‘Exploring victories of all kinds’
Stratford Festival 2016 will showcase productions that examine spiritual, moral and ethical defeat
In celebration of the 400th year of Shakespeare’s death, the Stratford Festival’s 2016 season promises to deliver spectacularly on the theme of “After the Victory.”
“We’re exploring victories of all kinds — personal, spiritual, moral, emotional — and what ensues from them,” says Stratford’s artistic director Antoni Cimolino.
“This season is about the conflict within, the struggles we all share as human beings.”
Plays such as Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Arthur Miller’s All My Sons and Ibsen’s John Gabriel Borkman — all on this year’s playbill — are case studies in spiritual, moral and ethical defeat, he says.
Other titles, such as Shakespeare in Love, As You Like It and the musical A Chorus Line, celebrate the victories of the spirit and the heart.
“Those kinds of victories, which may come at substantial cost,” says Cimolino, “aren’t about making an opponent less; they’re about making yourself more.”
One of the tributes to Shakespeare’s 400-year legacy is the two-part Breath of Kings — Rebellion and Redemption. The two, three-hour productions are a fastpaced sweep of history and distillation of four of Shakespeare’s plays: Richard II, Henry IV, Part I, Henry IV, Part II and Henry V. Graham Abbey conceived the idea shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001attacks on New York City and has been adapting these four plays ever since.
“When you see these four plays together,” says Abbey, Breath of King’s associate director, “it allows audience members to examine questions of leadership and morality through the mirror of three very different kings.”
It also allows for the longer narrative arcs in the characters, he adds, such as Falstaff, Bolingbroke and Hal to be presented with the richest pallet of colours.
“It will be an exciting adventure that will really stretch the muscles of the company and offer audiences a chance to experience these plays through a new and exciting lens.”
Another tribute to the Bard is the North American premier of Shakespeare in Love, a play adapted from the 1998 film that won the Oscar for best film, starring Joseph Fiennes and Gwyneth Paltrow. The play originated in London’s West End in 2014 and the director, designer and composer at Stratford are from the highly regarded London team.
Cimolino directs Macbeth, starring Ian Lake — who played the lead in the critically acclaimed musical, Once — and Krystin Pellerin as Lady Macbeth. Pellerin is known for her work as one of the leads in CBC TV’s Republic of Doyle.
As for the musical portion of the season, Stratford is mounting A Chorus Line, directed and choreographed by Donna Feore in her 22nd season at the festival. It will be performed with a full orchestra on the thrust stage for a more intimate experience. A Little Night Music, starring Cynthia Dale, will be one of the biggest productions ever staged at Stratford with plenty of young talent.
Children — and adults — will enjoy C.S. Lewis’s fantastical The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, the story of four children who visit the magical Land of Narnia. Tom McCamus, who played the stepfather in the recent film Room, performs two roles, the professor and the lion Aslan. McCamus will be manipulating from inside the whimsical lion puppet sculpture created by Stratford’s prop master Ken Dubblestyne. The lion is 12 feet long, stands seven-feet high and is made from fabric that has passages from the book printed on it.
And then there’s Aeneid, a contemporary take on Virgil’s enduring poem relating the sacking of Troy. The new play, which is about a group of refugees who flee their destroyed city in pursuit of a new home, has obvious contemporary themes. Playwright Olivier Kemeid was inspired by the story of his grandfather, who fled Egypt in the revolution of 1953.
Other offerings include: the world premiere of Bunny, about post-feminist sexuality and desire by award-winning Canadian playwright Hannah Moscovitch, and the hilarious comedy, The Hypochondriac by Molière.
The Stratford Festival will also be presenting more than 200 events including showcases, guest speakers and forums on various topics, which typically take place during the day. One forum, The Legacy of Gene Kelly, will be narrated by Patricia Ward Kelly, his widow and a film historian and biographer.