Andy and Helen Spriet Give $1M To Stratford Festival's New Theatre Project

The Stratford Festival's Spirit of the Tent campaign has received a major boost from Andy & Helen Spriet. The London, Ont., couple has donated $1 million to the new Tom Patterson Theatre Centre.

"We are so grateful to the Spriets for this generous donation. Helen and Andy have been ardent supporters of the Festival for years," says Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino. "Andy, an architect and builder, as well as a former Board member, has been a key part of our building committee, bringing expertise and insight to the project as we move from dream to reality."

As an architect, Mr. Spriet has great appreciation for the evolution of the original, makeshift Tom Patterson Theatre and for the purpose-built theatre it will become.

"The Tom Patterson Theatre was basically a Quonset hut converted into a theatre," says Mr. Spriet. "It developed into a unique venue with a large thrust stage, intimate seating, and its own particular charm. This new project hopes to reproduce and improve on the success of the existing theatre and to add many new features to enhance our theatre experience. We are delighted to be able to play a part."

The Spirit of the Tent campaign is gaining tremendous momentum, with $74 million in gifts already received, and several million more soon to be announced. Both levels of government contributed significantly to the project with $20 million coming from Ottawa and $20 million from the Province of Ontario.

"With the help of generous supporters like Andy and Helen Spriet, this campaign will allow us to create a stunning new facility, fund new and expanded programs, and strengthen a significant part of Canada's cultural heritage," says Dr. M. Lee Myers, Co-Chair of the campaign. "The Spriets' commitment to this important project is greatly appreciated, as is their long-term support of the Stratford Festival."

The new Tom Patterson Theatre Centre, located at 111 Lakeside Drive in Stratford, has been designed by Siamak Hariri, of Toronto-based Hariri Pontarini, an architect who is passionate about the transformative potential of architecture. Winner of more than 50 architectural awards, including the Governor General's Medal in Architecture, Mr. Hariri is the architect behind the breathtaking Baha'i Temple of South America, and, closer to home, the Richard Ivey Building at Western University in London, as well as the Schulich School of Business at York University.

His design will give Stratford a treasured landmark for generations to come. At the centre's core, wrapped in pale brick masonry, will be a uniquely appointed auditorium: an elongated thrust stage held in the warm embrace of the audience; a theatre reminiscent of its predecessor, but with vastly improved comfort and accessibility, as well as superb production capabilities.

The auditorium will be surrounded by a glass and bronze curtain, reflecting the beauty of the riverbank it overlooks and creating a variety of gathering and presentation spaces within the vast lobby.

The new Tom Patterson Theatre Centre will put the Stratford Festival at the forefront of theatrical innovation, enhancing its position as a world leader. In addition to housing one of the finest theatre rooms in North America, it will offer spaces for cultural and social engagement, theatrical research and development, and education, with facilities for enhanced student engagement both onsite and in the digital realm.

The project is now under way and the new theatre will open in the spring of 2020.