Stratford Festival mourns the loss of actor Michael Blake, co-star of ATP's King James
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Blake, 53, was considered one of the most gifted actors of his generation. He played an extraordinary variety of parts and did so with an ability and ease that was rare, the Festival said in a release.
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'Each part Michael played was powerfully realized,' Stratford Festival artistic director Antoni Cimolino said. 'His work was true and realistic. His portrayals had an integrity that was compelling. It drew you into his reality.'
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Blake also performed at theatres across Canada, as well as on film and TV, but he will be remembered in Stratford for bringing to life a variety of characters — an unforgettable Othello, a heartbreaking Macduff in Macbeth, a good-hearted Master Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor, a delightfully villainous Don John in Much Ado About Nothing, a commanding Cominius in Coriolanus, an excellent Duke of Clarence in Richard III, and Albany in King Lear. Those performances have been captured on film, the Festival said.
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It total, Blake performed in 25 Stratford productions between 2011 and 2023, including Errico in Napoli Milionaria!, Mr. Balance in The School for Scandal, George Deever in All My Sons, Edmund in King Lear, Dumaine in All's Well That Ends Well, Cleante in Tartuff, and Sebastian in Twelfth Night.
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