John Stead News

Experience the gripping courtroom drama as Agatha Christie's WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION takes the stage at The Shaw Festival.

The Shaw Festival's holiday shows, including Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol, are set to light up the season starting on November 5. Don't miss out on the festive playbill!

Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol, the Shaw Festival's perennial production (and audience favourite), kicks off the holiday theatre season on November 5 at the Royal George Theatre. The seasonal celebrations continue when Lerner and Loewe's timeless musical Brigadoon conjures more magic and enchantment at the Festival Theatre on November 15.

The Shaw Festival’s 2023 season is continuing with Bernard Shaw’s The Apple Cart and Noël Coward’s Blithe Spirit. Each begin previews on June 13 and June 14, respectively.

Jackie Maxwell returns to the Shaw Festival to direct The Playboy of the Western World – the play that stoked the fires of Irish nationalism and sparked the infamous Dublin “Playboy Riots” of 1907. Previews of J.M. Synge's funny and enthralling masterwork of the Irish Literary Renaissance begins May 25 in the theatre named after The Shaw's former A.D. – the Jackie Maxwell Studio Theatre.

It’s not a tease. Gypsy, the greatest American musical, is finally embarking on its highly anticipated run at The Shaw’s Festival Theatre beginning May 10.

Heed the call and return once again to the magical world of Narnia. Molly Atkinson directs the world premiere of Damien Atkins’s adaptation of C.S. Lewis’s Prince Caspian.

The long-awaited contemporary adaptation of Mahabharata, the four-thousand-year-old Sanskrit epic, begins previews with Mahabharata: Karma (Part 1) on February 28, followed by Mahabharata: Dharma (Part 2) on March 1, at The Shaw’s Festival Theatre.

Artistic Director Tim Carroll has unveiled the Shaw Festival's 2023 casting and creative teams for the Festival Theatre, Royal George Theatre, Jackie Maxwell Studio Theatre, BMO Stage, as well as the newly added Spiegeltent.

Everyone’s favourite lovelorn duellist is returning to the Shaw Festival. The Chris Abraham-directed, Kate Hennig-adapted Cyrano de Bergerac, Edmond Rostand’s tale of unrequited and selfless love, begins previews Sunday, March 20 at the Royal George Theatre.

Artistic Director Tim Carroll has announced casting and creative teams for the Shaw Festival’s 60th anniversary season.

The Shaw Festival's 2021 season continues into fall and winter with the American classic Desire Under the Elms, the beloved Irving Berlin musical Holiday Inn and perennial Yuletide favourite A Christmas Carol.

Chris Abraham directs a new adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac, Edmond Rostand's romantic tale of unrequited and selfless love. Translated from French to English, Associate Artistic Director Kate Hennig's version is presented in prose, yet it thrillingly preserves the poetic beauty of Rostand's original verse. Cyrano de Bergerac begins previews Saturday, July 27 at the Royal George Theatre.

After taking London's West End by storm, comedy thriller The Ladykillers makes its North American premiere under the direction of Artistic Director Tim Carroll. The Shaw Festival's production of Graham Linehan's stage adaptation - based on one of the best-loved British films of all time - begins previews tomorrow at the Festival Theatre.

Tartan, kilts and braw melodies from the beloved romantic classic Lerner and Loewe's Brigadoon brings a wee bit of Scottish delight to The Shaw's Festival Theatre beginning May 5. The season's main stage musical, directed by Glynis Leyshon, with a revised book by Brian Hill; brilliantly brings the windswept wonder and ethereal charm of this enduring tale of love to life. A feast of song and dance, the Shaw Festival production also includes music direction by Paul Sportelli and choreography by Linda Garneau, with fight direction by John Stead.

Previews begin today for the world premiere of Erin Shields's exciting new interpretation of John Milton's Paradise Lost. Directed by Jackie Maxwell, the production opens on August 17, and with three performances added to meet audience demand, it now runs until October 21 at the Studio Theatre.

Previews begin today for Scott Wentworth's production of Julius Caesar, starring Seana McKenna in the title role. The production opens on August 16 at the Festival Theatre.

Craig Hall directs the Canadian premiere of R. Hamilton Wright and David Pichette's new adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic Victorian whodunit The Hound of the Baskervilles. Twist after suspenseful twist will keep audiences on the edge of their seats until the final curtain. Tinged with the familiar Sherlockian wit, this deliciously dark thriller begins previews on August 1 at the Festival Theatre.

Robert Lepage makes a thrilling Stratford Festival debut with Shakespeare's Coriolanus, featuring Andre Sills in the title role. Created in collaboration with Ex Machina, the production begins previews this Saturday, June 9, at the Avon Theatre, and runs until October 20, marking its official opening on June 22.

The Stratford Festival presents the world premiere of Bronte: The World Without, Jordi Mand's engrossing new play about the famous literary sisters, Charlotte, Emily and Anne Bronte. Directed by Vanessa Porteous, and featuring Beryl Bain, Jessica B. Hill and Andrea Rankin, the production begins previews today at the Studio Theatre.