Driftwood Theatre Group to Tour THE TAMING OF THE SHREW Across Ontario

Driftwood Theatre Group will present the ultimate battle of the sexes, William Shakespeare's THE TAMING OF THE SHREW, as it rolls across Ontario this summer for The Bard's Bus Tour. This unique production of THE TAMING OF THE SHREW is set in 1989 during the Toronto Pride Festival and explores themes of sexuality, consent and the exchange of power.

>From July 8 - August 14, The Bard's Bus Tour will bring this fiery romantic comedy to 28 locations across Ontario in only 39 days. For 22 years, The Bard's Bus Tour has brought professional pay-what-you-can performances of classic plays to outdoor locations in small towns and city neighbourhoods across the province.

D. Jeremy Smith (Director), Founder and Artistic Director of Driftwood Theatre Group, has directed, performed in, designed and painted over 25 productions for the company. Other select theatre credits include Northern Lights, Eastern Fire (Canadian Sinfonietta), The Odyssey and A Midsummer Night's Dream (The Grand Theatre), Memorial (Next Stage Theatre Festival 2013), and Pélagie (Assistant Director, Canadian Stage/National Arts Centre).

THE TAMING OF THE SHREW stars actor and fight director Siobhan Richardson (And Then The Lights Went Out, Mo and Jess Kill Susie) as Kate; l'École International de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq (Paris) graduate Geoffrey Armour (Hatchlings and Hayseeds, Fool's Gold) as Petruchio; actor, singer and composer Tahirih Vejdani (Elektra, Much Ado About Nothing) as Bianca; Newfoundland-born actor Renee Hackett (Myth of The Ostrich, Tempting Providence) as Baptista; Artistic Director of Everybody to the Theatre Company Drew O'Hara (The Merry Wives of Windsor, Shakespeare by the Sea) as Hortensio; Soulpepper Theatre company member and Dora Award-winner Paolo Santalucia (Hamlet for Driftwood 2015, Of Human Bondage,) as Tranio, and George Brown Theatre School graduate Fiona Sauder (American Idiot, LES MISERABLES) as Lucentio.

THE TAMING OF THE SHREW, set against the exuberant backdrop of Toronto Pride and including all things quintessentially 80s from Prince to Pretty in Pink, offers a modern look at acceptance and equality between people of colour, people of all gender identities and people of all sexual orientations.

Twenty years after the Stonewall Riots, the 1989 Toronto Pride was a time of introspection but also a time to look to the future. With the slogan "20/20: Setting Our Sights" it was a year culminating in social, sexual and racial advances: intersectionality was first coined, a temporary AIDS memorial stood in the then-named Cawthra Square Park, and the iconic Church Street bar Woody's first opened its doors.

Founded in 1995, Driftwood Theatre Group is Ontario's first and longest-running outdoor touring theatre tradition. Working with the best emerging and established artists today, the annual Bard's Bus Tour travels to parks and heritage sites across the province, focusing on communities with little or no access to professional theatre. Believing that great theatre is only of value if an audience has access to it, Driftwood Theatre Group's annual Bard's Bus Tour is always Pay-What-You-Can admission.

Driftwood Theatre Group presents
William Shakespeare's
THE TAMING OF THE SHREW
The Bard's Bus Tour
July 8 - August 14, 2016

Directed by D. Jeremy Smith
Starring Geoffrey Armour, Renee Hackett, Drew O'Hara, Siobhan Richardson,
Paolo Santalucia and Fiona Sauder and Tahirih Vejdani
Costume Design by Melanie McNeill
Movement Direction by Richard Lee and Jennifer Dallas
Composer and Musical Direction by Tom Lillington
Co-Composer Suba Sankaran
Stage Manager Sandi Becker

All performances start at 7:30PM
Admission is Pay-What-You-Can ($20 suggested)
Reservations can be purchased at $20/person by calling 844.601.8057
or online at www.driftwoodtheatre.com
Chair and blanket rentals available!

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