is a Stratford Festival commission written by Jani Lauzon and Kaitlyn Riordan, directed for the stage by Lauzon and for the screen by Nicholas Shields.

If you live in Stratford, Ontario, you may have heard the buzz around town about a new play at the Stratford Festival’s Studio Theatre. Written by Jani Lauzon and Kaitlyn Riordan, 1939 had its world premiere last week and audiences sprung to their feet to show just how moved they were by this beautiful, powerful, and witty piece of new work.

1939, a Stratford Festival commission written by Jani Lauzon and Kaitlyn Riordan, starts previews at the Studio Theatre on August 23, directed by Lauzon.

Hamlet-911, a brand new play by famed Canadian author Ann-Marie MacDonald, begins previews at the Stratford Festival’s Studio Theatre on Thursday, July 28.

February marks a new beginning at the Stratford Festival with members of the 2022 acting company set to start rehearsals. Over the coming months, these dynamic artists will immerse themselves in 10 extraordinary productions and lead the Festival into the post-pandemic future.

The Stratford Festival is following up on the success of its recent Shakespeare Film Festival with a $10-a-month digital content subscription, Stratfest@Home, offering more Shakespeare and more films, along with new commissions, music, conversation, cooking and comedy.

The Stratford Festival has launched a film festival during this period of social isolation, offering free streaming of 12 Shakespeare productions captured as part of its Stratford Festival On Film series. The series continues with Love's Labour's Lost, May 28-June 18. The festival held a virtual roundtable for the production. Watch the video here!

The Stratford Festival's film series continues with Love's Labour's Lost, streaming now through June 18. Check out the production's watch party!

A king and three friends swear off women to focus on their studies just as a princess and three ladies arrive on a diplomatic mission. This production from Canada's Stratford Festival features Ruby Joy and Mike Shara.

The Stratford Festival has launched a film festival during this period of social isolation. The series continues with Love's Labour's Lost, May 28-June 18. Check out the pre-show!

The Stratford Festival has launched a film festival during this period of social isolation, offering free streaming of 12 Shakespeare productions captured as part of its Stratford Festival On Film series. The series continues with Love's Labour's Lost, May 28-June 18.

Thanks to overwhelming demand, the Stratford Festival's 2020 production of Richard III will be extended for another three weeks, giving theatregoers more opportunities to see Colm Feore bring this iconic role to life in the Festival's brand new Tom Patterson Theatre, which opens this spring after more than two years of construction and fundraising.

After a Members advance sale so busy it prompted the early extension of two productions, tickets for the Stratford Festival's groundbreaking new season go on sale to the public today. The 2020 season is one of the biggest ever and includes the much-anticipated opening of the new Tom Patterson Theatre. With the $100-million fundraising goal a hair's breadth away from completion, the bespoke theatre is one of North America's most significant new arts builds in decades.

With the new Tom Patterson Theatre taking shape on the banks of the Avon River, the Stratford Festival is thrilled to announce key casting as it builds the acting company for its monumental 2020 season.

The Stratford Festival is celebrating the World Premiere of Michael Healey's adaptation of Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur's THE FRONT PAGE at the Festival Theatre. A beloved American satire set in 1920's Chicago, THE FRONT PAGE tells the story of journalists in a courthouse pressroom doing whatever they need to do to get their story while at the same time being the only potential failsafe against political corruption at a time when the seedy Chicago subculture was in full swing. Directed by Graham Abbey, this adaptation is updated to include more diversity among the characters. It is a knee slapping night at the theatre whilst also providing a seemingly timeless commentary about the flaws and biases of the criminal justice system.

BroadwayHD, the premiere streaming service for theater fans, has announced its roster of shows coming in August.

PRIVATE LIVES is one of Noel Coward's greatest works. It is timeless in its humour and with the right cast, it is a delightfully hilarious exploration of all sides of love and passion. The cast assembled in the Stratford Festival's production does justice to Coward's clever use of words and wit, all but guaranteeing the audience a fun night out at the theatre.

The Stratford Festival kicks off its 67th season on Monday with the gala opening of Shakespeare's Othello, followed by five more openings as the week unfolds: Billy Elliot the Musical, Henry VIII, Private Lives, Little Shop of Horrorsand The Merry Wives of Windsor. Artistic