Summer Shakespeare Stratford Festival of Canada

The First "Glorious Summer"

That Stratford, Ontario, is the home of the largest classical repertory theatre in North America is ultimately attributable to the dream of one man, Stratford-born journalist Tom Patterson.

In the early 1950s, seeing the economy of his home town endangered by the withdrawal of the railway industry that had sustained it for nearly 80 years, Patterson conceived the idea of a theatre festival devoted to the works of William Shakespeare. His vision won the support not only of Stratford City Council and an enthusiastic committee of citizens but also of the legendary British actor and director Tyrone Guthrie, who agreed to become the proposed festivals first Artistic Director. The Stratford Shakespearean Festival of Canada was incorporated as a legal entity on October 31, 1952; a giant canvas tent was ordered from a firm in Chicago; and in the parklands by Stratford s Avon River work began on a concrete amphitheatre at the centre of which was to be a revolutionary thrust stage created to Guthries specifications by internationally renowned theatrical designer Tanya Moiseiwitsch.

From that stage, on the night of July 13, 1953, actor Alec Guinness spoke the opening lines of Richard III:
Now is the winter of our discontent / Made glorious summer by this son of York. Those words marked the triumphant end of what had sometimes seemed a hopeless struggle against the odds to turn Patterson's dream into a reality and the beginning of an astonishing new chapter in Canadian theatre history. The other production of that inaugural six-week season, a modern-dress version of All's Well That Ends Well, opened the following night, confirming the opinion of celebrated novelist Robertson Davies that the new Festival was an achievement of historic importance not only in Canada but wherever the theatre is taken seriously that is to say, in every civilized country in the world.

"Such Stuff as Dreams are Made On"

In the years since its first season the Stratford Festival of Canada has set benchmarks for the production not only of Shakespeare, Molière, the ancient Greeks and other great dramatists of the past but also of such 20th-century masters as Samuel Beckett, Bertolt Brecht, Anton Chekhov, Henrik Ibsen, Eugene O'Neill and Tennessee Williams. In addition to acclaimed productions of the best in operetta and musical theatre, it has also showcased and in many cases premiered works by outstanding Canadian and other contemporary playwrights.

Its artists have included the finest actors, directors and designers in Canada, as well as many from abroad. Among the internationally renowned performers who have graced its stages are Alan Bates, Brian Bedford, Douglas Campbell, Len Cariou, Brent Carver, Hume Cronyn, Colm Feore, Megan Follows, Lorne Greene, Paul Gross, Uta Hagen, Julie Harris, Martha Henry, William Hutt, James Mason, Eric McCormack, Loreena McKennitt, Richard Monette, John Neville, Nicholas Pennell, Christopher Plummer, Sarah Polley, Douglas Rain, Kate Reid, Jason Robards, Paul Scofield, William Shatner, Maggie Smith, Jessica Tandy, Peter Ustinov and Al Waxman.

Drawing audiences of more than 600,000 each year, the Festival season now runs from April to November and includes a full programme of Fringe activities, including concert recitals, discussion sessions and readings by celebrated authors. It offers an extensive programme of educational and enrichment activities for students, teachers and other patrons, and operates its own in-house school of professional artist development: the Stratford Festival Conservatory for Classical Theatre Training. The Festival is currently building a $50-million Endowment Foundation to ensure that its founders dream remains a reality for all time.

The 2005 season runs April 19th to November 6th.