Stratford Festival opening night cancelled after bomb threat

STRATFORD — The opening night of the Stratford Festival was cancelled Monday after a bomb threat was issued earlier that day.

At around 6:45 p.m, Stratford police received a call that explosives had been placed at the festival. Subsequently, the Avon and Festival theatres were evacuated.

Officers were at the scene Monday evening searching for anything suspicious, and have advised the public to stay away from the grounds.

“We’re saddened to announce that there was a bomb threat made against a Festival Theatre tonight. To ensure the safety of our patrons and staff,” the opening night of Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” was can- celled, the Stratford Festival said in a tweet, adding, “All ticket buyers will be contacted and reimbursed by us,”

“We will make information public as it becomes available,” says festival artistic director Antoni Cimolino.

Karen Fricker, a theatre critic for the Toronto Star and an assistant professor at Brock University, was at the theatre on Monday night.

According to Fricker, theatregoers were already inside the lobby, the box office was shut, and people were making their way toward their seats when police cars started to arrive at the theatre.

Around 7:10 p.m., the people were told by a volunteer to evacuate, and once they arrived at Stratford’s Bruce Hotel, they were informed of the bomb threat.