April 23, 2014… The Stratford Festival is celebrating the 450th
anniversary of the birth of William Shakespeare all season long, with
five Shakespeare productions on its stages and a series of more than 20
special events
at the Forum.
The 2014 season launches on May 26 with the opening of King Lear, directed by Artistic Director
Antoni Cimolino and starring Colm Feore. Previews for this not-to-be-missed production begin on May 5.
For the first time in its history, the Stratford Festival is presenting two versions of the same Shakespeare play.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream will be presented on the main Festival Theatre stage, directed by
Chris Abraham and starring Stephen Ouimette, Evan Buliung and
Jonathan Goad.
It runs from May 16 to October 11. A second version, reimagined by director
Peter Sellars, uses four actors – Sarah Afful, Dion Johnstone,
Trish Lindström and Mike Nadajewski – to explore the multiple worlds of Shakespeare’s play. This production runs from July 11 to September 20.
Fresh from his hit Broadway productions of Shakespeare’s
Twelfth Night and Richard III, Tim Carroll returns to Stratford to direct
King John, starring Tom McCamus and Seana McKenna, running from May 21 to September 20. Director
Gary Griffin takes the helm of Antony and Cleopatra, starring Geraint Wyn Davies and
Yanna McIntosh, running from August 3 to September 20.
April 23: Shakespeare Slam
Paul Gross, Steven Page and Hawksley Workman
are headlining the Stratford Festival Forum’s Shakespeare Slam on
Wednesday, April 23, at Toronto’s Koerner Hall. This celebration marking
Shakespeare’s 450th
birthday will be hosted by Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino, and will showcase the Festival’s 2014 season theme of Madness: Minds Pushed to the Edge.
Two teams of spirited debaters will square off on whether madness is inherent in the artistic process. On the one side
are actor Paul Gross, famed for his portrayal of Slings and Arrows’ mentally overwrought artistic director Geoffrey Tennant, and
Lisa Brown, founder and executive/artistic director of Workman
Arts, which celebrates and promotes the work of artists living with
mental-health and addiction issues.
Opposing them are Juno Award-winning musician, Festival composer and renowned troubadour
Steven Page and the Festival’s resident Rhodes Scholar, the hilarious and erudite
David Goldbloom, who, in addition to being past chair of the Festival’s Board, is
the senior medical advisor for the
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, a professor of psychiatry at the
University of Toronto and the chair of the Mental Health Commission of
Canada.
Once they’ve hashed things over, the music begins!
Hawksley Workman takes centre stage with his own brand of musical
performance that is certain to leave you wanting more – which you’ll be
able to find in Stratford, September 11 to 20, when he presents his
Bacchae-inspired cabaret
The God That Comes at the Forum.
Steven Page will also offer up one of his
exuberant musical performances, featuring songs combining humour and pathos in a memorable exploration of the evening’s theme.
The event culminates in a truly joyous grand finale, featuring Slam headliners and members of the Festival company.
Shakespeare 450: A Celebration of the Bard
From August 16 to 20, the Stratford Festival Forum
presents Shakespeare 450: A Celebration of the Bard, which features the
following events, which serve as excellent complements to the
productions on stage:
Shakespeare’s First Folio
August 16 and 17
For the first time ever, the Festival will have the
only Canadian copy of the 1623 First Folio of Shakespeare’s works on
display at the Stratford Perth Museum, courtesy of the Thomas Fisher
Rare Book Library at the University of Toronto.
The Secrets of the Shakespeare First Folio
August 16
Dr. Eric Rasmussen spent two decades studying the
232 surviving copies of the First Folio. While the only Canadian-held
copy is on display, Dr. Rasmussen will share stories of those who have
possessed, lost, stolen and treasured these priceless
pieces of cultural history.
Elizabethan Court Dance
August 16
Learn dances from the period and how they functioned in the social order. Instructor: Rebecca Harper.
Souls Under Pressure
August 17
Where is the soul in Shakespeare? Taking King Lear
as their focus, Torrance Kirby and Paul Yachnin of McGill University ask
what happens to the human spirit when people are pushed to the limits
of endurance.
Shakesprov
August 18
How hard could it have been for one man to have
written Shakespeare’s canon? In this fun, engaging workshop, led by
notable improviser, Second City faculty member and Shakespeare
enthusiast Marjorie Malpass, you will learn the keys to inventing
your own Shakespeare play on the spot. Uncover the secrets of
improvising in iambic pentameter. Play with imagery, invent words, find
just the right insults – and discover the power of being your own bard.
Embodying Shakespeare’s Text
August 18
Explore and immerse yourself in the power of
Shakespeare’s words. Led by Festival coaching staff and special guest
artists, this three-hour workshop engages you in the processes our
actors use to inhabit Shakespeare’s worlds.
Shakespeare’s History
August 19
Explore our playbill’s three examples of Shakespearean chronicle:
King Lear (legendary), King John (historical) and Antony and Cleopatra (Roman) and how their interpretations reveal the playwright’s mind.
The Life and Adventures of Sam Wanamaker: The Man Who Built the Globe
August 19
This illustrated talk by Paul Prescott, of the
University of Warwick, draws on previously unseen archival material to
present key episodes in Sam Wanamaker’s extraordinary journey from actor
to cultural entrepreneur as the visionary behind
Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.
The Playwright’s Crucible
August 19
As in Shakespeare’s day, watch a playwright contend
with argumentative actors, demanding management and a temperamental
director as they try to create his play before your eyes. Hosted by
Joanne O’Sullivan.
Shakespeare on the Road.
August 20
Rev. Dr. Paul Edmondson, from the Shakespeare
Birthplace Trust, and Drs. Paul Prescott and Susan Brock, from the
University of Warwick, tell their story of reverse pilgrimage and shine a
light on Shakespeare Festivals around North America.
Even more Shakespeare events
Special Shakespeare-themed Forum events – ranging from a talk by Camille Paglia to a screening of the new film
Still Dreaming – will be offered at other times during the season, as well. These include:
Screening: Still Dreaming
June 28
A 2014 film directed by Hank Rogerson and Jilann Spitzmiller, makers of
Shakespeare Behind Bars. Retirees in the Lillian Booth Actors Home in Englewood, N.J., and directors from New York’s Fiasco Theater stage
A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
“I Have a Dream”: Peter Sellars and Guests
July 7
Martin Luther King’s words ring forward powerfully into the 21st
century and back across human history where they meet, among other
forebears and prophets, William Shakespeare. This seminar honours
Shakespeare, the activist,
and theatre, the catalyst.
How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare
July 12
Crazy for You playwright Ken Ludwig describes how he instilled a love of Shakespeare in his own children.
The Sonnet Man: Devon Glover
July 12
With the jagged rhythms of rap and the smoothness
of rhythm and blues, New York hip-hop artist Devon Glover is set to
inspire a new generation of Shakespeare lovers.
Lear’s Shadow: Contemporary Reflections on Diagnoses, Abuses and Testamentary Capacity
July 19
Does Lear suffer from dementia? Are his daughters
guilty of elder abuse? Leading geriatric psychiatrists examine the play
and its central character through the lens of their practice.
Dream a Little Dream
July 20
This drama workshop introduces 10- to 12-year-olds to the story and characters of
A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Using pieces from the Costume and Props Warehouse, participants then rehearse and present a scene from the play.
Reweaving Shakespeare’s Cosmology
July 23
This seminar explores Shakespeare’s “great chain of
being” as it links to Buddhist cosmology, Islamic theology and
indigenous spiritualities in the West and the East. With Peter Sellars
and guests.
Sans Teeth, Sans Eyes
July 24
Susan Krauss Whitbourne, psychologist and professor
at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, explores the basis for
ageism in Shakespeare’s writing and how people today defy these
stereotypes.
Apocrypha No More: Shakespeare’s Collaborative Plays
August 15
Scholars Eric Rasmussen and Will Sharpe, with Festival artists, explore issues of authorship, collaboration and attribution surrounding Shakespeare’s work.
Not with the Eye
August 20
A discussion on the aesthetics of gender – homosexuality, bisexuality and love – as portrayed on stage in Shakespeare’s time.
Masks, Madness and Shakespeare’s Sonnets
August 21
An entertaining and informative glimpse into
aspects of the use of masks in the theatre and the “madness” of acting.
Company members explore Shakespeare’s sonnets using character
half-masks. Directed and compiled by veteran Canadian theatre
director Guy Sprung in collaboration with master mask teacher Brian
Smith, this informal airing is an innovative window on the power and
poetry of Shakespeare’s sonnets.
Music, Such As Charmeth Sleep: Musical Interpretations of
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
August 21
Musician and theatre scholar Lois Kivesto explores
how composers such as Purcell, Mendelssohn, Britten and Henze have made
this play their own.
Camille Paglia: The Dark Women of Shakespeare
September 20
Feminist and social critic Camille Paglia speaks
about Shakespeare and misogyny – what is it about the mystery and
ambiguity of women that so frightens men both then and now.
To purchase tickets to these events and productions, contact the box office at 1.800.567.1600 or visit
www.stratfordfestival.ca.
Sustaining support for the Stratford Festival Forum
is generously provided by Kelly & Michael Meighen and the T.R.
Meighen Foundation. Support for the 2014 Forum is generously provided by
Nandita & Julian Wise. Selected Forum events supported
by Bell Let’s Talk.
Bell Let’s Talk is the host sponsor of the Shakespeare Slam.
The 2014 season of the Stratford Festival runs from April 21 to October 12, featuring
King Lear; Crazy for You; A Midsummer Night’s Dream; The Beaux’ Stratagem;
Man of La Mancha; Alice Through the Looking-Glass; Hay Fever;
King John; Mother Courage and Her Children; Antony and Cleopatra;
Christina, The Girl King; A Midsummer Night’s Dream: A Chamber Play; and more than 200 events in the Stratford Festival Forum.
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Stratford Festival 55 Queen Street | PO Box 520 | Stratford ON
| N5A 6V2
Box Office: Toll Free 1.800.567.1600 | Local 519.273.1600
stratfordfestival.ca
2014 Season
| April 21 to October 12
King Lear | Crazy for You | A Midsummer Night’s Dream | The Beaux’
Stratagem
Man of La Mancha | Alice Through the Looking-Glass | Hay Fever | King John
Mother Courage and Her Children | Antony and Cleopatra | Christina, The Girl King
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a chamber play
Man of La Mancha | Alice Through the Looking-Glass | Hay Fever | King John
Mother Courage and Her Children | Antony and Cleopatra | Christina, The Girl King
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a chamber play
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