Image of a man holding a white bicycle helmet and staring at it like its a skull

Studio Theatre

August 6 – September 26 |

Opens August 19

Modern

HAMLET-911

By Ann-Marie MacDonald

Based on an idea by Alisa Palmer

Directed by Alisa Palmer

WHO KNOWS WHAT DREAMS MAY COME?

Guinness Menzies has landed his dream role: he’s playing Hamlet at the Stratford Festival. But just before a matinée performance, he suddenly finds himself in the Underworld, a realm as frightening as it is hilarious, where time is seriously out of joint. Has he gone mad? Is he dreaming? Has he died…? Meanwhile, a troubled teenager is wrestling online with his own version of Hamlet’s famous question.

CAST & CREATIVE

2020: Sir William Catesby in Richard III, Duke of Florence in All's Well That Ends Well and Guinness Menzies in Hamlet-911. Ninth season. Stratford: The Homecoming, As You Like It, The Matchmaker, Hamlet, Love's Labour's Lost, King Lear, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Front Page, Othello. Elsewhere: 10 seasons at the Shaw Festival, appearances with Soulpepper, Tarragon, National Arts Centre, Vancouver Playhouse, Citadel Theatre, Theatre Calgary, MTC, Theatre Aquarius, Canadian Stage. Film/TV: Orphan Black, Designated Survivor, Murdoch Mysteries, Run to Me, Ride, Defining Moments, Whatever Linda, The Gathering. Awards: 1983 St. Catharines Minor League Baseball Sportsmanship Award. Twitter: @mikeshara. Et cetera: Love to Molly, Carla, my parents and brothers, Jeff and Matt.

2020: Executioner #2 in Richard III, The Boy in Three Tall Women and Jeremy in Hamlet-911. Third season. Stratford: Sir Henry Guildford in Henry VIII, Eribo, A Bully in The Neverending Story, Harold in An Ideal Husband, appeared in To Kill a Mockingbird and understudied in Julius Caesar. Elsewhere: Atreyu in The Neverending Story (National Arts Centre); Katurian K. Katurian in The Pillowman (Orlando Fringe 2016). Film/TV: Guest star on episodes of Reign (CW Network), Murder U (Discovery ID). Training: University of Windsor, Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre. Instagram: @thicctheband.

2020: Sue in Hamlet-911. Third season. Stratford: The Front Page, Othello, Paradise Lost (2018 Critics' Pick Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Performance), The Comedy of Errors. Elsewhere: Paradise Lost, The 39 Steps (META nomination for Outstanding Ensemble), The Madonna Painter (Centaur); Amadeus (TIFT); Twelfth Night/King Lear (Canadian Stage); The Watershed and Seeds (Crow's/Porte Parole); The Millennial Malcontent (Tarragon); If We Were Birds (Imago - META nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress); six seasons of Shakespeare-in-the-Park (Repercussion). Training: Ryerson Theatre School. Awards: Faculty Award of Excellence and Louis Taube Memorial Award (Ryerson); My Theatre Award for Best Actress for Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare BASH'd); Cartes Premières Award for Best Actress for down from heaven (Imago); Spotlight Award for The Art of Catching Pigeons by Torchlight (SummerWorks). Et cetera: For Janet, Julian, Andy and Dylan. Omnia vincit amor.

2020: Director of All's Well That Ends Well and Rex in Hamlet-911. 26th season. Stratford: Recent roles include Shylock in The Merchant of Venice, Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof, Sir Epicure Mammon in The Alchemist, the title role in John Gabriel Borkman, The Ragman in The Madwoman of Chaillot and James Tyrone in Long Day's Journey Into Night. Directing credits include both parts of Henry IV (2001), The Adventures of Pericles (2015), Romeo and Juliet (2017) and Julius Caesar (2018). Et cetera: Mr. Wentworth is a Tony- and Olivier-nominated theatre artist whose work has been celebrated on Broadway, in London's West End and in theatres across the U.S. and Canada. This winter he will play the title role in the Shakespeare BASH'd production of King Lear.

2020: Sir Robert Brackenbury in Richard III, First Soldier, Interpreter in All's Well That Ends Well and Yorick in Hamlet-911. Fourth season. Stratford: Mother's Daughter, The Crucible, The Comedy of Errors, Napoli Milionaria!, The Tempest, Romeo and Juliet, Treasure Island, The Breathing Hole. Elsewhere: Edgar, King Lear (NAC); Mooch, Where the Blood Mixes (Theatre NorthWest); Clov, Endgame (Theatre Newfoundland Labrador); Puck, A Midsummer Night's Dream (Stephenville); Titus, The Devil's Disciple (Neptune); Kemp, Vigil (Live Bait Theatre); Velveteen Rabbit, The Velveteen Rabbit (Theatre New Brunswick); Loomis, Our Eliza (Ship's Company Theatre); An Acre of Time (GCTC); Injun Joe/Fred, Dead White Writer on the Floor (Magnus Theatre). Film/TV: Haven, Mr. D, This Hour Has 22 Minutes, New Waterford Girl, Blackfly, Gracie's Choice, Trudeau II, Black Harbour, Charlie Zone, Picnicface. Training: BFA, Memorial University. Et cetera: Wela'lin to my family in Newfoundland, my friends in Nova Scotia, and all my relations on Turtle Island.

2020: Lord Grey in Richard III, Danny in Hamlet-911 and appears in All's Well That Ends Well. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Taz in Samantha: A Concept Album, Set to Stage (Greenlight Theatre); Slightly in Peter Pan (Bad Hats Theatre); Dido in Dido, Queen of Carthage, directed by Peter Hinton (York University Theatre). Training: Birmingham Conservatory, 2019 (Stratford Festival); Acting Conservatory, York University, 2018 (BFA); Michael Gordon Shore, Role Development. Online: Instagram: @micah.woods. Et cetera: This is for my family; thank you for your endless support!

2020: Citizen #3 in Richard III, Widow Capilet in All's Well That Ends Well and Jessica, Siri in Hamlet-911. 10th season. Stratford: Grandma Elliot in Billy Elliot the Musical, lyricist for The Merry Wives of Windsor, Lady Markby in An Ideal Husband, Mrs. Dubose in To Kill a Mockingbird, Cicero, Volumnius in Julius Caesar, Lady Capulet in Romeo and Juliet, Gabrielle in The Madwoman of Chaillot, Diana in and lyricist for The Adventures of Pericles. Elsewhere: Paulina and Hermione in The Winter's Tale, Queen Marguerite in Exit the King, Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing, Philaminte in The Learned Ladies, Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream (Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey); Princess of France in Love's Labour's Lost, Emilia in Othello, Mistress Quickly in Henry IV Part 2 (Shakespeare Santa Cruz). Et cetera: Ms Adler is an internationally acclaimed, award-winning lyricist.

2020: Citizen #1 in Richard III, Jenna in Hamlet-911 and understudy in Three Tall Women. Stratford debut. Elsewhere (selected): Girl in Once (Segal Centre), Audrey in As You Like It, Phillipa in The Taming of the Shrew (St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival), Andrea in Dark Vanilla Jungle (Blarney Productions), Halley in Armstrong's War (Theatre Network). Recordings: EP Sparrow & Stone (True North Recordings), 2015 release; EP Funeral Walking (Big Dreamer Sound), 2016 release; debut LP Ocean Car (World Peach Records), to be released in 2020. Training: National Theatre School of Canada, Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre. Awards: Two-time nominee - Sterling Award; three-time nominee - Edmonton Music Award; two-time nominee - Montreal English Theatre Award. Winner of the 2019 Shirley Banks Prize for Emerging Musical Theatre Artists. Other: Thanks, Mom & Dad & Toni - you are my best friends and greatest inspiration.

2020: Jane Tyrell in Richard III, Rosemary in Hamlet-911 and understudy in Three Tall Women. Eighth season. Stratford: Patience Maria in Henry VIII, Stephanie Crawford in To Kill a Mockingbird, Calpurnia in Julius Caesar, Celia in As You Like It, Caroline Bingley in Pride and Prejudice. Elsewhere: Citadel Theatre, Blyth Festival, Shakespeare in the Ruff, Canadian Stage, YPT, Theatre NorthWest, Sudbury Theatre, Royal Manitoba Theatre, Resurgence Theatre, Theatre by the Bay, Brookstone Theatre, Buddies in Bad Times, Thought for Food, Equity Showcase, Toronto Fringe and SummerWorks. Film/TV: Re:possessed Homes (short film), Murdoch Mysteries, Rookie Blue, Flashpoint, Little Mosque on the Prairie, Missing, Train 48, Our Hero, The City, F/X: The Series, Falling Fire. Training: George Brown Theatre School, Banff/Citadel Robbins Academy. Awards: Jean A. Chalmers Award, 2018 Tanya Award in recognition of excellence.

2020: Executioner #1, Herbert in Richard III, Young Lord #4 in All's Well that Ends Well and appears in Hamlet-911. Third season. Stratford: Sergeant in Henry VIII, Marshal Herrick in The Crucible, Mr. Montford in An Ideal Husband, Popilius Lena, Dardanius in Julius Caesar, To Kill a Mockingbird. Elsewhere (selected): Othello in Othello (Driftwood Theatre); Berowne in Love's Labour's Lost, Leontes in The Winter's Tale (Dauntless City Theatre); Aaron in Titus Andronicus (Seven Siblings Theatre); Lysander and Robin Starveling in A Midsummer Night's Dream (Humber River Shakespeare). Film/TV: See No Evil (Discovery ID). Training: Brock University (Performance Concentration), Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre. Et cetera: Thank you, Mom, Dad, Grandma and anyone who has ever supported me. Love, peace, and SOULLLLLL TRAIN.

2020: Becky in Hamlet-911. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: The Widow in Burning Vision, Friar Laurence in Romeo and Juliet (National Theatre School of Canada); Ensemble in Aqsarniit (Confederation Centre of the Arts, two seasons); Speck in Mistatim (Red Sky Productions - Prologue Showcase). Film/TV: Caitlin in Mohawk Girls (voiceover, four seasons). Training: Dawson College Professional Theatre Program; National Theatre School of Canada. Et cetera: Wahsonti:io dedicates this season to her parents (Melanie and Daniel Kariwate Kirby), her siblings (Karihwenha:wi and Kariwatatie), her family, mentors and friends.

2020: Marquis of Dorset in Richard III, appears in Hamlet-911 and understudy in Three Tall Women. Second season. Stratford: Robert in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Carl in The Front Page and appeared in Othello. Elsewhere (selected): Hamlet in Hamlet (Ryerson Theatre School), King Alexander in The Possibilities (Ryerson School of Performance), Clov in Endgame (Michael Chekhov Europe). Training: Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre, Ryerson University's School of Performance, Advanced Shakespeare (Kristin Linklater, Scotland), Michael Chekhov Europe (Croatia). Et cetera: Thank you to all my mentors, friends and family for continually encouraging me to strive towards a greater potential in all spheres of life.

2020: Citizen #5 in Richard III, Nurse in All's Well That Ends Well and Marlene in Hamlet-911. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Juliet in Measure for Measure (Repercussion Theatre), Lily in The In-Between, Old Witch in Little Witch (Geordie Theatre), Timon in Heart in Hand (Spur of the Moment Shakespeare Collective). Training: National Theatre School.

2020: Citizen #4 in Richard III and appears in All's Well That Ends Well and Hamlet-911. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Thriving Tree in SCANNER (Factory Theatre Wired); Angelina in Spirit Horse (Roseneath Theatre); Temina in Munschtime! (Young People's Theatre); Margaret in Fatty Legs (Xara Choral Theatre); Genevieve in Lullaby: Inside the Halifax Explosion (Eastern Front Theatre); Christine in Offensive Fouls, Katarina in Vivaldi's Ring of Mystery (Neptune Theatre). Training: Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre, George Brown Theatre School, Neptune Theatre Acting Conservatory. Online: lisanasson@gmail.com, Instagram @lisanasson. Et cetera: Lisa would like to thank her family for encouraging her imagination.

2020: Lord Rivers in Richard III, First Lord Dumaine in All's Well That Ends Well and appears in Hamlet-911. 10th season. Stratford: Montano (Othello), Wilson (The Front Page), Surrogate (Coriolanus), Doctor (Napoli Milionaria!), Orsino (Twelfth Night), Seyton (Macbeth), Dr. Jim Bayliss (All My Sons), Thaliard, Leonine (Pericles), Eilif (Mother Courage), Melun (King John), Bellievre (Mary Stuart), Abhorson (Measure for Measure), Cymbeline, Elektra. Elsewhere: Brucie, Sweat (Theatre Aquarius); Othello, Othello (Shakespeare BASH'd); Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., The Mountaintop (Grand); Big Sam, Gone With the Wind (RMTC); Seyton, Macbeth; Friar Laurence, Romeo and Juliet (Chicago Shakespeare); Macduff, Macbeth (First Folio); King, King Hedley II (Karamu); Moustique, Dream on Monkey Mountain; Junior, Before It Hits Home; Cleveland Play House; Idaho Shakespeare Festival; Theater Wit, Chicago; The Great Lakes Theater Festival. Training: Ohio University, Birmingham Conservatory. Et cetera: E.B. would like to dedicate his work to his parents and grandmother, and to the memory of his Papa.

2020: Playwright of Hamlet-911.

2020: Director of Hamlet-911. Second season. Previously director of Hay Fever with Lucy Peacock. Elsewhere (selected): Body Politic (Buddies in Bad Times); The Women, Sunday in the Park with George, The Philanderer, A Man and Some Women, Belle Moral (Shaw Festival and NAC); Cloud 9, Lord of the Rings, resident director (Mirvish); The Children's Republic, Mimi, East of Berlin (première, national tour), Anything That Moves (Tarragon); Top Girls, 'Night Mother (Soulpepper); Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet), The Clean House (Canadian Stage); Mrs. Warren's Profession (MTC); The Bricklin, Oleanna (TNB); Oh My Irma (current international tour). Film: Girls on Top - a documentary on Top Girls (Fighting Fish Productions). Awards: Six Dora Awards, two Chalmers Awards, Award of Excellence in the Arts. Currently: Artistic Director, English Section, National Theatre School of Canada. Artistic Director, Vita Brevis Arts.

2020: Designer of Hamlet-911. Eighth season. Stratford: Designer of The Comedy of Errors, The Aeneid; costume designer of The Breathing Hole; set designer of The Komagata Maru Incident; four seasons as assistant designer. Elsewhere: Joanna is a set and costume designer, born in Hong Kong, raised in Thornhill, Ontario. She's had the pleasure of designing with the Shaw Festival, Citadel Theatre, Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, Neptune, Tarragon, Soulpepper, Young People's Theatre, The Blyth Festival, The Grand, Canadian Stage, Obsidian, Factory Theatre, Cahoots, Theatre Centre, Fu-Gen, Signal Theatre, Musical Stage Company, Nightwood, Volcano, Buddies in Bad Times, Theatre Passe Muraille, Theatre New Brunswick, Project:Humanity, Theatrefront, lemonTree, Why Not Theatre, Mirvish, Luminato. Online: joannayudesign.com. Et cetera: Recipient of the Virginia and Myrtle Cooper Award for Costume Design and a recipient of the Pauline McGibbon Award.

2020: Lighting designer of Hamlet-911. Sixth season. Stratford: The Neverending Story, As You Like It, The Diary of Anne Frank, For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again, Three Sisters. Elsewhere: Leigh Ann's work has been seen in theatres across Canada. Recent credits include The Third Colour (Prairie Theatre Exchange); Lo, Or Dear Mr. Wells (Neptune); Between Breaths, The Colony of Unrequited Dreams (Artistic Fraud); A Christmas Carol, The Silver Arrow (Citadel); The God That Comes (2b); The Secret Life of a Mother (Theatre Centre). She has toured her work in Japan, Tasmania, New Zealand, and across the U.S. Awards: Leigh Ann has won seven Merritt Awards for design and has been nominated for the Siminovitch Prize. Et cetera: Leigh Ann is an instructor and coach at the National Theatre School of Canada.

2020: Projection designer of Hamlet-911. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Projection designer at Shaw Festival, Tarragon Theatre, Black Theatre Workshop, GCTC and Neptune Theatre. Directing: Director of internationally acclaimed film C'est Moi (cestmoifilm.com); assistant director for inaugural "Buds program" at Stratford; assistant director of Louis Riel at National Arts Centre. Acting: Haui has acted at Shaw Festival, Native Earth, Neptune Theatre, Cahoots, Factory Theatre and in film and TV. Training: Ryerson Theatre School. Awards: ByBlack's People's Choice Award, Best Film Director. Online: haui.ca, @hauidavis. Et cetera: Haui is a professional photographer whose work has been published in Harper's Bazaar U.K.. He was commissioned by Canadian Opera Company for Rufus Wainwright and Daniel MacIvor's Hadrian and as stills photographer/EPK for Marie Clement's feature film Red Snow. Upcoming work includes his documentary Mixed↑ and a multidisciplinary show about Portia White.

alt Composer and Sound Designer | Antoine Bédard

2020: Composer and sound designer of Hamlet-911. Third season. Antoine Bédard is a composer and musician from Montréal. Also known for his electro-pop solo music project called Montag, he has released several albums and has toured internationally. He started working as a sound designer for theatre and dance in 2005 while living in Vancouver. Since moving back to Montréal in 2008, he has scored over 20 theatre and dance productions presented throughout Canada, and has worked with notable theatre directors such as Robert Lepage and Chris Abraham. Antoine is thrilled to be back at the Stratford Festival for Hamlet-911.

2020: Director of The Foerster Bernstein New Play Development Program. Dramaturge of Here's What It Takes, Hamlet-911 and An Undiscovered Shakespeare. 12th season. Stratford: Dramaturgy credits include Mother's Daughter, Paradise Lost, Brontë: The World Without, The Breathing Hole, The Virgin Trial, Bunny, The Last Wife, Christina, The Girl King, Taking Shakespeare, Hirsch. Elsewhere: Artistic Director, Alberta Theatre Projects, Calgary (1999-2009); Co-Director, Banff Playwrights Colony (1997-2009); Artistic Director, Factory Theatre, Toronto (1979-1987). Director of over 75 productions from Cow Head, Newfoundland, to Victoria, British Columbia, and places in between, but mostly in Calgary and Toronto. Training: Loyola College, Montreal, and University of Alberta. Awards: Honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD), University of Calgary; eight Betty Mitchell Award nominations and three wins: "Outstanding Direction" (Calgary). In 2018, Bob was awarded the GE Lessing Award for Career Achievement by the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas. He is a member of the Order of Canada.

alt Movement Director | Matjash Mrozewski

2020: Movement director of Hamlet-911. Stratford debut.

2020: Production stage manager of the Studio Theatre, stage manager of Hamlet-911 and assistant stage manager of Monty Python's Spamalot. Second season. Stratford: Stage manager of Birds of a Kind. Elsewhere: Production stage manager at the Shaw Festival for seven seasons. Credits include The Horse and His Boy, Mythos, Saint Joan, Sweeney Todd, Whisky Bar, You Never Can Tell, Arms and the Man, Guys and Dolls, Present Laughter (production stage manager, Shaw); The Fantasticks, Fronteras Americanas, White Biting Dog (production stage manager, Soulpepper); The Stepmother, A Little Night Music, Tristan, Mack and Mabel, Arms and the Man, Rosmersholm, Autumn Garden, Floyd Collins, Pal Joey, The Plough and the Stars (stage manager, Shaw Festival); A Raisin in the Sun, What the Butler Saw, Waiting for the Parade (stage manager, Soulpepper); Rice Boy, The Shape of Things (stage manager, Canadian Stage); Music for Contortionist, Little Mercy's First Murder (stage manager, Tarragon).

alt Assistant Stage Manager | Jacki Brabazon

2020: Assistant stage manager of All's Well That Ends Well and Hamlet-911. Fifth season. Stratford: Assistant stage manager of The Neverending Story, Little Shop of Horrors (2019), The Comedy of Errors, Paradise Lost (2018), Romeo and Juliet and The Breathing Hole (2017), assistant stage manager of the Michael Langham Directors' Workshop Presentation (2016), production assistant of Possible Worlds, The Last Wife (2015). Elsewhere: Assistant stage manager credits include The Last Wife (The Belfry Theatre/Great Canadian Theatre Company); stage manager credits include CFL 105th Grey Cup (Patrick Roberge Productions), Trudeau Stories (Long Black Car Productions at the Great Canadian Theatre Company); The Amazing Adventures of Pericles, Prince of Tyre (A Company of Fools). Training: University of Ottawa. Awards: Jean A. Chalmers Apprentice Award (2015). Online: Instagram: @jackibrabazon. Et cetera: This season is for Norah Marie.

alt Assistant Stage Manager | Tiffany Fraser

2020: Assistant stage manager of The Rez Sisters and Hamlet-911. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Tiffany has been an assistant stage manager with the Canadian Opera Company for the past 19 seasons working on shows such as Aida, Turandot, Elektra, Götterdämmerung, Louis Riel, Falstaff, Don Giovanni, La Bohème, Rigoletto, La Clemenza di Tito, Die Fledermaus, L'Amour de Loin, A Florentine Tragedy, Gianna Schicchi, Death in Venice, Iphigénie en Tauride and more. Tiffany has also been a stage manager with Opera Hamilton for Barber of Seville and The Pearl Fishers. Tiffany worked with The National Ballet of Canada in past seasons on such shows as Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella, Swan Lake and Innovation.

alt Assistant Stage Manager | Melissa Veal

2020: Assistant stage manager of Three Tall Women and Hamlet-911. 15th season. Stratford: Assistant stage manager of Henry VIII, The Tempest, Napoli Milionaria! and Timon of Athens. For the past four seasons she has had the honour of serving as the coordinator of the Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre with Stephen Ouimette. Huge thanks to Stephen and the BCCT actors, coaches and instructors for the daily inspiration. Et cetera: With love to my family.

alt Production Stage Manager | Janine Ralph

2020: Production stage manager of the Studio Theatre. 29th season.

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