Serving Elizabeth

1939

Co-written by Jani Lauzon and Kaitlyn Riordan, 1939 follows a group of Indigenous students in Canada staging a performance of Shakespeare’s All’s Well That Ends Well for the visit of King George VI. When they find parallels between themselves and the characters in the play, far from letting themselves be defined by colonial expectations, they set out to make Shakespeare’s bitter-sweet comedy defiantly their own. Captured live at Stratford Festival, 2022.

All's Well That Ends Well

Set against the backdrop of the First World War, this Stratford Festival production reimagines Shakespeare’s comedy of unrequited love. In a daring adaptation by Scott Wentworth, Helen will go to any lengths to win the acceptance of the man she loves. Filmed live at the Tom Patterson Theatre in September 2022, this version explores the moral ambiguities in Shakespeare’s classic tale of devotion.

Antony and Cleopatra

Shakespeare’s rendering of an epic love affair that shook the foundations of the ancient world comes to vivid life in this Stratford Festival production. Filmed live in 2015, Geraint Wyn Davies and Yanna McIntosh star as the powerful rulers whose insatiable love leads to the greatest of tragedies.

Coriolanus

Coriolanus traces the turbulent career of its eponymous hero, an arrogant Roman general who turns on the city after being exiled. Stratford Festival's distinctive production adapts Shakespeare's political allegory to explore modern democracy, particularly the connection between public opinion, freedom of speech and social media.

Death and the King's Horseman

Written by Nobel Prize winner Wole Soyinka and inspired by a true story, this masterpiece celebrates a community striving to uphold its culture in the face of colonial power. In British-occupied Nigeria, a Yoruba king, the Alafin, has died, and it is the duty of his horseman, Elesin, to accompany him into the afterlife. Elesin proudly anticipates his transition to the next world – but the sacred ritual is interrupted, resulting in unforeseen tragedy. Captured live at Stratford Festival, 2022.

Hamlet

Shakespeare’s masterpiece unfolds in this acclaimed production from Stratford Festival, in which a ghostly visit proves to be the catalyst for a catastrophic and violent sequence of events.

Hamlet

This bold adaptation of Shakespeare’s iconic tragedy explores identity, family, and revenge through a modern lens. Directed by Peter Pasyk and starring Amaka Umeh, the first artist of African descent and liminal gender experience to portray Hamlet at the Stratford Festival, this production shines a light on contemporary issues of selfhood and morality. Captured live at the Festival Theatre in October 2022.

Henry VIII

Stratford Festival presents Shakespeare’s Henry VIII, a searing drama about one of England’s most romantic yet brutal periods. When King Henry falls for Anne Boleyn, he must somehow divorce Queen Katherine. The consequences will be momentous for the country – and disastrous for the king’s adviser, Cardinal Wolsey, who is losing his grip on power. Captured live at Stratford Festival’s Studio Theatre in 2019.

King John

Filmed live at Stratford festival in 2015, Tom McCamus commands the stage as England’s hedonistic and mercurial king in Shakespeare's tale of tenuous rule and desperate measures. This vivid production also stars Patricia Collins as the wickedly ambitious Queen Eleanor.

King Lear

“How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child!” Shakespeare’s epic tragedy is brought vividly to life in this Stratford Festival production, in which madness descends with brutal ferocity as kingdoms and families are irrevocably divided. Filmed live at the festival in 2015, Colm Feore stars as the ageing king while Sara Farb takes on the role of his banished daughter, Cordelia.