Kate Hennig News

The Grand Theatre has announced its 2020/2021 Season. Running from September 2020 to May 2021, it is a season that includes a grand re-opening of refreshed and updated lobby spaces, performances in ten venues that span both our city and the country, partnerships with Neptune Theatre and Shaw Festival, and the return of a record-breaking, made-in-London production. It will be a season of what Artistic Director Dennis Garnhum describes as a?oea highly-eclectic journey to unexpected and unexplored territory. The Grand will be in ten different venues across the country. You will see us in places you would never expecta?"from a circus tent, to a coffee shop, from intimate studio theatres, to the largest national stagesa?"it is a season of bold and exciting theatre that we are proud to present.a??

The Stratford Festival is seeing number of recent productions moving on to theatres across the country, where they are being received with great enthusiasm.

England's first female regent is often forgotten and relatively unknown, but in Soulpepper's remount of MOTHER'S DAUGHTER, Queen Mary gets her moment in the sun - whether she wants it or not.

A frothy holiday confection playing out in Hollywood inspired Technicolor-come-to-life is the best way to describe the Shaw Festival's jubilant production of Irving Berlin's HOLIDAY INN now onstage at their Festival Theatre. Based on the 1942 movie of the same name starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire, HOLIDAY INN has been overshadowed a bit by the later Berlin hit WHITE CHRISTMAS. But thanks to some crackerjack casting and a huge budget, The Shaw has breathed new life into the 2014 stage version written by Gordon Greenberg and Chad Hodge.

Just in time to kick-off the festive season, Irving Berlin's Holiday Inn begins previews November 16 on The Shaw's Festival Theatre stage. Directed by Associate Artistic Director Kate Hennig, this fresh take on the 1942 award-winning film features some of Irving Berlin's best-loved songs under the music direction of Paul Sportelli and with choreography by Allison Plamondon. Holiday Inn, along with The Shaw's evergreen sell-out A Christmas Carol, are just two of the highlights celebrating the spirit of the season in picturesque Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Alberta Theatre Projects has opened their 2019/2020 season with a hilarious comedy that reminds us: we don't always have to like our family even if we love them. Written by Kristen Thomson (I, Claudia) and directed by Darcy Evans, The Wedding Party is one not to be missed.

Director Rob Lufty and his talented cast of THE VIRGIN TRIAL have brought an intriguing British set drama straight to the Cygnet Theatre stage through October 6th.

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.

Cygnet presents the racy political thriller The Virgin Trial, a contemporary re-imagining of the shocking yet widely-forgotten story of Elizabeth I before she became queen. Directed by Rob Lutfy, this U.S. Premiere runs September 11 through October 6, 2019. Opening Night for media is Saturday, September 14 at 8:00PM.

Ensemble Theatre will stage the Australian Premiere of Kate Hennig's THE LAST WIFE opening 30 August, which takes a fresh look at this stunning historical drama examining the dangerous sparring between King Henry VIII and his last wife, Katherine Parr, during a very complex and bloody time in English history.

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.

MOTHER'S DAUGHTER, the third and final installment of playwright Kate Hennig's 'Queenmaker Trilogy' had its world premiere at the Stratford Festival's Studio Theatre Friday night. The play follows the reign of Mary I Queen of England and like the two previous instalments, it is reimagined (or perhaps 'restored') to be told from the perspective of the women at the centre of the story. Directed by Alan Dilworth, this production provides a fitting end to the intimate story of tradition, family, faith, imperfection and sisterhood that audiences first became immersed in 4 years ago.

The Stratford Festival of Ontario may be known first and foremost for mounting productions of Shakespeare's plays, but there are certain plays by the bard that only seem to come around once in a while. For example, HENRY VIII, a play written by William Shakespeare and John Fletcher, has only been performed three other times in the history of the Stratford Festival--the last one being in 2004. This season, director Martha Henry has created a production of this play that feels relevant and exciting. Stunning performances by Jonathan Goad and Irene Poole elevate it event further.

At a press conference held May 28 in the Davies Takacs Lobby of the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre Centre, the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA) announced 282 nominations for the 40th Anniversary Dora Mavor Moore Awards, which recognize excellence in professional theatre, dance and opera in Toronto. On Tuesday, June 25 at the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, 49 Dora Mavor Moore Awards, the Silver Ticket Award and the Jon Kaplan Audience Choice Award will be presented.

Earlier this evening at the opening celebration of Brigadoon, Shaw Festival Executive Director Tim Jennings announced a three-year commitment from the RBC Foundation for the ongoing support of the Shaw Festival's Emerging Artists Program. Supporting the Festival since 1972, the RBC Foundation continues their long-time partnership with The Shaw with a multi-year pledge of $250,000 in funding. This renewed commitment will provide support to approximately 21 emerging Shaw Festival artists through the 2021 season.

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.

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.

Mirvish and Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre's production of A DOLL'S HOUSE PART 2 does for theatre what is usually reserved for blockbusters and novels - it provides a sequel, many years down the road, to one of Henrik Ibsen's more controversial works (A Doll's House). Written more than a hundred years after the original play's debut, Lucas Hnath has composed a script that investigates what Nora, the wife and mother who left her family, has been up to since her prompt departure. While the cast and creative team navigate the fine line between humour and solemnity the show requires well, there are moments where it seems like something's missing from the narrative.

David Mirvish in a co-production with the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre presents A DOLL'S HOUSE, PART 2 by Lucas Hnath. Starring four outstanding Canadian actors and directed by Krista Jackson, this brilliant and audacious play is performed March 23 to April 14, 2019 at Toronto's CAA Theatre as part of the Off-Mirvish Season. 

I made the mistake of seeing this play on Valentine's Day (it just worked out that way) and perhaps that influenced my expectations away from the actual promise of what this production was going to deliver.