Antoni Cimolino News

On Wednesday evening, a powerful and complex exploration of identity, generational trauma, and spirituality opened at the Stratford Festival's Studio Theatre. The English language premiere of Wajdi Mouawad's BIRDS OF A KIND (English Translation by Linda Gaboriau) provokes thought and emotion and is a great companion to NATHAN THE WISE, which opened at the same theatre earlier in the season and despite being very different tonally, shares many themes. Directed by Festival Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino, BIRDS OF A KIND begins as a story of two almost unknowingly star crossed lovers and morphs into a tale about members of a family each struggling to honour their perceived identities and religions in their own ways.

The Stratford Festival's newest films are coming to CBC and CBC Gem. Shakespeare's Coriolanus will air on August 25 and The Tempest on September 15, at which time they will also be available on the free CBC Gem streaming series. 

Colm Feore will utter the first words on the Stratford Festival's newest stage, an echo of the inaugural performance in 1953, when Alec Guinness's opening speech in Richard III anticipated the a?oeglorious summera?? that was to come for Stratford. Feore, an internationally acclaimed stage and screen actor, is just one of a diverse company of accomplished actors who will present a repertory season of 15 productions in four remarkable theatres.

Guild Festival Theatre (GFT) is delighted to announce the appointment of Helen Juvonen and Tyler J. Seguin as Co-Artistic Directors of the company. The announcement was made on Saturday night prior to the closing night performance of the GFT's eighth season.

As the Stratford Festival expands the activities of its Laboratory for the exploration of new work and theatre craft, it is excited to introduce an award for theatre-makers at this year's SummerWorks Performance Festival, one of Canada's most important platforms for launching new works.

 Previews begin today for The Crucible, Arthur Miller's haunting dramatization of the Salem witch trials. Directed by Festival veteran Jonathan Goad, the production opens on Friday, August 16, at the Avon Theatre, marking the 12th and final production in the Festival's 67th season, which runs until November 10.

Birds of a Kind, Wajdi Mouawad's award-winning play about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, is now in previews before its official English-language première on Wednesday, August 14, at the Festival's Studio Theatre. This gripping production is directed by Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino who brought the book that inspired the play to Mouawad.

The Front Page, one of the great satires about the world of journalism, hits the stage in Stratford today, under the direction of Festival veteran Graham Abbey. Written by former Chicago reporters Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, and newly adapted by Canadian playwright Michael Healey, this comedy-drama is now in previews at the Festival Theatre and will officially open on Thursday, August 15.

The Stratford Festival is celebrating a major milestone in its Spirit of the Tent Campaign for the new Tom Patterson Theatre Centre with a remarkable $5-million gift from Kelly and Michael Meighen and the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation. In recognition of this gift, the Stratford Festival Forum, which will have a dedicated space in the new theatre centre, will be renamed The Meighen Forum.

Opening week at the Stratford Festival came to a close on Saturday evening with director Antoni Cimolino's production of Shakespeare's THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR. Reimagined to take place in the early 1950's, this production is outrageously funny, with charming and distinctive performances by all involved.

The Stratford Festival celebrated a crowning moment at the new Tom Patterson Theatre Centre on Wednesday. Major donors, Board members and government officials gathered together for the first time in the new facility for a "topping off ceremony" - the placement of the final beam that will support the roof over the new auditorium.

Business / Arts, a national charity that shows the power in partnership between business and arts to strengthen Canada's arts sector, is thrilled to announce Antoni Cimolino C.M. as this year's recipient of the Peter Herrndorf Arts Leadership Award.

Nathan the Wise, the rarely seen masterpiece of the eighteenth-century German Enlightenment, hits the stage in Stratford this weekend. Directed by Birgit Schreyer Duarte, and starring Diane Flacks in the title role, the production begins previews on Saturday, May 25, at the Studio Theatre, followed by its official opening performance on June 15.

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

Mother's Daughter, the highly anticipated final instalment of Kate Hennig's Queenmaker Trilogy, is now on stage at the Studio Theatre. The production officially opens on Friday, June 14.

The beloved adventure tale The Neverending Story comes to life in Jillian Keiley's eye-popping production filled with spectacle and wondrous other-worldly creatures. Previews are underway at the Avon Theatre and the production officially opens on Saturday, June 15.

Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino brings Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor close to home with a joyous production set in a small town not unlike Stratford, Ontario, in 1953, the year the Festival began.

Henry VIII, Shakespeare's thrilling drama about a pivotal moment in history, is now in previews at the Studio Theatre. The production officially opens on Wednesday, May 29, and early demand for tickets has led to an extended run until October 20.

The Stratford Festival has announced that Chilina Kennedy will headline a musical Forum Showcase on November 4 at Stratford's Avon Theatre. Tickets are now on sale for Chilina Kennedy in The House of Martin Guerre in Concert.

Director Nigel Shawn Williams brings Shakespeare's Othello firmly into the here and now with a gripping contemporary production that will officially open the Stratford Festival's 2019 season on Monday, May 27. Previews begin today at the Festival Theatre.