From Hamlet to Mary Poppins, Stratford Festival unveils ambitious 75th season
Jonathan Church’s first season spans Shakespeare, spectacular musicals, Canadian premieres and a landmark three-play collaboration with Saul Rubinek
Media Release supplied by Stratford Festival, September 23, 2026… The Stratford Festival will celebrate its 75th season with a sweeping 13-production playbill that brings together Shakespeare, major musicals, new Canadian work, family shows and large-scale historical drama in Artistic Director Jonathan Church’s inaugural season. It is a slate that reflects both the traditions that have shaped Stratford since its first season in 1953 and the artistic curiosity that continues to drive it forward.
Jonathan Church
At the heart of the milestone season is Hamlet, opening on the Festival’s anniversary date, July 13. The season will also feature Mary Poppins and Chicago; the Canadian premieres of Hilary Mantel’s Tudor epics Wolf Hall (Part 1) and Bring Up the Bodies (Part 2); Eric McCormack in Noël Coward’s Present Laughter; The Taming of the Shrew; Daniel David Moses’s Almighty Voice and His Wife; the return of Kat Sandler’s Anne of Green Gables; the world premiere of a new Canadian musical based on Mordecai Richler’s Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang; and an ambitious three-play exploration of Jewish identity, memory and representation led by Saul Rubinek.
“One of the things that drew me to Stratford is the extraordinary range of work that can flourish here,” says Church. “There are very few theatre companies in the world where Shakespeare, major musicals, family theatre, new Canadian plays and large-scale historical drama can share the same season. That breadth is one of Stratford’s great strengths and it is something I wanted to embrace in my first season as Artistic Director.”
“Since Jonathan’s arrival at Stratford, he has brought enormous energy, curiosity and respect for this institution and its artists,” says Lawrence Stevenson, Chair of the Festival’s Board of Directors. “His first season is ambitious in scale, broad in appeal and confident in what Stratford can be. It is both unmistakably Stratford and unmistakably his own. The Board could not be more pleased to see him begin his tenure in this landmark 75th season.”
Hamlet marks Stratford’s 75th
Hamlet is the Shakespearean centrepiece of the 2027 season. Opening on July 13, the date of the Stratford Festival’s inaugural performance in 1953, the production will stand at the heart of the Festival’s 75th-season celebrations. Directed by former Stratford Festival Artistic Director Des McAnuff, known for productions of cinematic sweep and theatrical ambition, this Hamlet unfolds in postwar Europe amid a growing Soviet menace, in a world of glamour, political intrigue, surveillance and gathering danger.
Major musicals bring sparkle to the Festival Theatre
The ebullient musical Mary Poppins will enchant Stratford audiences with the glorious Vanessa Sears taking on the iconic role, hot off her triumphant portrayal of Juliet in & Juliet at Mirvish Entertainment in Toronto. Blowing in on the east wind to lead this heartwarming production are U.K. directors Jonathan O’Boyle and Stephen Mear. Their own enchantment with the Festival Theatre is inspiring the most elaborate flying sequences ever staged on the open stage. Mear, who helped make Mary Poppins an international stage phenomenon – and shared in an Olivier Award for that work – will also serve as choreographer.
Filled with beloved songs including “A Spoonful of Sugar,” “Chim Chim Cher-ee” and “Let’s Go Fly a Kite,” Mary Poppins is a magical adventure for children and a joyful trip down Cherry Tree Lane for grown-ups who secretly still know all the words to “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.”
The Festival will have a special pre-sale opportunity for this highly anticipated production of Mary Poppins. Registration for it can be found at stratfordfestival.ca
Joining Hamlet and Mary Poppins at the Festival Theatre is the sexy, seductive musical Chicago. Directed and choreographed by Donna Feore, this thrilling production will combine electrifying dance, unforgettable characters and the dynamic musical storytelling for which Feore is famous. Featuring an iconic score packed with Broadway favourites including “All That Jazz,” “Cell Block Tango” and “Razzle Dazzle,” Chicago is a dazzling celebration of fame, ambition and the power of a good story.
Feore originally staged Chicago in 2022 as the Festival’s first foray into full musical production after the pandemic shutdown, when audiences were still required to wear masks. It was met with such an electrifying response that Church wanted to share it with an even wider audience now that people are enthusiastically returning to the theatre. The production was a Globe and Mail Critic’s Pick, praised in The New York Times for its original choreography, and described by the Chicago Tribune as “an audience-pleasing doozie” with “amped up razzamatazz.” Feore has even more in store for 2027.
Jonathan Church makes his Stratford directorial debut with Wolf Hall
Jonathan Church’s Stratford directorial debut will be at the Avon Theatre, where he will stage a two-part epic, the Canadian premieres of Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies, Mike Poulton’s acclaimed adaptations of Hilary Mantel’s bestselling novels about power, ambition and survival in the Tudor court. These celebrated plays chart the astonishing rise of both Thomas Cromwell and Anne Boleyn during the tumultuous reign of Henry VIII.
Church has directed celebrated productions around the world, including another two-part epic Nicholas Nickleby, which became a sold-out sensation at the Chichester Festival, transferred to the West End and toured across the U.K. and to Toronto. The two parts of Wolf Hall return him to that expansive theatrical scale and promise to be presented in truly magnificent proportions. The two productions have been scheduled throughout June, July and August to allow audiences to see both on consecutive days, or in many cases on the same day.
Eric McCormack returns
Eric McCormack returns to Stratford to play the lead role of Garry Essedine in the Noël Coward comedy Present Laughter. Directed by Richard Ouzounian, returning for his 13th season, the production will run at the Avon Theatre from early October to the end of November. Overflowing with glamour, romance and comic chaos, Present Laughter is a joyous celebration of friendship, celebrity and the delightful madness of show business, crackling with sexual tension and filled with Coward’s sparkling bon mots. McCormack, who has a string of successes on the stage and screen, began his career with five seasons at the Festival in the 1980s before rising to stardom in the hit series Will & Grace.
Saul Rubinek leads three plays in conversation
Saul Rubinek, one of Canada’s great actors, returns to the Festival for the first time since 1969 with an extraordinary three-play theatrical conversation conceived around Shylock, Jewish identity and his own family history.
Rubinek will appear in The Merchant of Venice, Playing Shylock and his new play, All in the Telling. Together, the three works trace a compelling arc: from Shakespeare’s Shylock, to a contemporary actor confronting the character and his legacy, to a playwright drawing directly on his own family’s history offering distinct perspectives on Jewish identity across generations.
The Merchant of Venice will be directed by Chris Abraham. Playing Shylock, written by Mark Leiren-Young, will be directed by Martin Kinch and produced in association with Starvox Entertainment. All in the Telling, by Saul Rubinek, is being developed in collaboration with Starvox Entertainment and Crow’s Theatre and directed by Crow’s Artistic Director Chris Abraham. This will be the play’s world premiere.
The idea for this triptych of plays grew out of the highly successful Toronto and Off-Broadway runs of Playing Shylock, which is set in the aftermath of the fictional cancellation of a production of The Merchant of Venice. Presenting the two works alongside one another places Shakespeare’s play and its complicated legacy in direct theatrical conversation. The addition of Rubinek’s new play, All in the Telling, which draws on his experience as the son of Holocaust survivors from Poland, extends that conversation from representation to lived memory.
The performance schedule allows audiences to experience the three plays in combination, including opportunities to attend The Merchant of Venice and Playing Shylock together and a remarkable opportunity to see all three productions in a single day.
Canadian works – including a new musical – take centre stage
At the Tom Patterson Theatre, a thrilling theatrical event: the world premiere of the new Canadian musical Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang, based on the beloved Mordecai Richler children’s book, with music and lyrics by Stratford sisters Anika Johnson and Britta Johnson and book by David S. Craig.
Workshopped over the past three years, the production is produced in partnership with Theatre Calgary and will be directed by Theatre Calgary Artistic Director Stafford Arima, whose production of Forgiveness was at the heart of the 2025 Tom Patterson season. Joining Arima on the production is award-winning choreographer Jesse Robb, who, like Arima, works on Broadway, internationally and here at the Festival. Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang, the first musical to be presented at the new Tom Patterson Theatre, brings a cherished story to life, offering a joyful introduction for a new generation of fans and a nostalgic return to a treasured Canadian favourite.
The Avon Theatre will see the return of Kat Sandler’s runaway hit adaptation of Anne of Green Gables. Commissioned by the Festival and first presented here in 2025, this truly delightful production, directed by Sandler, will touch down in September for a three-week run before heading out to further Canadian climes. Critics and audiences alike embraced the production on its debut, making it the season’s hot ticket. The Globe and Mail called it “the show you absolutely, categorically cannot miss,” while a Toronto Star critic who admitted he “didn’t think we needed yet another adaptation” found himself won over “in mere minutes,” and ultimately declared the production “unmissable.”
At the Studio Theatre, Yvette Nolan directs Daniel David Moses’s ground-breaking play Almighty Voice and His Wife, a love story between two Cree people living in the colonial upheaval of Saskatchewan in the 1890s. The play, inspired by the story of famed Cree resistance fighter Kisse-Manitou-Wayou (“Almighty Voice”), becomes in its second half a vaudevillian dreamscape, a transformative fantasia representing the ways in which Indigenous people were misrepresented, romanticized and erased by settler society, expanding a deeply personal love story into an exploration of memory, representation and Indigenous resilience.
Shakespeare spans the 2027 season
Joining Hamlet and The Merchant of Venice is The Taming of The Shrew, directed by Krista Jackson at the Tom Patterson Theatre, in a production that will draw Shakespeare’s comedy into today’s world of reality TV, where, as in the original text, a carefully crafted reputation is everything and public opinion must be cultivated. The spirited couple at the play’s heart, the fiercely independent Katherina and the swaggering bachelor Petruchio, are certain to ignite the stage with their fiery battle of wills. Jackson will bring her keen comic eye to the production, which promises to satirize the marriage market just as delightfully as her sparkling 2026 production of The Importance of Being Earnest.
Earlier performance times for 2027
In response to changing audience habits, the Festival is moving to earlier start times for performances in 2027, with matinees starting at 1:30 and evening performances at 7:30, with the inclusion of some early matinees beginning at noon, particularly for school audiences.
Stratford productions reach audiences across Canada
As Church looks to partnerships nationally and internationally, the Festival is collaborating with other Canadian theatres on a number of productions in the 2027 season and several Stratford premieres from recent seasons will be appearing on stages beyond Stratford.
“One of the joys of making theatre at Stratford is seeing that work find new audiences beyond our stages,” says Church. “Four productions that began their lives here under Antoni Cimolino’s leadership will now move on to other theatres, giving people across the country the opportunity to experience them. This season sees us partnering in various ways with the Citadel in Edmonton, Crow’s and Mirvish in Toronto, the National Arts Centre in Ottawa and Theatre Calgary, relationships I hope will thrive.”
The King James Bible Play, by Charlotte Corbeil-Coleman, a Stratford Festival commission, which will soon wrap up its sold-out run here, will be presented at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa from November 11 to 21, 2026.
The Diviners, based on the novel by Margaret Laurence, with text by Vern Thiessen with Yvette Nolan, commissioned and first presented at the Festival in 2024, will be presented at the National Arts Centre from January 12 to 23, 2027.
Salesman in China, by Leanna Brodie and Jovanni Sy, a Stratford Festival commission first presented in 2024, will be presented by Mirvish Productions at Toronto’s Royal Alexandra Theatre from June 8 to July 25, 2027.
Anne of Green Gables, by Kat Sandler, based on the novel by L.M. Montgomery, a Stratford Festival commission first presented in 2025, will be presented at the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton in October 2027.
There’s even more to come!
A fabulous lineup for the Meighen Forum is in the works. These events will be announced at a later date.
Stay tuned for a casting announcement, coming in a few weeks.
The 2027 season will run from April 28 to November 28. Tickets will go on sale November 15, preceded by a special advance sales period for members of the Stratford Festival. Theatregoers can register for a special Mary Poppins pre-sale through a link on the Stratford Festival homepage, www.stratfordfestival.ca.
“As I begin my Stratford adventure in the Festival’s 75th season, I’m reflecting on Tyrone Guthrie’s bold journey to Stratford in 1953 and on the spirit of adventure that brought Tom Patterson’s dream for this remarkable theatre into being,” says Church. “The greatest tribute we can pay that legacy is not simply to look back, but to continue moving forward with curiosity, courage and imagination.”
OUR SUPPORTERS
The 2027 Season is generously supported by Ophelia Lazaridis
Proud 2027 Season Partners: BMO, Canada Life and RBC Royal Bank
Festival Theatre
Support for the 2027 season of the Festival Theatre is generously provided by Daniel Bernstein & Claire Foerster
Hamlet
By William Shakespeare
Director: Des McAnuff
Choreographer: Jesse Robb
Set and Costume Designer: Debra Hanson
Lighting Designer: Ben Stanton
Video Designer: Sean Nieuwenhuis
Composer: Michael Roth
Sound Designer: Adam Campbell
June 20 to October 30 | Opens July 13
When a ghostly visitor reveals a shocking secret, Prince Hamlet is drawn into a search for truth that challenges everything he believes. Spectacularly unsettling and emotionally charged, this thrilling new staging is set in postwar Europe amidst the growing Soviet menace. Returning home to Denmark after his father’s death, Hamlet finds his uncle on the throne and his recently widowed mother remarried to him. He struggles to uncover the truth behind his father’s fate, only to become ensnared in a web of deception, surveillance and revenge. As the play hurtles toward one of the most gripping and devastating conclusions in all of drama, Hamlet finds himself questioning the very foundations of his world.
Disney and Cameron Mackintosh’s Mary Poppins
A Musical based on the stories of P.L. Travers and the Walt Disney Film
Original Music and Lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman
Book by Julian Fellowes
New Songs and Additional Music and Lyrics by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe
Co-Created by Cameron Mackintosh
Directors: Jonathan O’Boyle and Stephen Mear
Choreographer: Stephen Mear
Music Director: Franklin Brasz
Set Designer: Cory Sincennes
Costume Designer: Dana Osborne
Lighting Designer: Bonnie Beecher
April 29 to November 6 | Opens May 31
When an extraordinary nanny blows in on the east wind, the Banks family’s world is turned upside down in the most delightful way. Every day is filled with impossible surprises as Mary Poppins and her ever-cheerful friend Bert lead her young charges Jane and Michael on a string of magical adventures. Featuring the most elaborate flying sequences ever staged at the Festival Theatre, this brand-new production brings audiences into the heart of the story in a way only Stratford can. Filled with beloved songs including “A Spoonful of Sugar,” “Chim Chim Cher-ee” and “Let’s Go Fly a Kite,” Mary Poppins is a magical adventure for children and a joyful trip down Cherry Tree Lane for grown-ups who secretly still know all the words to “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.”
Chicago
Book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse
Music by John Kander
Lyrics by Fred Ebb
Based on the play by Maurine Dallas Watkins
Script Adaptation by David Thompson
Director: Donna Feore
Choreographer: Donna Feore
Music Director: Éric Charbonneau
Set Designer: Michael Gianfrancesco
Costume Designer: Dana Osborne
Lighting Designers: Michael Walton and Bonnie Beecher
May 24 to November 7 | Opens June 26
In a world where celebrity can be more valuable than innocence, Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart compete for the spotlight from behind the bars of Cook County Jail. As their sensational murder cases capture Chicago’s attention, the two women are swept into a flurry of newspaper headlines, courtroom drama and outrageous schemes to outshine one another. Featuring an iconic score packed with Broadway favourites including “All That Jazz,” “Cell Block Tango” and “Razzle Dazzle,” Chicago is a dazzling celebration of fame, ambition and the power of a good story. Sexy, seductive and wickedly funny, it pulses with vibrant Jazz Age energy.
Avon Theatre
Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall
Adapted for the stage by Mike Poulton
Canadian Premiere
Director: Jonathan Church
Set Designer: Julie Fox
Costume Designer: Sue LePage
Lighting Designer: Michael Walton
Composer and Sound Designer: Thomas Ryder Payne
Movement Director: Stephanie Graham
June 4 to August 21 | Opens June 27
England stands at the brink of transformation. King Henry VIII, consumed by his need for a male heir, is determined to end his marriage to Katherine of Aragon and marry the captivating Anne Boleyn. As powerful enemies clash over the future of the kingdom, one man rises from obscurity to the very centre of power. Brilliant and endlessly resourceful, Thomas Cromwell must navigate a dangerous world of shifting loyalties and life-or-death political battles.
Hilary Mantel’s Bring Up the Bodies
Adapted for the stage by Mike Poulton
Canadian Premiere
Director: Jonathan Church
Set Designer: Julie Fox
Costume Designer: Sue LePage
Lighting Designer: Michael Walton
Composer and Sound Designer: Thomas Ryder Payne
Movement Director: Stephanie Graham
June 19 to August 21 | Opens June 27
Anne Boleyn has won her crown, but the struggle is far from over. Thomas Cromwell is at the height of his influence and King Henry VIII has everything he desires – except a male heir. Beneath the splendour of the Tudor court, fear and suspicion drive events toward a dangerous reckoning. As alliances fracture and loyalties are tested, one of history’s most powerful women finds herself in increasing peril. With chilling precision, Bring Up the Bodies traces the shocking distance between the throne and the scaffold, bringing this epic theatrical event to its devastating conclusion.
Schulich Children’s Play
Anne of Green Gables
A new adaptation by Kat Sandler
Based on the novel by Lucy Maud Montgomery
A Stratford Festival Commission
Director: Kat Sandler
Set and Costume Designer: Joanna Yu 余頌恩
Lighting Designer: Davida Tkach
Composer: James Smith
September 2 to September 25 | Opens September 12
Red-headed, outspoken and blessed with an imagination that knows no bounds, Anne Shirley arrives at Green Gables by mistake but brings unexpected joy to the lives of Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert. Along the way she discovers a kindred spirit in Diana Barry, a worthy rival in Gilbert Blythe and a place in a community that isn’t always sure what to make of her. Returning after its celebrated 2025 premiere, this Stratford Festival commission by Kat Sandler reimagines a cherished Canadian classic for a new generation, culminating in a subtle and deeply moving step into the present day.
Present Laughter
By Noël Coward
Director: Richard Ouzounian
Set Designer: Brian Perchaluk
Costume Designer: Dana Osborne
Lighting Designer: Kevin Lamotte
Sound Designer: Olivia Wheeler
October 9 to November 28 | Opens October 16
The charming, self-absorbed Garry Essendine has a problem: everyone wants a piece of him. As the celebrated stage idol prepares to leave on tour, his carefully ordered life is thrown into comic disarray by an endless parade of admirers, friends, ex-lovers and would-be companions, each determined to claim a place in his life. While the sexual tension crackles and Noël Coward’s sparkling bon mots fill the air with laughter, Garry finds himself being stretched increasingly thin. Eric McCormack, who began his career at the Stratford Festival in the 1980s before rising to stardom, plays Coward’s irresistibly charismatic leading man.
Tom Patterson Theatre
Support for the 2027 season at the Tom Patterson Theatre provided by BMO
Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang
Book by David S. Craig
Music and Lyrics by Anika Johnson and Britta Johnson
Based on the novel by Mordecai Richler
Produced in partnership with Theatre Calgary
A Stratford Festival Commission
World Premiere
Director: Stafford Arima
Choreographer: Jesse Robb
Creative Consultant: Bob Martin
Music Supervisor: Lynne Shankel
Music Director: Jonathan Corkal-Astorga
Set Designer: Bretta Gerecke
Costume Designer: Ralamy Kneeshaw
Lighting Designer: Michael Walton
Sound Designer: Brian Kenny
April 28 to October 30 | Opens June 2
Jacob Two-Two may be the smallest member of his family, but when a misunderstanding lands him in a children’s prison ruled by the fearsome Hooded Fang, he discovers that courage can come from the unlikeliest places. Battling villains, outwitting grown-ups and leading a daring rebellion against the Hooded Fang’s reign of terror, Jacob transforms from an overlooked younger brother into a full-blown hero. This world premiere musical brings Mordecai Richler’s cherished story to life, offering a joyful introduction for a new generation of fans and a nostalgic return to a treasured Canadian favourite.
The Taming of the Shrew
By William Shakespeare
Director: Krista Jackson
Set Designer: Lorenzo Savoini
Costume Designer: Anne Dixon
Lighting Designer: Leigh Ann Vardy
Sound Designer: Olivia Wheeler
August 11 to October 31 | Opens August 26
In a world where a carefully crafted reputation is everything and public opinion must be cultivated, the fiercely independent Katherina is refusing to play the role that’s been written for her. Then Petruchio arrives on the scene: a swaggering bachelor who decides he’s the one who can tame her nature – and win the dowry that comes along with her. When their personalities clash, their battle of wills turns so exhilarating it ignites a fiery connection. But now that they’ve found each other, how will they play their relationship to an audience?
The Merchant of Venice
By William Shakespeare
Director: Chris Abraham
Set Designer: Julie Fox
Costume Designer: Ming Wong 黄慧明
Lighting Designer: Imogen Wilson
Composer and Sound Designer: Thomas Ryder Payne
May 8 to October 30 | Opens June 1
When Antonio signs a risky bond with Shylock, a Jewish moneylender, to help a friend pursue a wealthy heiress, a seemingly simple transaction sets in motion events that test the limits of justice, mercy and human compassion. At the heart of the story is Shylock, one of Shakespeare’s most contested characters, subjected to anti-Jewish prejudice, capable of cruelty himself, and written with a humanity and complexity that have challenged actors and audiences for centuries.
Acclaimed stage and screen actor Saul Rubinek takes on the role in a production directed by Chris Abraham, known for his insightful interpretations of classic texts and his ability to illuminate their contemporary resonance. The production is presented alongside two companion works, Playing Shylock and All in the Telling, which extend the conversation around Shylock, Jewish identity, representation and memory.
Studio Theatre
Production support made possible by the Pitblado Family Studio Theatre Endowment Fund
Playing Shylock
By Mark Leiren-Young
Produced in association with Starvox Entertainment
Director: Martin Kinch
Set and Costume Designer: Shawn Kerwin
Lighting Designer: Jason Hand
Sound Designer: Olivia Wheeler
May 21 to September 25 | Opens June 1
When a production of The Merchant of Venice is abruptly cancelled, the actor playing Shylock steps forward to claim the stage, launching into a spontaneous and deeply personal reflection.
Stage and screen star Saul Rubinek delivers a tour-de-force performance that is by turns funny, thought-provoking and deeply moving, exploring an actor’s evolving relationship with one of Shakespeare’s most debated characters and inviting audiences to see the play in new and surprising ways. This play is a perfect complement to The Merchant of Venice and can be enjoyed alongside All in the Telling.
All in the Telling
A (somewhat true) play by Saul Rubinek
Developed in collaboration with Starvox Entertainment and Crow’s Theatre
World Premiere
Director: Chris Abraham
Set and Costume Designer: Michael Gianfrancesco
Lighting Designer: Imogen Wilson
Composer and Sound Designer: Thomas Ryder Payne
August 4 to September 26 | Opens August 25
Drawing on Saul Rubinek’s own family history, including his father’s life as an actor and his parents’ experiences as Holocaust survivors, All in the Telling explores what happens when a son begins recording the stories his parents have carried with them for a lifetime. This deeply personal play is a reminder of why we tell the stories of our most difficult histories, even when we have spent years avoiding them, when memory is painful or uncertain and when we question our own right to tell them. This will be the world premiere of this play, developed in collaboration with Starvox Entertainment and Crow’s Theatre and directed by Crow’s Artistic Director, Chris Abraham. It is presented alongside The Merchant of Venice and Playing Shylock.
Almighty Voice and His Wife
By Daniel David Moses
Director: Yvette Nolan
Set and Costume Designer: Jackie Chau
Lighting Designer: Michelle Ramsay
Sound Designer: Debashis Sinha
Movement Director: James Viveiros
June 11 to September 25 | Opens June 25
White Girl has returned from a residential school carrying memories she cannot escape. Almighty Voice dreams of a future beyond the forces seeking to control his people and his life. Inspired by the story of the famed Cree resistance fighter and his wife, Daniel David Moses’s ground-breaking work is at once a love story, a lament and an act of rebellion. Blending humour with a clear-eyed reckoning of colonialism’s enduring impact, the play journeys from romance and heartbreak into a strange vaudevillian world where identities shift and stereotypes are exposed.