The Stratford Festival's 2017 season will explore identity, as Canada marks the 150th anniversary of its birth as a nation.
The season will span the history of Western drama from the ancient Greek classics, to a couple of new Canadian plays specially commissioned by the festival.
Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night and Timon of Athens and the Jacobean tragedy The Changeling, by his contemporaries Thomas Middleton and William Rowley, will be complemented by Molière’s 17th-century satire Tartuffe, Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s 18th-century comedy of manners The School for Scandal and Jean Giraudoux’s The Madwoman of Chaillot, a comedy from the 20th century about the conflict between commerce and culture.
Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino says in this age of blogging, tweeting, and relentless self-promotion, the School For Scandal is a perfect fit, and he will direct the play himself.
Colleen Murphy's "The Breathing Hole," is a 500 year saga following a polar bear from its birth in an Inuit community during First Contact with the Franklin Expedition, and concluding with a 21st century cruise ship navigating the Northwest Passage in a world ravaged by climate change.
“This is one of the most ambitious and unique pieces of writing I have seen in years,” says Mr. Cimolino. “Each of the three acts breathtakingly captures a snapshot of this country’s development. We are very fortunate to have an extraordinarily gifted leader for this project, director Reneltta Arluk.”
The Virgin Trial follows Queen Elizabeth as she navigates court intrigue that would deny her the throne.
Rounding out the Studio season is Sharon Pollock’s The Komagata Maru Incident. Written in 1976, Ms Pollock’s work was the first play to explore the racist immigration policies that led to the denial of entry to hundreds of emigrants, most of whom were Sikhs, from the British Raj when the Komagata Maru arrived at the Vancouver port in 1914.
“Director Keira Loughran, who has been a leader in the creation of new work in Canada, will work with Sharon Pollock to reimagine this piece – integrating and reflecting the diverse community of Vancouver then, and Canadian theatre now – which will bring even greater insight into this remarkable play,” says Mr. Cimolino.
“In the year of Canada 150 it is important that we not only celebrate but also reflect on what it is to be Canadian. I think these beautiful and powerful plays will help us to re-examine our identity as a nation, and ourselves as individuals.”
Guys and Dolls, HMS Pinafore and Treasure Island will also be performed.
The 2016 season continues until November 5.
Tickets for the 2017 season go on sale to Members of the Stratford Festival beginning November 26, and to the public on Friday, January 6 (online) and Saturday, January 7 (by phone). FESTIVAL THEATRE Romeo and Juliet By William Shakespeare Directed by Scott Wentworth
Guys and Dolls A musical fable of Broadway Based on a story and characters of Damon Runyon Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser Book by Abe Burrows and Jo Swerling Directed and choreographed by Donna Feore
Twelfth Night By William Shakespeare Directed by Martha Henry
Tartuffe By Molière Directed by Chris Abraham
AVON THEATRE Treasure Island By Robert Louis Stevenson Directed by Mitchell Cushman
HMS Pinafore Book and Lyrics by W.S. Gilbert Music by Arthur Sullivan Directed by Lezlie Wade Choreographed by Kerry Gage
The School for Scandal By Richard Brinsley Sheridan Directed by Antoni Cimolino
TOM PATTERSON THEATRE Timon of Athens By William Shakespeare Directed by Stephen Ouimette
The Changeling By Thomas Middleton Directed by Jackie Maxwell
Bakkhai By Euripides A new version by Anne Carson Directed by Jillian Keiley
The Madwoman of Chaillot By Jean Giraudoux Directed by Donna Feore
STUDIO THEATRE The Virgin Trial World Première By Kate Hennig Directed by Alan Dilworth
The Breathing Hole World Première By Colleen Murphy Directed by Reneltta Arluk
The Komagata Maru Incident By Sharon Pollock Directed by Keira Loughran