While governmental support over the past few years has helped companies stay afloat, with rising costs and additional pandemic related support no longer an option, the realities are starting to settle in.
Blueprint Productions is presenting Chekhov + Turgenev, two Russian classics presented in repertory, and scored in jazz: About Love, a musical play with songs, inspired by Ivan Turgenev’s novella, “First Love”; and Three Sisters, a sparkling new adaptation of the play Anton Chekhov. Check out photos here!
The Stratford Festival has announced the official opening of its glorious new Tom Patterson Theatre. After two years of waiting, the ribbon was finally cut this morning, in anticipation of the very first performance on stage, which begins at 2 p.m.
Anticipation has been running high for years and now the time has come to welcome audiences to the next great chapter in Stratford Festival history. The new Tom Patterson Theatre will see its very first public performance on Tuesday, May 10, as Colm Feore takes centre stage as Richard III.
Blueprint Productions presents Chekhov + Turgenev, two Russian classics presented in repertory, and scored in jazz: About Love, a musical play with songs, inspired by Ivan Turgenev’s novella, “First Love”; and Three Sisters, a sparkling new adaptation of the play Anton Chekhov.
The Stratford Festival held its annual general meeting today, reflecting on a season of accomplishments in the midst of the global pandemic, and reporting a surplus of $553,058, thanks to strong support from donors and government.
The Tom Patterson Theatre at the Stratford Festival has won a Civic Trust Award in the United Kingdom. It is the only project from Canada to be recognized in this international awards program.
Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino and Executive Director Anita Gaffney have agreed to stay on as the Stratford Festival’s leadership team at the request of the Board of Governors.
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.
In the past two years, the Stratford Festival has received $400,000 in grants from the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) and the Government of Ontario to help it with off-season operational support and costs associated with making theatrical spaces safer during the COVID-19 pandemic, including new sanitizing materials, upgrades and staff training.
In 2022, the Stratford Festival is coming back big to mark a monumental moment in its history with a full repertory season running from early April to the end of October, 10 major productions and almost two hundred Meighen Forum events.
The new Tom Patterson Theatre at the famed Stratford Festival is receiving international acclaim even before the building opens for the 2022 Festival season.
The Stratford Festival is overcome with grief at the death of Martha Henry, just 12 days after her final tour-de-force performance in Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women. The grief of her colleagues is matched only by their gratitude for her unparalleled contributions to Canadian theatre.
This season at the Stratford Festival, many of the events taking place as part of the Meighen Forum have gone digital, but there are still some live, in person forum events coming up and one of the most anticipated ones is right around the corner. #KanderAndEbb is a live, in-person showcase from creator and performer Ryan G. Hinds. It is advertised by the Festival as “a tour through the music of Broadway songwriters John Kander and Fred Ebb, set against entertaining and touching real-life stories from the fan who managed to get semi-close to the legendary writers’ fabled world.” Broadwayworld had the opportunity to chat via zoom with Mark Selby, the Music Director and pianist of this cabaret. Having had the opportunity to perform this show with Mr. Hinds before, Mr. Selby has some inside scoop as to why this “magical” show put on by a “brilliant” showman should not be missed.
Director Kimberley Rampersad and a fine company bring Marcia Johnson's delightful and important story to life at the Stratford Festival. Fans of the Royal Family, fans of 'The Crown' and fans of good theatre will all enjoy this re-telling of a historical event from a perspective that has long been missing from the narrative.
Every year, the Stratford Festival mounts a production geared towards young people and I was thrilled to see that despite the unique season that COVID protocols have demanded, the Festival still made this a priority. What’s more, they have made a truly interesting and fun choice in I AM WILLIAM - A play by Rébecca Déraspe and Théâtre le Clou with the english translation by Leanna Brodie. Director Esther Jun, Choreographer Alyssa Martin, Dramaturge Kamana Ntibarikure, three musicians including Music Director Njo Kong Kie, and a fabulous four person company, delight audiences with a clever, funny, and thoughtful family-friendly production that is sure to have theatre-goers of all ages engaging in meaningful conversations one minute, while singing a catchy ‘horse’ song to themselves the next.
BroadwayWorld is checking in with theaters around the country as they prepare to reopen this summer. Next in our series we check in with Ontario's Stratford Festival Executive Director Anita Gaffney.
The Tomson Highway play, THE REZ SISTERS was supposed to debut on a Stratford Festival stage in the 2020 season, but of course those plans were put on hold due to the pandemic. Over a year later, the Festival made sure to include it in its unique 2021. The show opened Wednesday night under the Tom Patterson Theatre Canopy. Directed by Jessica Carmichael, THE REZ SISTERS is the story of seven indigenous women who live on a Reserve on Manitoulin Island. Each woman has endured trauma throughout her life and the effects of those traumas are layered into their everyday lives. One of them is also dying of cancer – a fact that is rarely acknowledged by the characters but feels like a constant, thick presence in the air between them all. Bonded by a desire to experience more in life, the women set out on a quest to attend “the Biggest Bingo in the World” in Toronto. Along the way, truths are shared, realities are faced, and relationships between them continue to shift and change.
After what feels like an eternity, Shakespeare has made its triumphant return to the Stratford Festival. Peter Pasyk’s production of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM opened last week and this writer had the opportunity to take in a midday production at the Tom Patterson Theatre Canopy on Sunday. With eight performers taking on a multitude of roles, this production appropriately feels like a fever dream. The performers are up to the task – with some actors taking on three different roles, providing a fun and whimsical experience for an audience that has been waiting for so long to see live theatre again! Boy, is it good to be back!
The Stratford Festival will mark the start of the 2021 season on July 13, the 68th anniversary of the very first performance held under a tent back in 1953, and the official opening of the year's first show, Why We Tell the Story: A Celebration of Black Musical Theatre.
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