Patrick Galligan News

On September 25, 2017, the 2017/2018 Mirvish Subscription Season Launch Event took over the Royal Alexandra Theatre. Subscribers and media guests were privy to some of the great things ahead for this season of top-notch Toronto theatre. Click below to watch highlights from the event!

David Mirvish today announced three new productions to the 2017-18 lineup, a change to one show in the main series and the casting for two locally produced shows in the Off-Mirvish series.

Under the direction of Artistic Director Tim Carroll, Bernard Shaw's charming retelling of the beloved Aesop fable Androcles and the Lion is an interactive spur-of-the-moment theatre experience. The fusing of audience engagement with music and song, along with Shaw's delightful text, creates a distinctly different performance every time. Previews of Androcles and the Lion begin June 6 at the Court House Theatre.

Krista Jackson, former Shaw Festival intern director and Zone 41 Theatre's artistic director, returns to direct Brian Friel's award-winning masterpiece Dancing at Lughnasa. Beginning previews on May 14 at the Royal George Theatre, this production features a quintet of fiercely talented Shaw Festival ensemble members - Fiona Byrne, Diana Donnelly, Claire Jullien, Sarena Parmar (in her Festival debut) and Tara Rosling - as the formidable Mundy sisters.

The Shaw Festival proudly announces casting for Artistic Director Tim Carroll's first season. The Shaw's 2017 ensemble is a mix of new faces and Festival favourites - each actor ready to entertain and excite audiences in this season's 11 productions.

THE DANCE OF DEATH, August Strindberg's groundbreaking play in a new version by renowned Irish playwright Conor McPherson, begins previews on July 13 at the Shaw Festival's Studio Theatre.

The Shaw Festival tackles Thornton Wilder's masterpiece OUR TOWN, directed by Molly Smith. The quiet tale is presented in three acts, following the story of a small town at the turn of the century. A number of years pass between each act, allowing for audiences to delve deeper in the lives - hopeful and tragic of its townspeople. Starring Charlie Gallant, Kate Besworth and Benedict Campbell, this moving production also features Patrick Galligan, Catherine McGregor, Patrick McManus and Jenny L. Wright.

The Shaw Festival's 55th season begins Saturday at 2 p.m. with the first preview of Thornton Wilder's beloved play Our Town. Molly Smith, artistic director of Washington, D.C's Tony award-winning Arena Stage, returns to The Shaw to breathe vivid, new life into this classic piece of theatre - a talent she displayed so brilliantly in her production of My Fair Lady in 2011.

Groundling Theatre Company's inaugural production, a full staging of William Shakespeare's THE WINTER'S TALE, will be presented as part of the Coal Mine Theatre's second season of adventurous theatre, running January 28 - February 20, 2016. One of the most psychologically engaging romances in the English language, this intimate chamber production of THE WINTER'S TALE will be directed by Graham Abbey, founder and artistic director of Groundling Theatre Company.

Groundling Theatre Company's inaugural production, a full staging of William Shakespeare's THE WINTER'S TALE, will be presented as part of the Coal Mine Theatre's second season of adventurous theatre. One of the most psychologically engaging romances in the English language, this intimate chamber production of THE WINTER'S TALE will be directed by Graham Abbey, founder and artistic director of Groundling Theatre Company.

Groundling Theatre Company's inaugural production, a full staging of William Shakespeare's THE WINTER'S TALE, will be presented as part of the Coal Mine Theatre's second season of adventurous theatre, running January 28 - February 20, 2016. One of the most psychologically engaging romances in the English language, this intimate chamber production of THE WINTER'S TALE will be directed by Graham Abbey, founder and artistic director of Groundling Theatre Company.

Artistic Director Jackie Maxwell and the Shaw Festival announce principal casting and the creative teams for the 2016 playbill. The 2016 season features new and core ensemble members and beloved returning artists celebrating Ms. Maxwell's final season and 14-year tenure at The Shaw.

Studio 180 Theatre is delighted to present the work of multi award-winning British playwright Lucy Kirkwood for the first time in North America. NSFW, Kirkwood's acclaimed play from 2012, will be directed by Joel Greenberg and will be performed tonight, November 7 to 30, 2014 at The Theatre Centre.

The Shaw Festival today announced principal casting and creative team details for its 54th season.

Studio 180 Theatre is delighted to present the work of multi award-winning British playwright Lucy Kirkwood for the first time in North America. NSFW, Kirkwood's acclaimed play from 2012, will be directed by Joel Greenberg and will be performed November 7 to 30, 2014 at The Theatre Centre.

Theatre @ York presents a new imagining of Theatre Rusticle's critically-acclaimed The Stronger Variations, inspired by Swedish playwright August Strindberg's 1889 playette, The Stronger. Theatre Rusticle's artistic director Allyson McMackon directs the production, running November 10 to 16 in the Joseph G. Green Studio Theatre at York University.

Theatre @ York presents a sparkling new adaptation of The Knight of the Burning Pestle, a hilarious parody by 17th century playwright Francis Beaumont, re-imagined for contemporary audiences by director Timothy Askew. Lavish period costumes, romance, treachery and sword-fighting lay siege to York University's Joseph G. Green Studio Theatre tonight, January 20 to 26.

Theatre @ York presents a sparkling new adaptation of The Knight of the Burning Pestle, a hilarious parody by 17th century playwright Francis Beaumont, re-imagined for contemporary audiences by director Timothy Askew. Lavish period costumes, romance, treachery and sword-fighting lay siege to York University's Joseph G. Green Studio Theatre January 20 to 26.

For the last decade, the Shaw Festival has been introducing contemporary theatre's most illustrious playwrights into the playbill alongside their classical forebears. Like Bernard Shaw himself, these writers delight in questioning assumptions, subverting expectations and creating compelling theatre that unites head and heart. The 2013 season goes even further with the inclusion of plays by Brian Friel, Tom Stoppard, John Murrell and Adam Guettel.