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Charismatic, cunning, and utterly ruthless, Richard, Duke of Gloucester (Colm Feore) is the very embodiment of lethal ambition as he maneuvers and murders his way to the throne of England.

Drama | 116 min

Richard III

After surviving a fire that resulted in the amputation of his arms, a young actor named Prince must come to terms with being “differently-abled.” After a break from the stage, Prince is now returning to acting. Through his powerful and honest performances, he finds healing in his art, which allows him to form deep connections with his audience and the world around him.

Biography | 16 min

Prince's Tale

FreeUp! is the annual youth-led celebration of Emancipation Day featuring music, theatre, spoken word, and dance, hosted by Ngozi Paul, featuring Jully Black, and co-produced with CBC ARTS.

Specials | 2 episodes

FreeUp! Emancipation Day 2022

Showered with awards and critical acclaim, this darkly comic Canadian series follows the fortunes of a dysfunctional Shakespearean theatre troupe, exposing the high drama, scorching battles, and artistic miracles that happen behind the scenes.

Comedy | 3 seasons

Slings & Arrows

Love, Gilda opens up a unique window into the honest and whimsical world of the beloved comedian, Gilda Radner.

Documentary | 87 min

Love, Gilda

The Merry Wives of Windsor is a comedy by William Shakespeare first published in 1602, though believed to have been written in or before 1597. The Windsor of the play's title is a reference to the town of Windsor, also the location of Windsor Castle, in Berkshire, England. Though nominally set in the reign of Henry IV, the play makes no pretence to exist outside contemporary Elizabethan era English middle-class life. It features the character Sir John Falstaff, the fat knight who had previously been featured in Henry IV, Part 1 and Part 2. It has been adapted for the opera on several occasions. The play is one of Shakespeare's lesser-regarded works among literary critics.

The Merry Wives of Windsor

Othello (The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice) is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603. It is based on the story Un Capitano Moro ("A Moorish Captain") by Cinthio (a disciple of Boccaccio's), first published in 1565. The story revolves around its two central characters: Othello, a Moorish general in the Venetian army, and his treacherous ensign, Iago. Given its varied and enduring themes of racism, love, jealousy, betrayal, revenge, and repentance, Othello is still often performed in professional and community theatre alike, and has been the source for numerous operatic, film, and literary adaptations.

Othello

The film is based on a stage play of the same name, written by Amy Nostbakken and Norah Sadava. The story follows Cassandra, who is portrayed by the two women, as she expresses “the opposing voices that exist inside the modern woman’s head, during a 48-hour period as she tries to organize the affairs for her mother’s funeral,” including writing her eulogy.

Drama | 89 min

Mouthpiece

The Stratford Festival’s “riveting” and “exhilarating” (The New York Times) production of Shakespeare’s Coriolanus, directed by genre-defying theatre artist Robert Lepage, has been called “the show of the decade … a landmark production for the Stratford Festival. Maybe for William Shakespeare, too” (The Globe and Mail), and “the greatest contemporary staging of this play that I have ever seen” (Chicago Tribune). The production stars “André Sills, a magnetic and imposing actor” (The New York Times), with a stellar cast delivering “performances that send shivers down the spine” (The Globe and Mail). Lepage takes the story about the rise and fall of a legendary general who must face off against the angry Roman mob and infuses it with the energy of Occupy Wall Street and the Arab Spring. “By resetting dialogue-heavy scenes as talk radio gabfests, and representing the uninformed mob as anonymous voices on social media, Robert Lepage helps clarify Shakespeare’s portrait of a world, like ours, overwhelmed with insincerity” (The New York Times). He “wrangles a difficult play into a heart-stopping narrative” (Chicago Tribune), “rendering a clear and cinematic version that’s riveting, invigorating and smart” (The Globe and Mail). “Rarely has Lepage’s reputation as a cinematic theatremaker been more earned” (Toronto Star).

Drama | 117 min

Coriolanus

What happens when a Deaf amateur theatre director and his hearing girlfriend unite a group of thrity Deaf and hearing people to mount a unique adaptation of The Little Mermaid? Turns out: a whole lot of drama, onstage and off. That's the story we're telling in Seen & Heard.

Documentary | 1 season

Seen & Heard

The Athenian nobleman Timon is renowned for his lavish gifts and extravagant hospitality. His loyal steward, Flavius, and the cynical philosopher Apemantus warn him that his reckless generosity can only lead to ruin and disillusionment, but Timon, espousing an almost fanatical belief in human goodness, ignores their advice. When his money runs out and his creditors demand payment, Timon sends confidently to his “friends” for help. When all refuse him, he throws one last party, at which he curses all the guests before retreating to the woods outside the city to nurse his newfound hatred of humanity. His anger remains unabated even when, digging for roots to keep himself alive, he comes upon a buried cache of gold. Cursing it as an evil, he gives some to Alcibiades, a former Athenian general who is about to attack the city in revenge for his unjustified exile, and some to Flavius, his former steward. Refusing an offer of friendship from Apemantus, Timon also rejects a desperate plea from the Athenian senate for help in defending the city against Alcibiades’s army. His last act is to compose his own epitaph, which bitterly reaffirms his misanthropy. News of Timon’s death, however, has a sobering effect on Alcibiades, who vows to enter Athens in a spirit of forgiveness rather than revenge.

Timon of Athens

Two families of Verona, the Montagues and the Capulets, are embroiled in a long-standing and deadly feud. One night, Romeo, a Montague, gate-crashes a party being given by the Capulets, in hopes of encountering Rosaline, with whom he is infatuated.
Thoughts of her are driven from his mind, however, when he catches sight of Juliet, the daughter of Lord Capulet. Juliet, whose father has promised her to a young nobleman, Paris, is likewise smitten with Romeo and agrees to marry him in a secret ceremony conducted by a well-intentioned priest, Friar Laurence. But no sooner is this done than Romeo is drawn into a brawl in which Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin, kills Romeo’s friend Mercutio – and Romeo in turn kills Tybalt. Under sentence of banishment, Romeo spends his wedding night with Juliet before going into hiding; meanwhile, Capulet orders Juliet to marry Paris within three days. Friar Laurence devises a plan: Juliet will take a potion that will make her appear to be dead, allowing Romeo to steal into her family vault and rescue her when she revives. But the message explaining this to Romeo goes astray, and he, believing Juliet to be truly dead, commits suicide over her seemingly lifeless body. Awakening to find her husband dead beside her, Juliet too kills herself, leaving both families to mourn their children and abandon their feud.

Romeo and Juliet

High school students today have to balance heavy workloads at school with increasing pressure to succeed. Fourth Period Burnout pools the creative energies of three youth - Juliette (16), Daniel (18) and Theresa (15) - and their mentor, Madison Thomas, to create a short documentary about their day-to-day experiences with stress and burnout. Juliette dances five days a week while working towards becoming an actor and pushing herself to do well in school. Daniel is a high school senior with a goal of going into film studies. He's a bit nervous about university. Theresa is a first-generation Canadian whose parents immigrated from the Philippines. She feels the pressure to do well in school, but also loves the arts and just hanging out with her friends. The idea for the documentary took shape when director Madison Thomas started teaching in an after-school program for creative teens in Winnipeg. “When one student shared her weekly school, homework, extra-curricular and part-time work schedule with me, I was floored by how much was being expected of this 16 year-old,” says Thomas. Fourth Period Burnout features the collaborative voice of the students alongside artistic recreations of the situations that hint at the emotional and psychological states of youth heading towards a burnout from being overworked at school. Through their work, the voices of the teen creators encourage other youth to practise self-care and not put so much pressure on themselves. With behind-the-scenes footage documenting the writing process and the narrative components that the students bring to life, the documentary explores how high school students are overworked and some of the ways they can manage their stress.

Documentary | 15 min

Fourth Period Burnout

When the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada released its final report into the history of Canada's residential school system, it made 94 recommendations to repair the harm caused by residential schools - and move forward with reconciliation. Among the recommendations: the need to educate Canadians on residential schools and their impacts. At the Country Day School in King City, Ontario a high school drama teacher and Tragically Hip fan Scott Garbe saw an opportunity to make a difference with the school’s spring 2017 senior performance. After Scott heard about Gord Downie’s cancer diagnosis, he knew he wanted to produce a play based on some of Gord’s songs. When Secret Path was released in October 2016, Scott felt that Chanie Wenjack’s story needed to be a big part of the show. Several months later, after hundreds of hours of workshops and rehearsals, it’s finally time to premiere the play: Ahead By A Century. On the day of the dress rehearsal, Scott invites a very special guest to watch scenes from the play: Tim “Redfeather” Thomas, a 74-year-old Mi'kmaq elder. After the performance, Redfeather tells that cast about his own experiences as residential school. In that moment, the stories the students tell in the play become very, very real. The Secret Path: Ahead by a Century features performances by students and interviews with the teacher, cast members and Redfeather, set to the to the haunting and powerful music of Gord Downie’s Secret Path.

Documentary | 1 episode

The Secret Path: Ahead By A Century

A storm at sea brings love into the life of Pericles, Prince of Tyre; another snatches it away. Many years must pass before fate guides the wandering hero to a poignant reunion with the family he thought he had lost forever.

The Adventures of Pericles

A ghostly visitor with a shocking secret, a daughter devastated by loss, a deadly duel – and the most famous question in all of drama. Just some of the reasons why Shakespeare’s iconic tragedy will hold you spellbound.

Drama | 115 min

Hamlet

When the rule of a hedonistic and mercurial king is questioned, rebellion, assassination and excommunication ensue, culminating in the chilling attempt to commit an atrocity against a child, whose mother’s anguished grief cannot atone for her blinkered ambitions for her son.

King John

The contentious story of a midlife affair that shook the foundations of the ancient world comes to life in the Stratford Festival’s production of Antony & Cleopatra.

Drama | 1 episode

Antony & Cleopatra

A kingdom divided, a family destroyed, the faithful banished, and the hateful left to wreak inhuman havoc in the realm. Four hundred years after it was written, King Lear resonates as never before.

King Lear

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