Jonathan Church will break with tradition when he begins his first season as artistic director of the Stratford Festival next year.
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he → break → Festival
Of the 13 artistic directors who've led the company over the past 74 seasons, he'll be only the third not to open his tenure by directing a play by Shakespeare, whose works have long been the repertory company's bread and butter.
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works → lead → Shakespeare
Instead, the responsibility of staging two of the festival’s marquee Shakespeare productions next season will fall on a former Stratford artistic director and a man whose works are well known to Toronto and Stratford audiences.
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responsibility → stag → audiences
Des McAnuff, who led the company from 2008 to 2012, will return to direct a new production of “Hamlet.”
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who → lead → Hamlet
Set to open on July 13 at the 1,800-seat Festival Theatre, exactly 75 years to the day that the company premiered its first show, McAnuff’s revival will take place in a Cold War-era Europe amid a changing world order.
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revival → Set → order
Meanwhile, Chris Abraham, the current artistic director of the Crow’s Theatre in Toronto, will helm a revival of Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice.”
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Abraham → helm → Venice
It will open at the smaller Tom Patterson Theatre in June and star the Canadian stage and television actor Saul Rubinek.
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It → open → actor
The productions are two of 13 shows announced Wednesday morning for Stratford’s 2027 season, which includes a trio of musicals, several page-to-stage adaptations and a Noël Coward comedy featuring “Will and Grace” star Eric McCormack.
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which → announce → McCormack
“The message I want audiences to take away from this season announcement is that there is going to be continuity,” Church said in an interview with the Star.
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Church → want → Star
“Many of the things that this organization has thrived on for 74 years are going to remain — including Shakespeare being at the heart of what we do, big musicals being a driver for younger audiences, along with new works and new Canadian works.”
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musicals → thrive → works
Church’s first project with the company will be directing “Wolf Hall” and “Bring Up the Bodies,” stage adaptations of two bestselling novels by the British writer Hilary Mantel that fictionalize Thomas Cromwell’s rise to power in Tudor England.
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that → direct → England
The paired dramas, which were adapted for the stage by Mike Poulton, will run in repertory at the Avon Theatre, featuring a shared cast and creative team.
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which → pair → cast
“The theatrical kind of bravura of these shows appealed to me when I first saw them in the UK.
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I → appeal → UK
,” said Church.
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Church → say → ?
“So, the opportunity to stage a Canadian premiere of this great, theatrical ensemble adventure was something I couldn’t resist.”
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I → stage → adventure
Church said audiences shouldn’t read too much into his decision not to direct a Shakespeare play in his inaugural season.
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audiences → say → season
Yet, he also didn’t commit to leading a Shakespeare work in 2028.
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he → commit → 2028
“I hope my strength as a producer is always to cast the best directors and creative teams for each project,” he said.
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he → hope → project
“I’m really looking forward to directing Shakespeare at some point.
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I → look → point
There are specific texts I’d love to do, but they weren’t necessarily the right thing to do this year.”
Rounding out the Shakespearean offerings next season will be “The Taming of the Shrew,” directed by Krista Jackson at the Tom Patterson Theatre.
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they → be → Theatre
The revival, slated to open in late August, will be set in the cutthroat world of reality television.
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revival → slat → television
The programming, which begins in April and runs through the end of November, will also feature three musicals, anchored by a new production of Disney’s “Mary Poppins” at the Festival Theatre.
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which → begin → Theatre
It will star Vanessa Sears in the title role, and be led by UK directors Jonathan O’Boyle and Stephen Mear.
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It → star → O’Boyle
Running at the same venue will be a remount of the Kander and Ebb musical “Chicago,” which was last seen at Stratford in 2022
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which → run → 2022
Donna Feore, who directed and choreographed that production, will return to lead this remount.
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who → direct → remount
The third musical will be a new Canadian work based on Mordecai Richler’s children’s book series “Jacob Two-Two.”
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musical → base → series
Composed by Stratford sisters Anika and Britta Johnson and featuring a book by David S. Craig, the production will be directed by Theatre Calgary artistic director Stafford Arima.
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production → compose → Arima
The show will play at the Tom Patterson Theatre, marking the first time a musical has been presented at the venue since it opened in 2022.
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it → play → 2022
“I’m passionate about new Canadian work,” said Church.
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Church → ’m → work
“We’ve got the most skilled musical theatre artists working with us here in Canada, so I hope new work will be part of what we do during my tenure.”
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we → get → tenure
The second world premiere next season will be “All in the Telling,” a play written and starring Rubinek, and directed by Abraham at Stratford’s smallest venue, the Studio Theatre.
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premiere → write → venue
The autobiographical play draws on Rubinek’s family history, including his parents’ experiences in the Second World War as Holocaust survivors.
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play → draw → survivors
The play is the second of three works that will star Rubinek, 78, who headlines the upcoming lineup and returns to the company he first joined when he was 20.
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he → star → company
In addition to “All in the Telling” and “The Merchant of Venice,” the Canadian actor will also lead a remount of Mark Leiren-Young’s “Playing Shylock” at the Studio Theatre, a solo show about an actor playing Shakespeare’s Shylock who launches into a spontaneous personal monologue after a production of “The Merchant of Venice” is abruptly cancelled by protesters.
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production → lead → protesters
Rubinek will reprise his role after previously appearing in “Playing Shylock” at Canadian Stage in Toronto and off-Broadway.
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Rubinek → reprise → Broadway
“This is a very complex time to be Jewish, and these three plays offer huge perspective on that,” said Church.
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Church → offer → that
“And with Saul at the heart of it, we get to see a great actor at the top of his game do these three projects.”
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actor → get → projects
Stratford’s Studio Theatre lineup will be rounded out by a new revival of Daniel David Moses’ “Almighty Voice and His Wife,” inspired by the true story of the titular Cree resistance fighter and his wife.
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lineup → round → fighter
Yvette Nolan will direct the production, which runs from June through to September.
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which → direct → September
Notwithstanding “Wolf Hall” and “Bring Up the Bodies,” all the titles announced for the Avon Theatre will be presented consecutively instead of in repertory.
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titles → bring → repertory
…and 5 more, not listed.
The Aporia
