Immerse yourself in Shakespeare, then return to your classroom inspired to teach his plays!
A FREE program for teachers, including:

• Three-day professional-development workshop on teaching Shakespeare
• Tickets to preview all of the 2017 Shakespeare titles
• A visiting artist in your classroom
• Complimentary tickets to a Prologue before your fall student matinee excursion
• Bus funding subsidies available for schools in need.

Bringing a beloved novel to life on stage is an adventure in itself, and this season's retelling of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic pirate tale is sure to be a hit for all the family to enjoy. An innovative new adaptation by Nicolas Billon will explore unexpected emotional dimensions of this high-stakes story of seafaring derring-do.

"This production uses the framing device of a father reading Treasure Island as a bedtime story to his two children," explains cast member Juan Chioran. "When his father sets the book aside for the night, young James dreams the rest of the adventure, with himself as Jim Hawkins. His imagination takes him on an incredible flight of fancy - and we get to go along for the ride.

"I play both his father and Long John Silver, who becomes very much a surrogate father figure to Jim within the story."

How can a nefarious crew of pirates become a sort of surrogate family? It happens for young Jim: he finds himself accepted by the rough-and-ready bunch, and they become almost like brothers and sisters to him.

"It truly is the quintessential adventure story for all time," says Mr. Chioran. "It is a coming-of-age for Jim, and he grows up very quickly in this relentlessly exciting set of circumstances, and he is able to manage very well in the midst of the pirate characters - he even finds himself in charge of the ship at one point."

As teams go, it's hard to beat the creative line-up of this season's Twelfth Night. Under the direction of Martha Henry, the incredible cast includes a stunning array of long-time Festival favourites, including Brent Carver, Geraint Wyn Davies, Tom Rooney, Lucy Peacock, Rod Beattie and Stephen Russell. Other familiar rising stars include E.B. Smith, Shannon Taylor, Michael Blake and Gordon S. Miller. With such an incredible cast assembled, audiences are sure to be in for a treat from the moment the famous opening lines are spoken: "If music be the food of love, play on."

For all the complex twists and turns and unforgettable characters, this play's action revolves around one central figure - Viola - who will be portrayed by the effervescent Sarah Afful. A graduate of the Birmingham Conservatory, Ms Afful is well known to Festival fans from her memorable performances in her previous five Stratford seasons, including roles in Macbeth, All My Sons, John Gabriel Borkman, The Taming of the Shrew and Love's Labour's Lost.

"From the outset of the rehearsal process, the vibe of the cast and crew has been overwhelmingly positive," says Ms Afful. "We are in very good hands indeed: Martha Henry understands the complexity and expanse of the piece. She knows what she wants to show, step by step - building it up like an oil painting, adding layers and depth. This will give our production a great feeling of authenticity - like the audience is watching people up there living, and not just playing scenes.

"It is not simply a romp. Of course the clowns are hilarious, but why are they funny? It is Shakespeare's job to illuminate our folly. The comedy gives necessary release and strengthens the characters, many of whom have been touched by profound sorrow and corruption of self. Viola truly believes that she is alone in the world. She thinks her beloved brother is dead, and so a part of her is dead, too. Living in disguise is not easy: it forces you to lie all of the time, which in turn attracts lies and liars. It causes pain to the person in disguise, and to those around them."

Q: These roles are arguably two of the most iconic in the Shakespearean canon. How did you prepare over the winter before rehearsals began?

Sara Farb: I read and re-read the play over and over, just to get the story and rhythms of the language into my head. We are both very lucky to have been in the last production of Romeo and Juliet here at the Festival in 2013 - I played Antoine's page, but I also understudied Juliet, and that has proven invaluable. The process of memorization has been a lot easier because I knew the lines already. The script and the poetry were there and available in my head. We've been very lucky to start rehearsals for the show early on, and not have to rehearse our other late-opener productions right away: we can focus solely on Romeo and Juliet and really take our time with the process.

Antoine Yared: I read it a lot, but I also listened to audiobook versions of the play on long drives back and forth from Montreal - just to hear the extraordinary language spoken out loud. When I read it over - slowly - I read mostly to get at the sense of the story, but not to make decisions about the character. A clean-slate approach is pretty tricky to do when you've been in productions in the past: I played Paris last time at the Festival, and I played Mercutio in Montreal before attending the Birmingham Conservatory. Line memorization comes easily, though - in 2013, we performed the play about 70 times! When you hear it that many times, it really tends to stick in your mind.

Q: Director Scott Wentworth is extremely well-versed in the play, having both performed in and directed it in the past. You also have Seana McKenna - herself a former Juliet at the Festival - playing the Nurse. What's it like rehearsing with such seasoned artists?

SF: This is actually my first time working with Seana on a play, and she has been absolutely brilliant to watch. She has offered invaluable advice about how to approach the text without getting bogged down by it. Both she and Scott, and all of the more experienced actors, have whole arsenals of tools to share. They are wise and experienced, and there on hand to do on-the-spot coaching. Because we have had the luxury of time, nothing has felt rushed - we have the opportunity to experiment. Seana and Scott are just so good, and clear and funny - overall, it's a really positive and diverse group, from top to bottom. The teamwork on this show is extraordinary.

AY: Scott has been building on discoveries made in previous productions, all the while embracing the cast and the remarkable stage we are performing on. There are so many discoveries to make because, even if he's worked on the play before, this is an entirely fresh group. Scott is very open to discourse and experimenting with ideas - he's quite happy to question his own assumptions - to strip it back to its bare bones and re-approach it from new angles. He thoroughly understands the world of Romeo and Juliet: he's incredibly well versed in the history and politics and society of that time period, and this knowledge creates a beautiful narrative for the play to exist within and gives it real, living context.

Having directed an acclaimed production at the Stratford Festival in 2004, Stephen Ouimette has taken on Timon of Athens for a second time - and again, he has chosen a modern backdrop for this searing drama of betrayed friendship, hypocrisy and despair.

"In 2004, this play felt to me like it fit into the modern psyche," says Mr. Ouimette. "And boy, has the world changed between then and now. But the play still fits. As economics professors point out, money no longer physically exists; it's become theoretical. Huge sums of money are now being manipulated on screens instead of being passed through our hands. This is perfect for the story of Timon: it makes it plausible for him to have an understanding of his great wealth and yet not keep track, until it is far too late. That level of sudden economic loss is frighteningly easy, and a reminder of the Great Recession we experienced over the last decade."

In response to the belief held by some that Timon is a problematic play, Mr. Ouimette can only smile. "You know, an esteemed English professor once said that anyone who takes on a production of Timon of Athens is 'unwisely brave, if not perverse'! It's a misperception. I think it is a terribly underrated play. In rehearsal, it reads beautifully and it all makes complete sense. We all look at one another and ask, 'Why is this a problem?' "

Drawing stark parallels between the world of Timon and the one in which we live today will mean this production holds many valuable lessons for a modern audience.

"At the start of the play, the Poet asks the Painter, 'How goes the world?', and the Painter replies, 'It wears, sir, as it grows.' Shakespeare saw it all coming, I think. More than ever before, the world is run by money and corporate greed, and that thinking is the direct cause of global warming. Audiences will have the experience of watching Timon's downfall, to see the effects of hypocrisy and pessimism play out without having to go there and suffer themselves. We need to watch people fall apart after we fall in love with them in order to feel the full impact of the catharsis."