Stratford Festival

A ghostly visitor with a shocking secret, a daughter devastated by loss, a deadly duel – and the most famous question in all of drama. Just some of the reasons why Shakespeare’s iconic tragedy will hold you spellbound.

A long-simmering animosity between two families of Verona, the Montague's and the Capulet's, has recently boiled over, with members of the rival households brawling in the streets. One night, Romeo, a Montague, crashes a party given by the Capulet's in order to meet up with a young woman called Rosaline, with whom he is infatuated. Thoughts of her vanish from his mind, however, when he catches sight of Juliet, daughter of the head of the Capulet household. Juliet is equally smitten with Romeo, but her father already has other plans for her.

When the King of France demands that John relinquish his crown in favor of his nephew, the young Prince Arthur, war is the inevitable result. Excommunication, attempted atrocity, rebellion, and assassination all contribute to political turmoil and personal grief for a mother who has lost her son.

Pursuing two respectably married women at the same time, a would-be seducer fails to anticipate that his targets will, quite literally, compare notes. Nor has he reckoned on the mischievous spirit in which the wives will use their wits and wiles to teach him the error of his ways. Set in the 1950s, in a town not unlike Stratford, Ontario, this production brings Shakespeare's rollicking comedy close to home - and close to our hearts.

hurch and state collide when England’s king defies papal authority by seeking to divorce his wife, Katherine of Aragon. The consequences will be epochal for the country – and calamitous for the king’s adviser, Cardinal Wolsey, who has been playing a dangerous game of his own. Passion, political intrigue and personal faith drive the action as Shakespeare brings vividly to life the thrilling human drama behind a pivotal moment in history.

This scintillating production of Shakespeare’s boisterous comedy will stir your emotions even as it challenges you with its pointed social commentary. Is the story of Kate and Petruchio one of courtship or of conquest? The breaking down of a defiant spirit or a breakthrough that liberates a heart deprived of love? You decide – but either way, this is an experience not to be missed!

When Helen cures the King of France of an ailment that has confounded every other doctor, he grants her lifetime wish: the marital hand of the aristocratic courtier Bertram. However, Bertram proves a reluctant husband and immediately heads off to war, leaving Helen with a seemingly impossible riddle to solve in order to seal their marriage.

A scholarly king and his three companions swear off the society of women for three years, only to have a diplomatic visit from a French princess and her three ladies-in-waiting thwart their intentions.

Renowned for his extreme generosity, the Athenian nobleman Timon has fallen prey to flatterers and false friends, on whom he showers lavish gifts and extravagant hospitality. His loyal steward, Flavius, tries to warn him of the financial consequences of such reckless expenditure, while the cynical philosopher Apemantus mocks his naivety, but Timon ignores them both. When his money runs out and his creditors demand payment, Timon sends confidently to his "friends" for help. When all refuse him, he throws one last party - one that heralds a dramatic change in his attitude to the world.

Shipwrecked on the coast of Illyria, Viola adopts a male disguise and enters the service of Duke Orsino, only to find herself part of a triangle of unrequited love. Meanwhile, in the household of the Countess Olivia, Sir Toby Belch and his unruly companions trick Olivia's strict and disapproving steward, Malvolio, into believing that she loves him.

Shakespeare's great comedy of dreaming and desire has it all - spellbound lovers, quarrelling fairies, tradesmen who love amateur theatricals. This is both a deep dive into the realms of the subconscious and a hilarious tribute to the power of the imagination. The most fundamental techniques of theatrical art feature in a magically inventive staging of a play that is itself a celebration of joy, both human and supernatural.

Stratford Festival's production of Romeo and Juliet 1993. Megan Porter Follows (Anne of Green Gables) and Antoni Cimolino (Stratford Festival Artistic Director) star in one of the most famous love stories of all time. The tale unfolds as the families of the star-crossed lovers, the Montagues and the Capulets, are embroiled in a bitter feud that erupts into a brawl. The couple plan a secret wedding, but fate intervenes and the two die tragically, precipitating a vow by the bereaved fathers to resolve their differences.

The swaggering Petruchio agrees to marry the spitting hellcat, Katherine.

Staged at the Stratford Festival and named on many 2018 year-end critics “best of” lists, the Stratford Festival’s “riveting” and “exhilarating” (The New York Times) production of Shakespeare’s Coriolanus, has been called “the show of the decade… a landmark production for the Stratford Festival. Maybe for William Shakespeare, too” (The Globe and Mail), and “the greatest contemporary staging of this play that I have ever seen” (Chicago Tribune).

This filmed treatment of the original Stratford Festival production of Timothy Findley's Governor General Award-winning play is a lavish treat for the eyes and the ears. William Shakespeare and his company of actors are brought together with the formidable Queen Elizabeth I in a remarkable encounter on the night of April 22, 1616, hours before the execution of Elizabeth's former lover Essex. Through the course of the evening, actor Ned Lowenscroft, famous for his female roles in Shakespeares' plays, very touchingly teaches the Queen to be more of a woman, while the Queen helps Ned be more of a man. Part history lesson, part theatrical insight, the play is a beautifully crafted Shakespeare-like work with poignant reflections on grief, love, friendship, and art. Compelling performances are delivered by Diane D'Aquila as Queen Elizabeth, Peter Hutt as Shakespeare and Brent Carver as Ned Lowenscroft.

The ultimate royal family crisis. Prince Hamlet's father is dead, poisoned by his uncle, who has usurped the throne and married his mother, the Queen. When the dead King's ghost appears, commanding his son to revenge his foul and most unnatural murder, Hamlet is set on a course of action that can only end in the destruction of a dynasty and his own extinction.

The swaggering Petruchio agrees to marry the spitting hellcat, Katherine.

Filmed version of the 2019 Stratford Festival production.

In a revolutionary adaptation by Brad Fraser, this Richard is the story of a king who believes that God gives him the right to live above the rules and who ultimately suffers the consequences. The story is embedded in a time of great freedom that is soon crushed - the late 1970s and early '80s: when lives were lived at great volume against a suffocating strain of conservatism and fear. Fraser's adaptation maintains Shakespeare's text but draws on sources beyond Richard II.

H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. Earning rave reviews during its run at the Stratford Festival in Stratford, Ontario, this production takes a tongue in cheek approach to British class structure, the admiralty and the ruling classes. It's also a love story with a multitude of permutations.