Beginner’s Guide to Stratford Festival

For over seventy years, the Stratford Festival has been the pillar of Canada’s theater scene. Celebrated for their Shakespeare performances and admired worldwide for the quality of their productions, the theater company has shaped generations of artists and audiences alike.  

This is your essential guide to the Stratford Festival, exploring what the Stratford Festival is, why it matters, its extraordinary history, and some of the standout productions you can watch on Marquee TV. 

What is the Stratford Festival? 

Located in Stratford, Ontario, the Stratford Festival is North America’s largest classical repertory theater company. Each season, it presents a dozen or more productions across four beautiful venues, ranging from Shakespeare to contemporary drama and musicals. 

While Shakespeare remains at the heart of the Festival, Stratford’s program has always been broader and bolder than a single playwright. Audiences can expect new Canadian works, modern classics, literary adaptations, and ambitious reinterpretations of world theater, all staged with meticulous craft and a deep respect for storytelling. 

At its core, the Stratford Festival is about excellence, accessibility, and scale. Each year, the company strives to bring classical and contemporary theater to vast audiences without sacrificing an ounce of quality, nuance, or emotional impact. 

A Brief History of the Stratford Festival 

Founding Years (1952 – 1953)

The Stratford Festival began with a daring idea. In the early 1950’s, journalist Tom Patterson imagined transforming a quiet Ontario town into a cultural destination for Shakespeare. With the support of visionary British director Tyrone Guthrie, Patterson founded the Stratford Shakespeare Festival as a non-profit company. 

In 1953, the company opened with Richard III, performed in a tent by then-rising star, Alec Guinness, who also played the King of France in that year’s second production, All’s Well That Ends Well. Against all odds, Patterson’s experiment worked. Audiences came in droves, critics took notice, and Stratford’s theatrical destiny was sealed. 

Growth and Expansion 

What began in a tent quickly evolved into a permanent institution. Over the decades, the Festival expanded into multiple venues, including: 

• The Festival Theatre
• The Avon Theatre
• The Tom Patterson Theatre
• The Studio Theatre 

With their growth came ambition. The Festival broadened its repertoire beyond Shakespeare to include Chekhov, Ibsen, Miller, Broadway musicals, and original Canadian plays, all while maintaining a dynamic repertory model that allows actors to perform multiple roles across a season. 

Today, the Stratford Festival operates year-round and remains a cultural powerhouse.

Five Stratford Festival Productions to Watch at Home 

Casey and Diana 

Set in Toronto in 1991, Casey and Diana capture the story of a historic moment when quiet compassion cut through fear during the height of the AIDS crisis. When Diana, Princess of Wales, visited Casey House, Toronto’s first AIDS hospice, her empathy challenged society’s perceptions of the AIDS crisis and gave a voice to those affected by the heartbreaking disease. This is an intimate story of grief, dignity, and human connection. 

Written by Nick Green, this deeply moving drama balances warmth and heartbreak with remarkable sensitivity. Premiering at the Stratford Festival in 2023, this production was widely praised for its raw emotional honesty and historical insight. This play is a powerful reminder of how small gestures can shift public attitudes. 

Death and the King’s Horseman 

Wole Soyinka’s Death and the King’s Horseman is one of the most important plays of the twentieth century, and this Stratford Festival production meets the play’s importance with ease. 

Set in colonial Nigeria, the play follows the King’s Horseman, Elesin, charged with a sacred duty to accompany his king into the afterlife. When colonial authorities interfere, a ritual becomes tragedy, exposing the devastating consequences of cultural misunderstanding. 

Directed by Tawiah M’Carthy, this production brings Yoruba culture to life through music, language, and ritual. With unforgettable performances from Anthony Santiago and Amaka Umeh, this staging is as powerful as it is poetic. 

Much Ado About Nothing 

Witty, joyful, and heart-warming, this Shakespearean Rom-Com is an absolute delight.

Beatrice and Benedick are sworn enemies who discover that there might be something more beneath their constant verbal sparring. Alongside their enemies-to-lovers romance runs a darker thread, as Beatrice’s cousin Hero discovers just how easily reputation and honor can be turned against you. 

This production of Much Ado About Nothing, starring Maeve Beaty as the sharp-tongued Beatrice and Graham Abbey as the charismatic and witty Benedick, perfectly balances slapstick humor and the serious social commentary of Shakespeare’s play. Set in early modern Southern Italy, when attitudes towards marriage and tradition were beginning to shift, this production is as impactful as it is hilarious. 

The Understudy 

A love letter to the unseen heroes of theater, The Understudy explores what happens when you finally get your big break at the worst possible moment. 

Written and directed by Peter Pasyk, this quietly moving dramedy follows an aging actor who is suddenly called upon to cover Prospero in “The Tempest” just as his personal life threatens to fall apart. Tom Rooney’s restrained performance offers a tender, often funny exploration of responsibility, family, and artistic devotion. 

The Tempest 

Christopher Plummer gives the performance of a lifetime as Prospero in Shakespeare’s final play, The Tempest. This memorable production remains one of Stratford Festival’s defining achievements. 

Directed by Des McAnuff, this production transforms Shakespeare’s final play into a meditation on power, forgiveness, and legacy. Plummer’s Prospero is witty, commanding, and quietly vulnerable. He isn’t just a sorcerer; he is a man deciding what kind of world to leave behind. 

With inventive stage magic and beautiful storytelling, this Stratford Festival Tempest turns Shakespeare’s masterpiece into something visually and emotionally unforgettable. 

Where to watch the Stratford Festival 

While there’s nothing quite like seeing the Stratford Festival live in Ontario, some of their most acclaimed productions are available to stream on Marquee TV. 

From cornerstones of the Shakespearean repertoire to powerful contemporary dramas, you can bring the festival’s world-class theater to your screen.