Stratford Festival is an annual theater festival held in Stratford, Ontario, in Canada. The festival runs from late April to early November. The plays of the great English playwright William Shakespeare form the central part of the festival, but the works of other classical and modern playwrights are also presented. Plays and musicals are performed in four theaters: the Festival Theatre, the Avon Theatre, the Tom Patterson Theatre, and the Studio Theatre.
In addition to stage performances, the festival offers literary readings, discussions between performers and the audience, and other events. The festival also hosts university-level courses for students and teachers of English, running throughout August. The courses cover such subjects as Shakespeare in performance, and voice and movement in the theater. In addition, the festival offers courses of interest to the general public.
Since 2000, the festival has organized a Shakespeare School for young people, a series of residential courses for students from 13 to 18 years old. The school explores classical theater with a focus on text, voice, and movement. Stratford’s Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre operates during the fall and winter months. After completion of the training, the students spend a nine-month term with the festival company.
Tom Patterson, a local journalist, founded the festival in 1953. The first season of plays lasted six weeks during July and August, and all performances were given in a large tent. The Festival Theatre opened in 1957. In 1963, the festival bought the Avon Theatre. In 1971, the festival leased an arena now known as the Tom Patterson Theatre for its productions. The Studio Theatre opened in 2002.
