Stratford Festival

Stratford Festival

Canadian summer theatrical festival. The foremost classical repertory theatre in North America, it was founded by Tom Patterson in Stratford, Ontario, in 1953. It includes three permanent theatres: the 220° open-stage Festival Theatre, the Avon Theatre, and the Tom Patterson Theatre, which is reserved for experimental works. The festival features productions of William Shakespeare's plays (Stratford was chosen as its locale because the town's name matched that of Shakespeare's birthplace) but also performs other classic dramatic works.

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Stratford Festival

April-November

What started in Stratford, Ontario, in 1953 as a six-week Shakespearean drama festival under the artistic leadership of Alec Guinness and Irene Worth has since expanded into a 26-week event drawing an audience of half a million people. All of Shakespeare's plays have been performed here over the years, as well as works by Sophocles (c. 496-406 b.c.e.), Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906), Jean-Baptiste MoliÅre (1622-1673), Anton Chekhov (1860-1904), Richard Sheridan (1751-1816), Samuel Beckett (1906-1989), and a number of Canadian playwrights. The festival's repertory company, known as the Stratford Company, goes on tour during the months when the festival is not in session.

CONTACTS:
Stratford Festival
55 Queen St.
P.O. Box 520
Stratford, ON K1A 1J5 Canada
519-271-4040
www.stratfordfestival.ca

SOURCES:
GdWrldFest-1985, p. 52
IntlThFolk-1979, p. 73
MusFestAmer-1990, p. 161