Stratford Festival 2025: What shows to see — and skip — this season
Two musicals and three Shakespeare plays headline the Stratford Festival's 2025 season, which will feature 11 productions in total and run through the beginning of November. It's a pivotal year for the repertory company, which is set to announce a successor in the coming months for artistic director Antoni Cimolino, whose tenure ends next season. With no shortage of shows on offer, here's a comprehensive guide of what to see — and skip — this year.
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CTV News
a day ago
- CTV News
Bard on the Beach to present Much Ado About Nothing with small but mighty edit
People line up to enter Bard on the Beach in Vancouver. (The Canadian Press / Chuck Stoody) To the casual theatregoer, this year's Bard on the Beach production of Much Ado About Nothing will seem delightfully typical of the company's crowd-pleasing spectacles, but to the seasoned Shakespeare fan something might seem afoot. To modify or not to modify? That was the question posed before director Johnna Wright decided to update her version of the 16th century comedy with additional text by playwright Erin Shields. Shields had tweaked the text for Ontario's The Stratford Festival in 2023, including a prologue for one of the lead characters and a new scene for the production's fifth act. Wright assures all the major elements are the same: The production is set in the Italian city of Messina, and the storyline focuses on the two romances between Claudio and Hero and Benedick and Beatrice. The modification addresses a particular element of the storyline without changing the ending, she says. It is an addition to the script, not a rewrite, that Wright describes as 'giving voice' to a character that is silenced in the original play. 'I was very excited when I read Erin's script because it does such a beautiful job of being true to the play and to the characters that Shakespeare created, but also linking it to a modern audience and how we respond to the kind of things that are happening,' she says. Shakespeare's original grapples with the theme of gender as it reflects the expectations of women in Elizabethan-era England. It has elements that Wright says appear in many Shakespeare plays, elements that can be 'difficult to get to grips with' as a modern-day viewer. Often they made gender assumptions or acknowledged societal norms that might seem unacceptable now, she says, but were typical of the times then. 'When you do these plays, you're always thinking, 'How am I going to make that part work?' says Wright. 'Because this is a comedy, and it is supposed to be a happy ending, but there are some things that are kind of disturbing that an Elizabethan audience would have accepted as a happy ending, but we don't see it that way.' Wright expects the additional scene, which sees the young and naive Hero respond to the violence endured throughout the play, to surprise Shakespeare devotees but to ultimately incite a warm reception. 'I will be very interested to find out how people respond to that particular aspect of the show,' she says. 'I think that most people will appreciate it because it just says what most people, I think, would be thinking when they watch these events. Which is 'this is wrong, this is terrible.' We get a chance to address that, so you don't have to feel that you've watched something disturbing and nothing was acknowledged.' Bard veteran Jennifer Lines, who has been working with the company since 1996 and will be playing Beatrice in the upcoming production, says the adjustment made by Wright marks a shift in theatre that will hopefully cause a ripple effect leading to the tweaking of other productions where needed. 'I've been doing this for a long time now and I see the need for accessibility and engaging a modern sensibility, and having those broader interpretations,' says the actress. 'Making it relevant and inclusive, it is important, but it is a dance.' Lines assures the tweaks do not take anything away from the brilliance of the original, a brilliance which, as someone who has performed in the play multiple times as Margaret, Ursula and Beatrice, she says she can attest to. 'It is a play that keeps coming back to me. It's comedic, it's dramatic, it's romantic, it's got everything,' she adds. 'The characters are well fleshed out. There's intelligent banter. It's one of Shakespeare's loveliest plays in my mind, and it's such a thrill to be a part of.'
Toronto Star
a day ago
- Toronto Star
Stratford Festival 2025: What shows to see — and skip — this season
Two musicals and three Shakespeare plays headline the Stratford Festival's 2025 season, which will feature 11 productions in total and run through the beginning of November. It's a pivotal year for the repertory company, which is set to announce a successor in the coming months for artistic director Antoni Cimolino, whose tenure ends next season. With no shortage of shows on offer, here's a comprehensive guide of what to see — and skip — this year.
CTV News
2 days ago
- CTV News
Saying goodbye to Weather Will
Will Aiello at the Stratford Festival. CTV News Kitchener is saying goodbye to weather specialist Will Aiello as he prepares to embark on a new journey with CTV Morning Live. Will said he is moving back to his hometown to be closer to family and take on his 'dream job.' However, the decision was not an easy one to make. 'Leaving the CTV Kitchener team will be very difficult but their support with the new opportunity has made it feel much better,' he shared. 'Thank you to everyone for allowing me to be myself and spread so much energy and positivity into this wonderful community.' To celebrate our time with Will, we are sharing some of our favourite moments with 'Weather Will.' He hosted Oktoberfest activities, got his hands dirty in weekly Get Growing segments, and made our tastebuds tingle with Get Grilling. Here are some memories we will cherish, long after Will has changed his alarms to his new 1 a.m. wakeup call. Expand Autoplay 1 of 37 Will Aiello Will Aiello on his first day with CTV News Kitchener. Will Aiello Will Aiello speaking to an Oktoberfest crowd. Will Aiello Will Aiello with members of the Humane Society. Will Aiello Will Aiello at the Stratford Festival. will aiello Will Aiello Will Aiello with Tanya Olsen from Royal City Nursery. Will Aiello Will Aiello at a Kitchener Rangers game in Feb. 2024. Will Aiello Will Aiello with Tanya Olsen from Royal City Nursery. Will Aiello A behind-the scenes photo of Chef D, Will Aiello and Alexandra Pinto at CTV Kitchener in July 2023. Will Aiello Will Aiello, Leighanne Evans, Alexandra Pinto and Tony Grace during Toy Mountain 2022. Will Aiello Leighanne Evans, Tony Grace and Will Aiello in 2025. Will Aiello Angie Hill, Will Aiello and Daryl Morris at the Oktoberfest parade in Oct. 2022. Will Aiello Will Aiello prepares for a live hit from Exhibition Park in Guelph at the 2022 Canada Celebration Tour softball game. (Dan Lauckner/CTV News) Leighanne Evans and Will Aiello at CTV News Kitchener on April 4, 2025. Leighanne Evans and Will Aiello at CTV News Kitchener on April 4, 2025. Will Aiello Decorating "expert" Will Aiello. Will Aiello Will Aiello reporting from Waterloo Park. (Dan Lauckner/CTV News) Will Aiello Will Aiello gets uncomfortably close to a snake at the Humane Society. (Dave Pettitt/CTV News) Will Aiello Will Aiello in a behind-the-scenes snap for Toy Mountain 2023. Will Aiello Will Aiello dressed up for the Barbie movie. (Dan Lauckner/CTV News) Will Aiello and Dan Lauckner CTV Kitchener CTV News' Will Aiello and Dan Lauckner posed for a photo during the season opener at Stratford Festival on May 26, 2025. Will Aiello Will Aiello, dressed up as the Joker, for a live Halloween hit. Will Aiello Will Aiello in 2025. CTV Kitchener Left to right: Will Aiello, Leighanne Evans, and Tony Grace of CTV Kitchener. Will Aiello Will Aiello Emily Richards Will Aiello and Emily Richards make pizzas in an outdoor oven. will aiello chef matty b Chef Matty B and Will Aiello. (Dan Lauckner/CTV News) will aiello food bank emily and will CTV's Will Aiello and cookbook author Emily Richards prepare some beer braised brisket Super Bowl sandwiches. (Jeff Turner/CTV Kitchener) Will Aiello Will Aiello with KW Glee in May 2022. Ted Reade Chef Ted Reader and CTV's Will Aiello prepare to grill Ontario veal street tacos and blackened veal burgers with voodoo relish. (Jeff Turner/CTV News) will aiello Will Aiello accepts a plaque from Grand River Motorcycle Ride for Dad on May 7, 2024. Royal City Nursery's Tanya Olsen with Will Aiello. Royal City Nursery's Tanya Olsen with Will Aiello. Kitchener Rangers Potato Night 2025 CTV News Kitchener's Leighanne Evans and Will Aiello discuss the Kitchener's Rangers annual Don Cameron Potato Night event on March 18, 2025. ctv kitchener ckco alex pinto will aiello daryl mo Alexandra Pinto, Will Aiello and Daryl Morris holding the CTV letters. (March 1, 2024) Music Monday March 17, 2025 Bounce 99.5's Angie Hill and CTV News Kitchener's Will Aiello share a laugh on March 17, 2025. CTV News Kitchener: Get Growing - Caring for Christmas Trees CTV's Will Aiello heads to Royal City Nursery to learn some tips for Christmas tree care. Will Aiello Will Aiello and Tony Grace in the CTV Kitchener studio in May 23. June 5 is Will's last day. Tune in at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. to see what surprises we have in store for our ray of sunshine. We will also be announcing our new community weather host during the 6 p.m. newscast.
