It wasn’t very long ago that the Stratford Festival was seeing its darkest days in decades
The festival finished its 2012 season with a $3.4-million deficit and its lowest attendance figures in 30 years.
But two years later, it’s a very different story being told behind the Festival Theatre’s main stage.
Friday, festival organizers announced that five shows have had their runs at the 2014 festival extended.
King John, Mother Courage and Her Children and Antony and Cleopatra will spend an extra week in September at the Tom Patterson Theatre, while King Lear and Crazy for You will get an additional week in October.
“We’re delighted,” artistic director Antoni Cimolino tells CTV News.
“The demand (for tickets) has been very strong, and we’re finding that the demand is growing as the summer goes on.”
This year’s plays have been getting strong reviews from critics, particularly the Colm Feore-starring King Lear.
But it’s not just the festival itself raking in the proceeds of a busier season, as success at the Stratford Festival is felt across the city.
Jeffrey Leney owns the Pazzo restaurant on Ontario Street.
He says the uptick in business at the theatres is good for his bottom line as well.
“When there are guests coming to the festival, they’re in the town,” he said.
“They’re spending money in the shops and they’re eating in the restaurants.”
Cimolino credits part of the festival’s turnaround to programs promoting discounted tickets for students and people under 30, as well as more buses coming in from Toronto and Detroit – all of which, he says, will remain in the cards for future seasons.
