In the labyrinth of workshops below the Festival Theatre, master props builder Ken Dubblestyne and his team - including senior prop maker Eric Ball and journeyman Nina Mueller - are hard at work creating weird and wonderful things for Little Shop of Horrors that will truly snap up your attention.

In the midst of director-choreographer Donna Feore's trademark eye-popping dance numbers, performed by her company of stellar musical performers, the carnivorous alien potted plant Audrey Two is bound to become a star in her own right. Named by the show's protagonist, florist's clerk Seymour Krelborn, in loving tribute to his heart's desire (his co-worker Audrey), Audrey Two grows from a sickly little seedling into an enormous, insatiable behemoth. Achieving this feat requires a succession of four separate Audrey Twos of various sizes.

"We began the process at the end of October," says Mr. Dubblestyne. "A meeting was held with Donna, the show's set designer, Michael Gianfrancesco, Head of Props Dona Hrabluk and myself to discuss the details of Audrey Two and together make up a list of the different requirements for each of the four incarnations. From there, I worked from Michael's design sketches, creating scale models to work out the problems and challenges ahead of the actual builds."

The first and smallest table-top version - which Mr. Dubblestyne calls Audrey 1 - sits in a coffee can and is operated with levers and pulleys by a puppeteer hidden under the table. Repurposed pieces from broken umbrellas are cleverly incorporated to give the leaves and tendrils a more fluid and lifelike motion.

As Audrey Two grows, the next size up - Audrey 2 - is carried in a bucket and hand-operated by the actor holding it. "To make it appear that the performer is carrying the bucket, Nina will cast a false arm so that the actor can use his real hand to manipulate the Audrey through a slot in the back. Most productions use a traditional hand puppet, but we want it to appear more like a realistic plant stem and not like a camouflaged arm. The plant will be mechanically operated with levers and pulleys from inside the bucket. As requested by the director, Audrey 2 will be capable of naughty lip and tongue motions!"

The Festival strives to ensure that everyone's visit is extraordinary by offering programs, facilities and services that provide patrons with disabilities with everything they need to have an enjoyable experience. Our buildings and facilities are wheelchair accessible, and special access seating is available in each of our theatres.

Guide dogs or other trained and accredited service animals are welcome: if you are planning to see a performance with your service animal, please advise the Box Office representative when you purchase your tickets so that an appropriate seat can be assigned to you.

Stratford also welcomes patrons with disabilities who are accompanied by a support person. Complimentary admission for one companion accompanying a patron with a valid CNIB card or an Access2Entertainment card will be granted. The Festival will also consider additional requests on a case-by-case basis, so please feel free to enquire at any time.

Audio Described Performances

If you are blind or low-vision, we offer Braille house programs and magnifying sheets at our theatres: simply ask one of our friendly front-of-house staff. For a truly special experience, we invite you to check out our acclaimed live audio description service.

Offered on selected dates throughout the season, these performances are designed to enhance the experience for patrons who are blind or have compromised vision. A live audio describer gives details of costumes, sets and key on-stage action. Delivered via headset, the description supplements the spoken dialogue without interfering with it.

Here is a list of our 2019 audio described performances:*

• Billy Elliot the Musical: June 23 at 2 p.m. and August 30 at 2 p.m., Festival Theatre.
• The Neverending Story: July 27 at 2 p.m., Avon Theatre.
• Little Shop of Horrors: August 10 at 2 p.m. and September 29, Avon Theatre.
• The Merry Wives of Windsor: August 16 at 2 p.m., Festival Theatre.
• Othello: September 13 at 2 p.m., Festival Theatre.
• Private Lives: October 18 at 2 p.m., Avon Theatre.

Touch Tours

If you are coming to an audio described performance, you can also join us for free touch tours before selected performances. Starting at noon, our audio describer will lead you through a 45-minute tour in which you'll be able to handle fabrics, props and costume items for the play you are about to attend. Touch tour dates for 2019 are as follows:

• The Neverending Story: July 27, 12 p.m., Avon Theatre.
• Little Shop of Horrors: August 10, 12 p.m., Avon Theatre
• The Merry Wives of Windsor: July 20, 12 p.m., Festival Theatre

To book a touch tour, please phone our Box Office at 1.800.567.1600.

"There isn't a particle of you that I don't know, remember, and want." - Elyot to Amanda, in Private Lives

Rather than the standard Valentine's Day gifts of flowers and chocolate, why not surprise your darling with theatre tickets? Immersed in an elegant bygone world of sparkling luxury and cocktails, you'll both delight in the equally sparkling repartee of Coward's most iconic comedy, Private Lives.

Shakespeare's adage that "the course of true love never did run smooth" has never been truer than in this deliciously witty comedy of manners. Bruised by their volatile past marriage, Elyot and Amanda have each found themselves doting (but rather dull) new spouses - and, as chance would have it, both arrive separately at the same elegant resort on the French seaside for their honeymoons. What's more, their hotel-room terraces are side by side.

With behind-the-scenes preparations well underway and rehearsals about to begin, now is your chance to delve into our plays and discover fun and fascinating facts about this year's productions.

Library Lectures

March 7 - May 22

Fabulous free talks related to the 2019 season will be held at the Guelph, London, Kitchener, Toronto and Hamilton public libraries on various dates throughout March, April and May. Please join us at a location near you. 

Guelph Public Library

• Thursday, March 7
• Thursday, March 14
• Thursday, March 21
• Thursday, March 28 

Toronto Reference Library

• Tuesday, March 12
• Tuesday, March 19
• Tuesday, March 26 

Kitchener Public Library

• Thursday, April 4
• Thursday, April 11
• Thursday, April 18
• Thursday, April 25 

Hamilton Public Library - Dundas Branch

• Tuesday, April 9
• Tuesday, April 16
• Tuesday, April 23
• Tuesday, April 30

London Public Library - Central Branch

• Wednesday, May 1
• Wednesday, May 8
• Wednesday, May 15
• Wednesday, May 22

Michigan Members Speakers Series

On April 10, Liza Giffen, the Festival's Director of Archives, and Nora Polley, Archives Assistant and retired stage manager, will present "A Look Behind the Curtain" at Bloomfield Township Public Library, 1099 Lone Pine Road, Bloomfield Township, Michigan. They'll discuss the artistic heritage and intriguing stories that spur new creativity each season at the Festival. Their talk begins at 7 p.m.

Welcome to part three of our special SceneNotes series in which we offer a quick peek at each of our 2019 plays and musicals to give you a better idea of what each production has in store, who the key players are, and why you should rush to book your tickets now. With such an amazing and varied line-up of theatrical offerings - together with stellar direction, spectacular choreography and guaranteed powerhouse performances - we're sure you won't want to miss a single one!

The Front Page
World première adaptation commissioned by the Stratford Festival
By Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur
Adaptation by Michael Healey
Directed by Graham Abbey
Festival Theatre: July 30 to October 25

Originally written in 1928, and newly adapted for the Festival by playwright Michael Healey (who adapted The Physicists for our 2015 production), this dark comedy-drama is set in Chicago, in the heyday of newspaper journalism. It takes a satirical look at the perversion of justice for political and financial gain, and examines the power of the spoken and written word to uncover the truth behind the lies.

The action takes place in the press room of Chicago's Criminal Courts Building, overlooking the courtyard in which a supposed Communist agitator, Earl Williams, is to be hanged for the shooting of an African-American police officer. Reporters from all but one of the city's major newspapers are there, killing time as they await the 7 a.m. execution. The exception is Hildy Johnson, star reporter for the Examiner, who arrives only to announce that he's getting married and quitting the newspaper business.

Meanwhile, the Governor's office has sent a man carrying a reprieve for Williams, but the mayor bribes the official not to deliver the document. Hildy's determination to seek a new life is suddenly thwarted when Williams escapes from jail and clambers through the window into the office of which Hildy is now the sole occupant. Neither a Communist nor an intentional killer, Williams has become the unwilling pawn of corrupt local authorities - and Hildy is determined to get the story, even if it costs him the love of his life.

The outstanding cast is headed by Ben Carlson as Hildy Johnson and Maev Beaty as his editor, Penelope Burns. The stellar onstage lineup includes Michelle Giroux as McCue, Randy Hughson  as Murphy, Juan Chioran as the Mayor, Mike Shara as Sheriff Hartman, Michael Blake as Diamond Louis and Johnathan Sousa as Earl Williams.

The Crucible
By Arthur Miller
Directed by Jonathan Goad
Avon Theatre: August 1 to October 25

Written in 1953, this American classic tells a fictionalized story of the Salem, Massachusetts, witch trials that took place in the 17th century. Miller wrote it as an allegory of the 1950s anti-Communist hysteria of the McCarthy era, when the House Un-American Activities Committee levelled accusations of subversion or treason on the flimsiest of evidence; however, the play also resonates powerfully with the concerns of our own times, since the tragedy it depicts is set in motion by the protagonist's sexual exploitation of a young woman in his employ.

In the Puritan town of Salem, Massachusetts, farmer John Proctor has been conducting an illicit relationship with his employee Abigail Williams, the 17-year-old niece of Reverend Parris. Abigail and other teenage girls have been caught dancing in the forest with Tituba, an African-Caribbean slave. Seemingly possessed with hallucinations and seizures, the girls claim that some members of the community have used witchcraft on them.

Rumours spread, and the town is gripped in a frenzy of hysteria and wrongful accusations - including the vengeful Abigail's claim that her lover's wife, Elizabeth Proctor, practises witchcraft. The epidemic of fear and suspicion engulfs the guilty and the innocent alike, exploding into trials filled with angry denunciations and lies that see many townspeople sent to the hangman - including John Proctor himself.

In a truly powerful cast for this intense and resonant tragedy, Tim Campbell takes on John Proctor, with Wayne Best as Deputy Governor Danforth, Katelyn McCulloch as Abigail Williams, Shannon Taylor as Elizabeth Proctor, Scott Wentworth as Reverend Parris, Rylan Wilkie as Reverend Hale, Mamie Zwettler as Mary Warren, Sean Arbuckle as Thomas Putnam and Ijeoma Emesowum as Tituba.