Ranking: #10 Set designer John Lee Beatty hits The Misanthrope out of the park. As does costume designer Robin Fraser Paye. But there’s a reason the aesthetics and design teams are the standouts in this production- it’s a superficial one. Moliere’s brilliant script is in predictably fine form with the superb English translation by Richard […]
Ranking: #11 Alright, Pinter is not my thing. In fact, he is so far from my taste that I found myself getting progressively annoyed at his characters and their seeming inability to make a decent decision about their lives. I have a tendency to not think nutso people are interesting or metaphorical, I usually just […]
Ranking: #12 The crime of Shakespeare’s Will was not a grave one. It’s not last on my list of enjoyable fare at The Stratford Shakespeare Festival this year because it was offensive, badly executed or terribly written. In fact it didn’t bother me in the slightest… because I was too busy trying not to fall […]
Going through our My TV archives I discovered the following article in an “Obsessions of the Week” column from the days before My Theatre existed. As I embark on my Stratford 2011 top 12 rankings, I thought I’d share the article, if only for the nostalgic fun. “I recently wrapped up my 7 show […]
This was the year that the Stratford Shakespeare Festival finally saw their ingénues grow up. Sara Topham, now in older and sturdier roles, is still smattering her characters with a think layer of affected fairy dust, but for the most part the young women of this year’s company are bringing intelligence and guts to […]
One of the best productions at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival this year is the gruesome early revenge tragedy Titus Andronicus. Director Darko Tresnjak’s enthralling production features strong performances from the likes of Amanda Lisman, John Vickery and Bruce Godfree. But much of the play’s success rests on the shoulders of one of my favourite actors, […]
The Stratford Shakespeare Festival has already announced their 2012 lineup, but other than Christopher Plummer’s return in A Word or Two, the casting still remains largely a mystery. So, before my dreams are dashed by the inevitability of some of my favourites not returning, I thought I’d speculate about what would be my ideal casting. […]
I’ve seen Evan Buliung a couple times during his eight years at the Stratford Festival. I’ve always liked him well enough but never really noticed him. I mean, I remember seeing and liking his Mercutio, but was so taken with Gareth Potter’s Romeo that I couldn’t tell you what I liked about the more challenging […]