Stratford Festival artistic director Antoni Cimolino hopes audiences will be whisked away to 鈥渁 world elsewhere鈥 when the classical repertory theatre company returns next year with a slate of 12 shows, including a trio of Shakespeare classics, two musical comedies and an Ibsen masterpiece.
鈥淭welfth Night,鈥 Shakespeare鈥檚 romantic comedy of mistaken identities in unfamiliar territory, will open the 2024 season, which begins in April. The season-headlining production at the Festival Theatre will be helmed by an artist instantly recognizable to regular Stratford theatregoers: distinguished performer Seana McKenna, who will mark her Stratford directorial debut with the production.
Meanwhile, Donna Feore, Stratford鈥檚 go-to director for its big, splashy musicals, is set to return to the festival after a year away to lead 鈥淪omething Rotten!鈥 also slated for the Festival Theatre. The 2015 Tony Award-winning musical feels wryly fitting for Stratford. It follows two brothers and playwrights who hope to usurp Shakespeare by branching out into an entirely new medium: musical theatre.
Cimolino said the dozen productions that comprise next season鈥檚 program reflect on the idea of departure, moving away from the familiar toward the unknown, but often to a place that is ultimately much better.
鈥淭he theme is 鈥榓 world elsewhere,鈥 which is really about journeys: leaving home and having to find something different. Sometimes you do it willingly, sometimes not,鈥 Cimolino said in an interview ahead of Tuesday鈥檚 season announcement. 鈥淚鈥檝e been struck by how many people are travelling this year and how much we want to after years of being stuck at home. We want to get out and do something else.
鈥淪o the plays are all about finding ourselves in a new place, finding deeper meaning with a change of location.鈥
In the case of 鈥淩omeo and Juliet鈥 and its star-crossed lovers, the second Shakespeare classic on the roster, that journey into an unknown frontier is a metaphorical one as the titular characters navigate their fateful relationship amid brewing hostility. Sam White, whose production of 鈥淲edding Band鈥 this season earned critical acclaim, will direct the tragedy at the Festival Theatre.
Cimolino said this iteration of 鈥淩omeo and Juliet,鈥 which has been presented at the festival a dozen times prior, will be set in the period in which the narrative unfolds.
鈥淲e鈥檝e often done it (in) modern (dress) but when I spoke to Sam, who鈥檚 directed the play four times, she said, 鈥業f you want to do modern production, I鈥檓 not your person. I want to explore this period.鈥 And that was exciting,鈥 said Cimolino.
The Stratford artistic director will himself direct 鈥淟ondon Assurance,鈥 a bubbly comedy and the fourth production slated for the Festival Theatre. Dion Boucicault鈥檚 1841 play follows an aging fool and his disguised son, who both travel to the country to pursue the same woman.
The season鈥檚 second musical will be 鈥淟a Cage Aux Folles,鈥 Harvey Fierstein and Jerry Herman鈥檚 Tony Award-winning comedy about a gay couple who clash with an ultra-conservative politician. Director Thom Allison and choreographer Cameron Carver will lead the production at Stratford鈥檚 Avon Theatre.
Three world premieres will also feature in the 2024 playbill.
Leanna Brodie and Jovanni Sy鈥檚 鈥淪alesman in China鈥 at the Avon Theatre recounts the true story of Arthur Miller travelling to China to mount a Mandarin version of his play 鈥淒eath of a Salesman,鈥 with actor and translater Ying Ruocheng. As well, Canadian literary icon Margaret Laurence鈥檚 鈥淭he Diviners鈥 will receive the theatrical treatment at the Tom Patterson Theatre thanks to playwrights Vern Thiessen and Yvette Nolan. And at the intimate Studio Theatre, playwright Andrea Scott will premiere 鈥淕et That Hope,鈥 her new play loosely inspired by Eugene O鈥橬eill鈥檚 鈥淟ong Day鈥檚 Journey Into Night鈥 that follows a dysfunctional Jamaican-Canadian family.
The second production programmed for the Studio Theatre next year is Edward Albee鈥檚 modern classic 鈥淭he Goat or, Who is Sylvia?鈥 Dean Gabourie will direct the provocative dark comedy, which follows a successful middle-aged man whose marriage crumbles after he falls in love with a goat.
The Stratford Festival will also be hopping on the Henrik Ibsen bandwagon when it presents a new version of 鈥淗edda Gabler鈥 at the Tom Patterson Theatre. Ibsen fans will be spoiled for choice next season with Coal Mine Theatre also presenting 鈥淗edda Gabler鈥 in May and Soulpepper mounting a reimagined version of Ibsen鈥檚 鈥淎 Doll鈥檚 House.鈥
Why are so many artistic directors programming Ibsen in their upcoming seasons? Cimolino suggests that the issues the playwright highlights 鈥 be that the environment, our political systems, the role of women in society 鈥 are still relevant today.
鈥淲e think we have such evolved systems for the economy, for politics, and yet there remains such inequity in our world. We have not solved those issues which Ibsen highlights in his work,鈥 said Cimolino. 鈥淪o I think that he was a revolutionary, pointing out the lies in the bourgeois dream.鈥
The festival鈥檚 children鈥檚 play next year will be the North American premiere of 鈥淲endy and Peter Pan,鈥 a new adaptation by Ella Hickson of J.M. Barrie鈥檚 classic story. Director Thomas Morgan Jones鈥 production will play at the Avon Theatre. And the third Shakespeare play of the season will be 鈥淐ymbeline,鈥 directed by Esther Jun at the Tom Patterson Theatre.
The Stratford Festival鈥檚 current season continues through Nov. 12. Casting for next year鈥檚 programming will be announced at a later date. Tickets will go on sale in December, with presale for Stratford Festival members starting in November.
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