KITCHENER -- The Stratford Festival will kick off its 2021 season with outdoor shows starting on July 10.
Each show will be able to accommodate up to 100 people, at 25 per cent capacity in the outdoor canopies.
“We are thrilled to be able to progress with our 2021 season,” Executive Director Anita Gaffney said in a news release. “A season outdoors under canopies is not only fitting for the current conditions but draws parallels to the festival’s first season in 1953. As we were then, we are under a canopy – and we are starting the performance season in July, just as we did 68 years ago. A relentless spirit of adventure has guided our efforts over the past several months and we can hardly wait to welcome our audiences back both in person and online, which has become a new Stratford Festival tradition during the pandemic.”
Outdoor rehearsals began earlier this month, and will move inside shortly.
“Rehearsing outdoors comes with challenges,” said Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino in the release. “But to see actors and creative teams back at work is a balm for the soul. As we move towards July 10, we are able to bring more artists on board and get more and more staff back to work. It feels good and we are hopeful that there are even better days ahead.”
There are six plays in 2021, including "A Midsummer Night’s Dream," "The Rez Sisters," "Three Tall Women," "Serving Elizabeth, and "I Am William."
Organizers will also record the production this year, and they'll be available to the public in September.
Tickets for the season will go on sale for members on July 6. Remaining tickets will be open to the public on July 12.
Shows will run three times a day from July 10 until the end of September.
More information on the 2021 season and line-up is available here.
