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  • Hamlet closes Friday! Amaka Umeh (right) as Hamlet with Matthew Kabwe as the Ghost of King Hamlet in Hamlet. Photo by Jordy Clarke.
Festival Theatre
May 17 – October 28 |
Opens June 2
Shakespeare

HAMLET


By William Shakespeare

Directed by Peter Pasyk


Audience Advisory »

THE ULTIMATE ROYAL FAMILY CRISIS


Prince Hamlet, son of Denmark’s late king, is horrified – and placed in a moral quandary – by the apparition of his father’s ghost. This spectre claims to have been murdered by the brother who now wears his crown – and who, having married the widowed queen, is now not only Hamlet’s uncle but also his stepfather. The ghost demands vengeance, but can it be trusted? And can the taking of a life ever be justified? Can this troubled family tolerate any further loss?

This production takes place in present day, with modern dress.


House Program: Hamlet

Runtime: Two hours and 57 minutes, including one 18-minute interval

 

Production support is generously provided by Phyllis & Robert Couzin and by John & Therese Gardner.

Photo credits: Amaka Umeh (right) as Hamlet with Matthew Kabwe as the Ghost of King Hamlet in Hamlet. Photo by Jordy Clarke.

CAST & CREATIVE

CAST

    Portrait of Amaka Umeh
    Amaka Umeh
    Hamlet

    Birmingham Conservatory, 2019/21

    2022: Hamlet in Hamlet and Praise-Singer in Death and the King's Horseman. Second season. Stratford: Helena, Flute, Moth in A Midsummer Night's Dream. Elsewhere: 1851: 170 Years Later (Soulpepper); 00 in The Wolves (Howland/Crow's); Abigail in A Christmas Carol (Grand Theatre); Hermia in A Midsummer Night's Dream (Shakespeare in High Park); Spiker in James and the Giant Peach (Young People's Theatre); Ariel in The Tempest (Hart House Theatre). Training: Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre, Factory Theatre Mechanicals, Randolph Academy for Performing Arts. Awards: Dora Award for The Wolves; Toronto Fringe Patron's Pick Award for All Our Yesterdays (AnOther Theatre Company). Et cetera: To my Mum, sisters, Ututu Umunna, chosen family, The Talent House, Peter Pasyk, and Tawiah M'Carthy: thank you for everything.

    Portrait of Graham Abbey
    Graham Abbey
    Claudius

    Langham Directors' Workshop, 2015/17

    2022: Claudius in Hamlet and Simon Pilkings in Death and the King's Horseman. 23rd season. Stratford: Mr. Ford (Merry Wives of Windsor), Aufidius (Coriolanus), Orgon (Tartuffe), Bolingbroke/Henry IV, conceiver, adaptor (Breath of Kings), Philip the Bastard (King John), Posthumus (Cymbeline), Iago, Petruchio, Henry V, Macbeth, Romeo, Henry VIII, Jaques, Prince Hal, D'Artagnan. Elsewhere: Hamlet (Resurgence); Jeff Skilling (Enron); Sam Byck (Assassins); Charles (School for Scandal) (Chicago). TV: Series lead: The Border (CBC). Recent: Under the Banner of Heaven (Disney/Hulu), Diggstown (CBC) Recurring: Degrassi, Murdoch Mysteries, Covert Affairs, Republic of Doyle. Guest star: Flashpoint, Lost Girl, Rookie Blue, Bomb Girls, Remedy, Frontier, Ransom. Film: Delia's Gone, Take This Waltz, Casino Jack, Defendor, Stealing Paradise, Milton's Secret. Awards: Two Dora Awards, Monte Carlo Television nomination. Directing: Stratford: The Front Page (2019), associate director under Antoni Cimolino, Martha Henry; assistant under Tim Carroll; associate director, Breath of Kings. Director elsewhere: The Winter's Tale, Measure for Measure, Lear (Groundling), The Drawer Boy (Festival Players). Et cetera: Artistic Director, Groundling Theatre and Festival Players of Prince Edward County.

    Portrait of Maev Beaty
    Maev Beaty
    Gertrude

    (she/her)

    2022: Gertrude in Hamlet and Jane Pilkings in Death and the King's Horseman. Seventh season. Stratford: Cookie (The Front Page), Elmire (Tartuffe), Lady Sneerwell (The School for Scandal), Sorrel (Bunny), Kate (The Last Wife), Miep (The Diary of Anne Frank), Kate Hardcastle (She Stoops to Conquer), Goneril (King Lear). Elsewhere: August: Osage County, Little Menace: Pinter, Orlando, La Ronde, Parfumerie (Soulpepper); The De Chardin Project (Passe Muraille); Proud (Michael Healey), Terminus (Outside the March/Mirvish); Bunny, Wide Awake Hearts (Tarragon); Another Africa (Volcano); The Mill (Theatrefront); Tartuffe, Palace of the End (Canadian Stage). Awards: Multiple Dora Award winner and 14-time nominee; TTCA winner. Film/TV: Mouthpiece (TIFF, dir. Patricia Rozema), Disappointment Blvd (dir. Ari Aster), Nurses, Murdoch Mysteries. Online: maevbeaty.com. Et cetera: 21 world premières, including her co-creations Montparnasse, Goblin Market and Secret Life of a Mother (Playwrights Canada Press). For my muse, Esmé, thank you.

    Portrait of Austin Eckert
    Austin Eckert
    Laertes
    2022: Laertes in Hamlet. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Being Here: The Refugee Project, Taking Shakespeare (Belfry Theatre); Beauty and the Beast (Arts Club Theatre); Miss Understood (PuSh Festival); As You Like It, The Taming of the Shrew, Macbeth, Shakespeare in Love, Much Ado About Nothing, The Winter's Tale (Bard on the Beach); MAMMA MIA! (WCT); HAIR (Mayfield Theatre); As You Like It (Chicago Shakespeare Theater/Citadel Theatre/MTC). Film/TV: Supernatural, Batwoman, The Flash (CW), Colony (USA), The Magicians (SyFy), Narcoleap (CBC/Telus). Radio/Recordings: A Different Stage, Broad-WHAT?, Bring Out Your Geeks (podcasts). Training: The Canadian College of Performing Arts. Awards: Leo Award (2021) for Narcoleap. Online: @austineckert.
    Portrait of Jakob Ehman
    Jakob Ehman
    Horatio

    2022: Horatio in Hamlet and appears in The Miser. Third season. Stratford: Templar in Nathan the Wise and Eitan in Birds of a Kind. Elsewhere: Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream (Canadian Stage); Idomeneus (Soulpepper); The Circle (Tarragon); Caught (Theatre Passe Muraille); Offline (writer/director), The Libertine, Gotcha (Talk Is Free); The Philanderess (Toronto Fringe); Cockfight (Theatre Brouhaha/Red One); Much Ado About Nothing (Single Thread); Blue Planet, Minotaur (Young People's Theatre). Film/TV: Jakob stars as Miles in the award-winning film adaptation of The Drawer Boy. Awards: Jakob has been nominated for four Dora Awards for his work as an actor. Other: Jakob also works as a director, writer, sound designer and podcaster.

    Portrait of Ijeoma Emesowum
    Ijeoma Emesowum
    Guildenstern

    (she/her) Birmingham Conservatory, 2015/16

    2022: Guildenstern in Hamlet and Ariyike in Death and the King's Horseman. Seventh season. Stratford: Co-host of Showstarters, Maya in The Neverending Story, Tituba in The Crucible, Phebe in As You Like It, Maria in Love's Labour's Lost, Hay Fever, Timon of Athens, The Changeling, Alice Through the Looking-Glass. Elsewhere: Death and the King's Horseman Radio Play (Soulpepper); Romeo & Juliet (Spontaneous Theatre); A Christmas Carol (Theatre New Brunswick); five seasons with Shaw Festival including Major Barbara, Serious Money, Ragtime, The Devil's Disciple, Born Yesterday; Binti's Journey (Theatre Direct); The Aftermath (Nightwood Theatre); A Midsummer Night's Dream (Shakespeare in High Park, Canadian Stage). Film/TV: Antony and Cleopatra, Love's Labour's Lost, Hamlet, The Taming of the Shrew, Macbeth, Timon of Athens (Stratford Festival on Film). Training: Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre; BFA, University of Windsor. Et cetera: All for the love of Jake and Z.

    Portrait of Andrea Rankin
    Andrea Rankin
    Ophelia

    2022: Ophelia in Hamlet and Companion to the Prince in Death and the King's Horseman. Fourth season. Stratford: Jane, Mother's Daughter; Anne, Brontë: The World Without; Astoreth, Paradise Lost; Hero, Much Ado About Nothing; Comedy of Errors; The Crucible; Wolf Hall. Elsewhere (selected): Cordelia, King Lear (Bard on the Beach/Theatre Calgary); Jane, Mother's Daughter (Soulpepper); Desdemona, Othello (Shakespeare Company); Luciana, Comedy of Errors (SBTB); Molly, Peter and The Starcatcher; Ginger Rogers, Make Mine Love; Fanny, Christmas Carol (Citadel); Apparition, Macbeth (Edmonton Opera), Crissy, Hair (Mayfield). Film/TV: Welcome to Zama, Algorithms, True Meaning of Girls, Snowflake, Walking the Line. Voiceover: Mass Effect 3 (EA Games). Original Recordings: Singer/songwriter/pianist, Tides (2020). Awards: Elizabeth Sterling Haynes, Dashy Goody. Training: Birmingham Conservatory, BFA (UofA), Musical Theatre Intensive (Banff Centre), Voice and Piano (Grade 9 RCM), Young Innovators (Nightwood), Young Playwrights Unit (Tarragon). Et cetera: With gratitude. Sending you love and peace.

    Portrait of Michael Spencer-Davis
    Michael Spencer-Davis
    Polonius

    (he/him)

    2022: Polonius in Hamlet and Mr. Simon in The Miser. 11th season. Stratford: The Front Page, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Othello, Paradise Lost, Timon of Athens, The Changeling, The Madwoman of Chaillot, Shakespeare in Love, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Aeneid, The Taming of the Shrew, Possible Worlds, The Beaux' Stratagem, A Midsummer Night's Dream, King Lear, Richard III, Julius Caesar, Bartholomew Fair, Shakespeare's Universe. Elsewhere: The 4th Graders Present An Unnamed Love Suicide (Tiny Room); Jerusalem (OTM/Company Theatre); Silence, Art (Grand Theatre); A Christmas Carol (Western Canada Theatre); Hound of the Baskervilles, Robin Hood (Globe Theatre); Pitmen Painters, Boeing Boeing (Theatre Aquarius); Vigil, Lawrence and Holloman (Prairie Theatre Exchange); Having Hope at Home (Neptune); Twelfth Night, The Tempest (Hartford Stage); Pride and Prejudice (Theatre Calgary/NAC); The Lonely Diner (Blyth Festival); Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth (NAC).

    Portrait of Norman Yeung
    Norman Yeung
    Rosencrantz

    (he/him)

    2022: Rosencrantz in Hamlet and Constable in Death and the King's Horseman. Second season. Elsewhere: I Know I'm Supposed to Love You (Touchstone), Chimerica (Royal MTC/Canadian Stage), The Kite Runner (Theatre Calgary/Citadel), The Canadian (Thousand Islands Playhouse), Fugitives (Theatre Conspiracy), You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (Gateway). Film/TV: Resident Evil: Afterlife, Todd and the Book of Pure Evil, Frankie Drake Mysteries, Murdoch Mysteries, Rookie Blue, King. Recent Activity: Playwright in Residence at Outside the March for Eunuch X Pirate; Crow's Theatre/Mongrel Media Loughborough Lake Writer's Retreat for Rowds; Stratford Festival Playwrights Retreat; Theory published by Playwrights Canada Press. Training: BFA Acting, UBC; BFA (Honours) Film, Ryerson University. Awards: The Voaden Prize for Theory, Carol Bolt Award nomination for Theory, Dora Award nomination for Pu-Erh. Online: normanyeung.com, @NormanYeung.

    Portrait of Hilary Adams
    Hilary Adams
    Player

    (she/her)

    2022: Claudia in The Miser and appears in Hamlet. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Schoolhouse, Macbeth, The Ruins, Frankenstein, In This Light, As You Like It, Iliad by Fire (Two Planks); A Midsummer Night's Dream, As You Like It (Shakespeare BASH'd); Old Man and the River (Theatre Direct); The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Goodnight Moon and the Runaway Bunny (Mermaid Theatre); As You Like It, King Lear, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Antony and Cleopatra, The Merchant of Venice, The Taming of the Shrew, Cinderelly (Shakespeare by the Sea). Film/TV: Principal (Complusus), Principal (King & Pawn). Radio/Recordings: Ophelia available on Spotify and Apple Music. Composer: A Midsummer Night's Dream, Co-Composer As You Like It (Shakespeare BASH'd). Awards: Merritt Nomination for Outstanding Performance in a Leading Role. Training: Dalhousie University. Online: @hilary_adamss. Et cetera: Big love to my whole family, thank you for all your support.

    Portrait of Bola Aiyeola
    Bola Aiyeola
    Understudy

    (she/her)

    2022: Adedoja in Death and the King's Horseman and understudy in Hamlet. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Fatima in The Container (SummerWorks); Petra in Petra (Theatre Direct); Woman in Death and the King's Horseman (Royal Exchange Manchester, UK); Miseyi in The Beatification of Area Boy (The West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds, UK); Jack in The Man in the Moon, Balthasar/Friar Frances in Much Ado About Nothing (The Everymans' Theatre, Liverpool, UK). Film/TV: Clarice (CBS), The Expanse (Syfy), Coroner (CW), Damien (A&E), Lucky Day (feature), 'Da Kink in my Hair (Global), Crown Prosecutor (BBC TV, UK). Radio/Recordings: Miseyi in The Beatification of Area Boy (BBC Radio); First Girl in Blood Wedding (BBC Radio); Alaba in Memories of a Distant Past (BBC Radio); Woman in Death and the King's Horseman (BBC Radio). Training: Academy of Live and Recorded Arts (ALRA) London, UK. Online: imdb.com/name/nm2416924.

    Portrait of Celia Aloma
    Celia Aloma
    Player Queen

    (she/her) Birmingham Conservatory, 2022/23

    2022: Player Queen in Hamlet and Olabisi in Death and the King's Horseman. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: 16 characters in No Child (Arts Club); Ann Atwater in The Best of Enemies and Novelette in 'da Kink in My Hair (Pacific Theatre); Same Difference (Theatre Conspiracy); Catherine in The Numbers Game (Storefront Theatre). Film/TV: Corrective Measures (upcoming), Swan Song, Voir, The Baby-Sitters Club, Detour, Song Bird, Scared Lies, Sirens. Radio/Recordings: Aisha in Redbone Coonhound (Arts Club), Mama in Rishi & d Douen (Rumble Theatre and Carousel Theatre). Training: York University, Birmingham Conservatory. Awards: Jessie Award nomination; BC Arts Council Pivot grant recipient. Instagram: @celia.aloma. 

    Portrait of isi bhakhomen
    isi bhakhomen
    Player
    2022: Omosalewa in Death and the King's Horseman and appears in Hamlet. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Molly 1 in Towards Rebirth (Shakespeare in the Ruff); Bowie, Alex and Danielle in bonus points if you have air conditioning (NTS); Tituba in The Crucible (Hart House Theatre). Training: National Theatre School of Canada for Acting. Online: @isi_bhakhomen (Instagram). Et cetera: isi bhakhomen dedicates this season to two incredible storytellers: bell hooks and Victoria Santa Cruz.
    Portrait of David Campion
    David Campion
    Fanfare Field Drum (onstage)

    (he/him)

    2022: Parade Snare Drum (onstage) in Hamlet, drum kit in Chicago and Festival Theatre Fanfares. 40th season. Stratford: As a drummer and percussionist, David has performed in over 100 productions at the Stratford Festival. Elsewhere: David can be heard on dozens of recording projects playing in all kinds of styles and genres. He's been timpanist for Tafelmusik, Canada's Juno Award-winning and internationally acclaimed period-instrument orchestra, for almost 40 years. He teaches percussion at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo and performs with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, local jazz groups and other artists. Et cetera: David enjoys morning coffee in Stratford at the fabulous revel with Anne, whom he loves very much, and often also with his daughter, Arielle and spouse Dave; son, Dylan and spouse Julie, and new granddaughter, Maille. 

    Portrait of Laura Condlln
    Laura Condlln
    Standby Gertrude

    (she/her) Birmingham Conservatory, 2004

    2022: Standby Gertrude in Hamlet. 14th season. Stratford (selected): Othello (Emilia), Bakkhai, The Virgin Trial, The Matchmaker (Irene Molloy), Elektra (Chrysothemis), Peter Pan (Mrs. Darling), The Merry Wives of Windsor (Mistress Page), King of Thieves (Polly), A Midsummer Night's Dream (Helena), Shakespeare's Universe (the Moll), Pentecost (Amira), The Liar (Clarice/Lucrece/Sabine), The Duchess of Malfi (Cariola), As You Like It (Audrey), Henry IV, Part 1 (Lady Mortimer). Elsewhere: Appearances with theatre companies across the country including Mirvish, Musical Stage Company, Soulpepper, Tarragon, Crow's, Canadian Stage, NAC, Manitoba Theatre Centre, Segal Centre, Necessary Angel, Factory Theatre, The Grand, Globe Theatre and Theatre Aquarius. Film/TV: Shaftesbury, Global, Amazon. Training: BFA, University of Windsor; Birmingham Conservatory. Awards: Toronto Theatre Critics Award (Best Actress 2018 and 2016: Fun Home, Mirvish/Musical Stage Company and Enemy of the People, Tarragon); Mary Savidge Award.

    Portrait of Mary Jay
    Mary Jay
    Trumpet (onstage)
    2022: Soprano herald trumpet in Hamlet (onstage) and Chicago and Festival Theatre Fanfares. Elsewhere: Mary is a full-time member of the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra and plays regularly with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony. During the pandemic, musiciansonthego, a trumpet trio, was formed with fellow trumpeters Larry Larson and Phil Seguin to help keep music alive. She can be heard each night on the CTV News theme, and on the Blue Jays baseball themes. Training: Mary studied trumpet performance at the University of Toronto, in the Royal Conservatory's orchestral training program, and in the National Youth Orchestra, but continues to learn with each wonderful player she has the privilege of working with. Away from the horn, Mary rides a horse named Bacardi, and loves to cook, garden, quilt and crochet!
    Portrait of Rachel Jones
    Rachel Jones
    2022: Companion to the Resident in Death and the King's Horseman and appears in in Hamlet. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Sherri in Admissions (Theatre Calgary); Lynne in In the Wake of Wettlaufer (Blyth Festival); The Princess in La Bête (Soulpepper); Lavatch in All's Well That Ends Well and Gertude in Hamlet (Canadian Stage); Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra (St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival). Film/TV: Vivien in Late Night; voices in Let's Go Luna! and Glowbies. Radio/Recordings: Margery Road and 20 years of other voices in comedy radio noir series The Continuing Adventures of the Boneyard Man (Rogers Cable/CHRW). Awards: My Entertainment World Award for Lavatch. Et cetera: Love forever and thanks to Aidan, who is everything, and Bruce, who is something else. Rachel dedicates this season to the memories of her mother, Christine, and her sister, Anna.
    Portrait of Matthew Kabwe
    Matthew Kabwe
    Ghost
    2022: Ghost of King Hamlet in Hamlet and Constable in Death and the King's Horseman. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Duke Vincentio in Measure for Measure, Don Pedro in Much Ado About Nothing, Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night (Repercussion Theatre); Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream (Canadian Stage); Sir in Encore (Tableau D'Hôte); Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in The Mountaintop (Persephone Theatre). Film/TV/Video Games: VFC, La Maison Bleue, Outriders. Training: Dawson College, Soulpepper Academy. Awards: Outstanding Lead Performance META for Martin in MOB (Centaur Theatre). Online: matthewkabwe.comagencebridgetdechene.com. Et cetera: Matthew sends wishes of love and thanks to everyone who has supported him. Matthew is thrilled to be making his Stratford debut. Matthew is also B.
    Portrait of John Kirkpatrick
    John Kirkpatrick
    Reynaldo

    2022: Reynaldo in Hamlet and Mervin in The Miser. Eighth season. Stratford: Endicott, The Front Page; Walter Cunningham Sr., To Kill a Mockingbird; Caius Ligarius, Julius Caesar; Lt. Brannigan, Guys and Dolls; Apothecary, Romeo and Juliet; Doctor, Macbeth; Oliver, As You Like It; Deuxfois, The Hypochondriac; Marcellus, Fortinbras, Hamlet; Boyet, Love's Labour's Lost; Descartes, Christina, The Girl King; Red Knight/Walrus, Alice Through the Looking-Glass. Elsewhere: Jaques, As You Like It; Cassius, Julius Caesar; Lucio, Measure for Measure (Citadel); Slim, Of Mice and Men (Canadian Stage/Theatre Calgary); Tybalt/Friar Laurence, Romeo and Juliet (Theatre Calgary); Everard, Age of Arousal (ATP); Milan, Rock 'n' Roll (Canadian Stage/Citadel); Kent, King Lear; Sir Andrew Aguecheek, Twelfth Night (Freewill). Training: BFA Acting, University of Alberta. Awards: Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award, Measure for Measure. Et cetera: Former Artistic Director, Freewill Shakespeare Festival. All my love to Breanna, Aidan and Finn. 

    Portrait of Kevin Kruchkywich
    Kevin Kruchkywich
    Barnardo

    2022: Barnardo in Hamlet and The Resident in Death and the King's Horseman. Fifth season. Stratford: Undiscovered Sonnets; Michael, Moloch in Paradise Lost; Sir Thomas Cromwell and Bishop of Lincoln in Henry VIII. Elsewhere: 12 Angry Men, Death of a Salesman (Drayton Entertainment); The Taming of the Shrew, Macbeth, Henry V (Bard on the Beach); Romeo and Juliet, The Glass Menagerie, Rough Crossing (Theatre Calgary); Death of a Salesman, The Wars (Playhouse); The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Red Priest (Globe Theatre); Hedda Gabler (Persephone); The Secret Annex, The Philadelphia Story (MTC); A Christmas Carol, The Drawer Boy, Picasso at the Lapin Agile (Belfry Theatre); Wit, Aberhart Summer, Respectable, that elusive spark (ATP); Boeing Boeing, The School for Scandal (Arts Club); The Woman in Black (CTF); Guys and Dolls (Gateway Theatre); Macbeth (theatre nomad - England/South Africa tour); Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) (BeMe Theatre - Munich, Germany).

    Portrait of Josue Laboucane
    Josue Laboucane
    Francisco, Lucianus

    (he/him)

    2022: Francisco, Lucianus in Hamlet and The Prince in Death and the King's Horseman. Ninth season. Josue is a Métis actor, teaching artist and mask maker from the traditional territory of the Dane-zaa, Treaty 8, Fort St. John, BC. Stratford: Merry Wives of Windsor, Front Page, Comedy of Errors, Napoli Milionaria!, Tempest, Timon of Athens, The Madwoman of Chaillot, The Changeling, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Aeneid, The Taming of the Shrew, Love's Labour's Lost, King Lear, Midsummer Night's Dream, The Beaux' Stratagem, Mary Stuart, Measure for Measure, Othello. Vancouver: Henry VI: Wars of the Roses, Richard III, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Hamlet, Timon of Athens (Bard on the Beach); The Exquisite Hour (Relephant); The Wizard of Oz, Seussical (Carousel); The Emperor's New Threads (Axis). Training: Birmingham Conservatory under Director Martha Henry, Studio 58, Canadian National Voice Intensive. Twitter: @josuelaboucane.

    Portrait of Ngabo Nabea
    Ngabo Nabea
    Player

    2022: Sergeant Amusa in Death and the King's Horseman and appears in Hamlet. Second season. Film/TV: The Expanse,The Strain, Anne with an E, Pretty Hard Cases. Training: Ryerson University, The Birmingham Conservatory, The Factory Theatre Mechanicals. Online: @_nguapo.

    Portrait of Janice Owens
    Janice Owens
    Bass Herald Trumpet (onstage)

    2022: Bass herald trumpet in Hamlet (onstage), trombone in Chicago and Festival Theatre Fanfares. Ninth season. Spurning advice to learn the clarinet, Janice made her start on a third-hand trombone at age 10. Since then, she has enjoyed playing numerous musical theatre productions in Stratford, Toronto and Washington, DC. Other performances with Canadian Opera Company, Hamilton Philharmonic, and many others. As a member of the Washington, DC-based Monumental Brass Quintet, she played on 13 tours for the Columbia Artists' Concert Series across 48 states in the US, the White House, and at the Kennedy Center. Recordings include The Hockey Sweater (Hamilton Philharmonic), Carousel (Stratford Festival), Evangeline (Charlottetown Festival) and Christmas Presence (Monumental Brass Quintet).

    Portrait of Anthony Santiago
    Anthony Santiago
    Player King, Priest
    2022: Player King, Priest in Hamlet and Elesin in Death and the King's Horseman. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Ezra in Heaven, Crooks in Of Mice and Men, Belize in Angels in America Part 2 (Citadel Theatre); Jerry in Betrayal (Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre); Bill in Best of Enemies (Pacific Theatre); Peter in Company (Raincity Theatre); Brucie in SWEAT (The Arts Club/Citadel Theatre); Virgilio in Coriolanus (Bard on the Beach); James in Superior Donuts (Ensemble Theatre Company); Robert in Dear Elizabeth (Wunderdog Theatre). Training: Grant MacEwan University for Musical Theatre. Awards: Jessie Richardson Theatre Award for Company, Rain City Theatre. Et cetera: Anthony dedicates this season to his Mammy and to Santi. Also much love to James, Nya-Manet and AKC.
    Portrait of Tyrone Savage
    Tyrone Savage
    Marcellus
    2022: Marcellus in Hamlet and Aide-de-camp in Death and the King's Horseman. Seventh season. Stratford: Joseph Surface in School for Scandal, Timon of Athens, Merchant of Venice, She Stoops to Conquer, Alice Through the Looking-Glass, Anne Frank, Three Musketeers, Much Ado, Henry V, Grapes of Wrath. Elsewhere: 15 Dogs (Crow's Theatre), A Few Good Men (Drayton), The Matchmaker (Arts Club), Sleuth (Mayfield), Stag and Doe (Neptune), The Gamblers (Talk is Free). Film/TV/Video Games: Caillou, Immortals: Fenyx Rising, Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, Redwall, Wind at my Back. Training: Circle in the Square, Birmingham Conservatory. Et cetera: Tyrone dedicates this season to the memory of some of his favourite teachers: Martha Henry and David Fox.

CREATIVE

    Peter Pasyk
    Director

    2022: Director of Hamlet. Sixth season. Stratford: Director of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Assistant director of Birds of a Kind, School for Scandal, Breath of Kings. Elsewhere: Peter is an acclaimed theatre director who has worked with Canada's leading theatre companies including Tarragon Theatre, Soulpepper, Shaw Festival, Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre and Canadian Stage. Peter directed the world premières of Jordan Tannahill's Late Company (Theatre Centre), Rosamund Small's Sisters (Soulpepper), and Rosa Laborde's Like Wolves (GCTC). Peter's Dora-nominated productions include The Nether, Killer Joe, Dying City, When the World Was Green and The Jones Boy. As a filmmaker, Peter co-wrote one of Poland's highest grossing feature films: Planeta Singli (Planet Single). He recently returned from Warsaw where he directed the pilot of a new Polish comedy TV series. Et cetera: This one's for Dilly.

    Patrick Lavender
    Set Designer

    2022: Set designer of Hamlet. Third season. Elsewhere: Set, costume, lighting design for Ghost Quartet (Crow's Theatre); set, lighting, sound design for Book of Life (Volcano Theatre/Canadian Stage); set and lighting design for The Nether (Coal Mine Theatre); lighting design for It Comes in Waves (Bluemouth Inc./Necessary Angel Theatre); set and lighting design for Brave New World (Litmus Theatre/Theatre Passe Muraille); set, costume, lighting design for Late Company (Surface Underground/Why Not Theatre). Awards: Dora Award in Musical Theatre Design for Ghost Quartet (Crow's Theatre); Dora Award in Lighting Design for The Nether (Coal Mine); Dora Award in Independent Set Design for Crawlspace (Videofag); Dora Award in Lighting Design for It Comes in Waves (Bluemouth Inc./Necessary Angel); Toronto Theatre Critics Award in Design for The Nether (Coal Mine). Et cetera: Kaitlin, you're the best!

    Michelle Bohn
    Costume Designer

    (she/her)

    2022: Designer of All's Well That Ends Well and costume designer of Hamlet. Sixth season. Stratford: I Am William (co-designer); HMS Pinafore (associate costume designer). Off-Broadway: Costume designer: A Four-Letter Word (Classic Stage Company). Designer: Richard III, King Lear, Macbeth (New York Classical Theatre); Orpheus (Next Wave Festival). Off-Off-Broadway: Costume designer: Displaced Wedding (New Worlds Theatre). Selected Regional: Designer: Could I Have This Dance? (Rebecca Cohn auditorium); Pleasureville (The Guild). Costume designer: Jukebox Hero (Mirvish); Measure for Measure (Canadian Stage); Theory (Tarragon); The Nether, Between Riverside & Crazy (Coal Mine); The New Canadian Curling Club (Blyth Festival); Amadeus, The Gamblers (Talk is Free); The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Kimberly Akimbo (SouthernRep); Coriolanus, Henry V (Shakespeare Festival at Tulane). Film/TV: Costume designer: Save Me, For the Record (CBC Gem); NOLA; The Red Thunder (short); Good Sister (short). Training: University of Missouri - Kansas City, Concordia University. Online: michellebohndesign.com.

    Kimberly Purtell
    Lighting Designer

    (she/her)

    2022: Lighting designer of Hamlet. 13th season. Stratford: Private Lives, Mother's Daughter, The Front Page, Brontë: The World Without, Timon of Athens, The Virgin Trial, The Madwoman of Chaillot, Breath of Kings: Rebellion, Breath of Kings: Redemption, Bunny, The Taming of the Shrew, Possible Worlds, The Last Wife, Alice Through the Looking-Glass, Man of La Mancha, Christina, The Girl King, Waiting for Godot, You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, The Little Years, The Blonde, the Brunette and the Vengeful Redhead. Elsewhere: Mirvish, Shaw Festival, Canadian Stage, Soulpepper, NAC, NAC Orchestra, Pacific Opera Victoria, Opera Philadelphia, Edmonton Opera, Theatre Calgary, RMTC, Citadel, Place des Arts, among many others. Three Dora Mavor Moore Awards, Pauline McGibbon Award, Montreal English Theatre Award, Toronto Theatre Critics Award, Ottawa Critics Circle Award and Elizabeth Sterling Award. Kimberly is the Vice President of the Associated Designers of Canada.

    Richard Feren
    Composer, Sound Designer

    2022: Composer and sound designer of Hamlet. Fourth season. Stratford: Sound designer of An Ideal Husband, Hay Fever. Elsewhere (as composer/sound designer): Outside the March (The Flick, Jerusalem); Canadian Stage (Measure for Measure, Much Ado About Nothing, Every Brilliant Thing); Coal Mine Theatre (The Father, The Nether); Factory Theatre (Beautiful Man); The Grand Theatre (Every Brilliant Thing, The Wars, Silence); Nightwood Theatre (A Blow In the Face, Asking For It, Unholy); Soulpepper (Betrayal, Copenhagen, Animal Farm); The Theatre Centre (Daughter); VideoCabaret (The Cold War, Confederation & Riel). Recordings: Music available on iTunes, Spotify, etc. as Richard Feren; The Haunted Palace; Crimescene. Film/TV: Features: It's Hard To Be Human; The Anniversary; Burning, Burning; A Trip to the Island; Past Perfect; Possible Worlds. Numerous short films. Awards: 1999 Pauline McGibbon Award, seven Dora Awards, shortlisted for 2012 Siminovitch Prize. Online: haemorrhage-music.com.

    Geoff Scovell
    Fight Director

    2022: Supervising fight director for the 2022 season. 11th season. Stratford: Associate fight director: 2013-2020 seasons. Assistant fight director: 2004 and 2009 seasons. Elsewhere: Fight director: Bengal Tiger... (Crow's Theatre); Black Drum (Soulpepper); Peter and the Starcatcher, Sweet Charity (Shaw); Don Giovanni, War and Peace (COC). Film/TV: Stunts (selected): See (seasons two and three), The Lost Symbol, The Boys (three seasons), Hardy Boys, The Man from Toronto, Clarice, It Chapter Two, X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Schitt's Creek, Murdoch Mysteries, Wayne, Ginny & Georgia, Jupiter's Legacy, Utopia Falls, Supergirl, Impulse, What We Do in the Shadows, I Was Lorena Bobbitt, Save Me, Frankie Drake, Titans, Umbrella Academy, The Expanse, Designated Survivor, Suicide Squad, Dark Matter, Killjoys, 12 Monkeys, Bitten, The Strain, Pompeii, Orphan Black, Carrie, Total Recall. Training: Fight Master. BFA, Ryerson University. Awards: SAG nomination, Best Stunt Ensemble, 2021, Paddy Crean. Online: @GeoffScovell.

    Alix Sideris
    Intimacy and Movement Director

    (she/her/they)

    2022: Intimacy and movement director of Hamlet. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Sin and Sorrow Are Common to All, The Judas Kiss (Talk is Free Theatre, 2021-22); Salome Learns to Dance (Hawkeye Pictures, 2021); Dominatrix on Trial (Windsor Feminist Theatre, 2021); Pomegranate Opera (Buddies in Bad Times, 2019); The Monkiest King (Movement Direction, CCOC/TCPA, 2018). Some recent performance credits include Room (understudy, Mirvish Productions); The Cherry Orchard (Modern Times Theatre); Pride and Prejudice (Theatre Calgary/National Arts Centre); Metamorphoses (National Arts Centre); Like Wolves (GCTC). Alix was a resident actor in the National Arts Centre's English Theatre Ensembles in its 2012/13 season. Recent media credits include Assassins Creed: The Odyssey, Valhalla (Ubisoft). Et cetera: She is debuting her short documentary film, chemography: a study in light, on CBC Gem. Online: alixsideris.com.

    Bryn Kennedy
    Assistant Director

    (she/her) Langham Directors' Workshop, 2022

    2022: Assistant director of Hamlet. Stratford debut. Directing: Beneath the Bed (Theatre Born Between, Toronto Fringe Festival); Vitals (Theatre Born Between - nominated for Outstanding Solo Performance, My Entertainment World Awards); Reasons to Be Pretty (RTBP Collective). Assistant Directing: A Bear Awake In Winter (Next Stage Theatre Festival and Canadian Stage workshop). Film/TV: Acting: V-Wars (Netflix); Coroner (CBC). Producing: Save The Date (Inside Out Film Festival, winner of the outACTRAto Queer Your Stories competition). Other: Artistic Associate at Director's Lab North. Training: Directors' Lab North, Paprika Festival Directors' Lab, Theatre and Drama Studies at Sheridan College and University of Toronto Mississauga. Online: brynkennedy.com. Et cetera: Love to Matt for "whatever it takes." To M & D, thank you will never be enough.

    Madeline Ius
    Assistant Designer
    2022: Assistant designer of Hamlet. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Costume design: Here Are the Fragments (The Theatre Centre); A Christmas Carol (Soup Can Theatre); Newmarket National Play Festival (2019 season). Head of Wardrobe: Sweeney Todd (Talk is Free Theatre); Pass Over (Obsidian Theatre); Elizabeth Rex (Theatre @ York). Training: BFA in Theatre, specializing in Production and Design.
    Sruthi Suresan
    Assistant Lighting Designer

    (she/her)

    2022: Assistant lighting designer of Chicago, Hamlet and The Miser. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Lighting designer: La Boheme, Is He Dead?, Almost Maine, The Underpants, Stupid F***ing Bird, Threads: Impact (University of Wisconsin-Madison); The Drawer Boy (Port Stanley Festival Theatre); Three Sisters (University of Windsor). Associate lighting designer: The Rhubarb Festival (Buddies in Bad Times). Assistant lighting designer: White Girls In Moccasins (Buddies in Bad Times); Tea (University of Wisconsin-Madison); Old Wives Tale (Port Stanley Festival Theatre). Training: MFA Theatre and Drama, Lighting Design - University of Wisconsin-Madison; BA(H) Drama and Communication, Media and Film - University of Windsor.

    Imogen Wilson
    Assistant Lighting Designer

    (she/her)

    2022: Assistant lighting designer of Chicago and Hamlet. Fifth season. Stratford: Lighting designer: Langham Directors' Workshop, 2021. Assistant lighting designer: A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Rez Sisters, I Am William, Serving Elizabeth, Billy Elliot the Musical, The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Front Page, Long Day's Journey Into Night, Brontë: The World Without. Elsewhere: Lighting design credits include How to Fail as a Popstar world tour (Canadian Stage), La Bohème: A National Tour of Opera in Bars (Against the Grain), What I Call Her (Crow's Theatre), Dark Heart (Thought for Food). Assistant lighting designer of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Bat Out of Hell (Mirvish), Caroline, or Change (Musical Stage Company), How to Fail as a Popstar, Let's Run Away, Every Brilliant Thing (Canadian Stage), A Beautiful View (Festival Players of Prince Edward County). Imogen is also a scenic artist and proud member of IATSE ADC659.

    Adam Campbell
    Assistant Sound Designer

    (he/him)

    2022: Assistant sound designer of Chicago, Hamlet and Death and the King's Horseman. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Assistant sound designer for Shakespearean Gardens Display, composer for Market Square Projections (Lights On Stratford). Composer for video projects Alone Together and Four (Human Body Expression). Composer, sound designer and musician for A Midsummer Night's Dream (Stratford Pirate Transmission), Romeo & Juliet (Highland Summer Festival). Orchestra for Piaf/Dietrich, Ain't Too Proud (Mirvish). Percussionist with TorQ Percussion Quartet and Ladom Ensemble. Recording: Debut album Guess I'm A People Too (2019) available on all platforms. Training: University of Toronto (ON); Acadia University (Wolfville, NS). Et cetera: Adam is thrilled to be joining the Stratford Festival team this year!

    David Chinchilla
    Associate Fight Director

    (he/him)

    2022: Associate Fight Director of Richard III and Hamlet. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Stage combat instructor: National Theatre School, Etobicoke School of the Arts, Shakespearience, St. Andrews College. Film/TV: Stunts (selected): The Boys, See, Killjoys, Reacher, Dark Matter, The Expanse, Frankie Drake Mysteries and Rabid. @davidchin088.

     

    Jennifer Dzialoszynski
    Assistant Fight Director

    (she/her)

    2022: Assistant fight director for Hamlet, Richard III, Little Women, All's Well That Ends WellEvery Little Nookie, Hamlet-911, The Miser, Death and the King's Horseman. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Is God Is (Canadian Stage/Obsidian/Necessary Angel), Three Women of Swatow, Theory, Girls Like That (Tarragon), The Nether (Coal Mine/Studio 180), Poison (Coal Mine), Hello Bertha, Talk To Me Like The Rain And Let Me Listen, Rococo, Lithuania (Shaw Festival), Boeing, Boeing, Perfect Wedding (Magnus Theatre) Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Taming of the Shrew (Shakespeare Bash'd). Selected Film/TV: SkyMed (CBC), Let It Snow (Netflix), Shut Up (Short), Dark Matter (SyFy), XIII The Series (Showcase). Training: Ryerson University. Awards: My Entertainment World Award for Hamlet and many nominations, Dora Award Nomination for Kindertransport. Et cetera: Jenn is also an actor and voice performer and is grateful to have performed on stages across kanata (Canada).

    Brian Scott
    Stage Manager

    (he/him)

    2022: Stage manager of Hamlet. 28th season. Stratford: 29 productions including last season's Serving Elizabeth, Coriolanus (2019), The Who's Tommy, Jesus Christ Superstar (Stratford/La Jolla/Broadway), and the Miller-Plummer King Lear (Stratford/Lincoln Center).

    Alice Ferreyra Galliani
    Assistant Stage Manager

    (she/her)

    2022: Assistant stage manager of Hamlet and Death and the King's Horseman. Sixth season. Stratford: R + J, Hamlet, Henry VIII, Birds of a Kind, Bakkhai. Elsewhere: Maanomaa, My Brother (Blue Bird Theatre Collective); Every Silver Lining (Next Stage Festival); Maggie & Pierre (Grand Theatre); Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls (Roseneath Theatre); The Drowsy Chaperone, Footloose, The Addams Family, Spring Awakening, Spelling Bee, Nine (Randolph College); Godspell (Theatre Sheridan); Anne of Green Gables, Evita, Shrek the Musical (LOT); The Canadian (Thousand Islands Playhouse); Hamlet (Tarragon Theatre); The Magic Flute (Canadian Opera Company); City of Angels (Theatre By the Bay); The Story (Theatre Columbus); The Test (The Company Theatre). Training: Sheridan College (Technical Production). Et cetera: Originally from Lima, Peru. Loves food, music, dancing. Always looking for a good book recommendation. 

    Tiffany Fraser
    Assistant Stage Manager

    2022: Assistant stage manager of Chicago and Hamlet. 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.  

    Maxwell T. Wilson
    Assistant Stage Manager

    (he/him)

    2022: Stage manager of Death and the King's Horseman and assistant stage manager of Hamlet.  24th season. Stratford (selected): Finally There's Sun (cabaret), Nathan the Wise, An Ideal Husband, Treasure Island, The Breathing Hole, Breath of Kings: Rebellion, Carousel, Man of La Mancha, The Three Musketeers, Taking Shakespeare, Henry V, Hosanna, Peter Pan, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Cabaret, South Pacific, My One and Only, The Winter's Tale and Death of a Salesman. Elsewhere: Max's career spans over 30 years, including work with Citadel Theatre, Theatre Calgary, Edmonton Opera, Opera Atelier, the Canadian Opera Company, Canadian Stage, Young People's Theatre and Mirvish Productions. Training: BA, University of Lethbridge. Awards: 2012 and 2017 Guthrie Awards. Et cetera: Max works with a leading purveyor of orchid growing supplies at ravenvision.ca.

    Elizabeth McDermott
    Production Stage Manager

    2022: Production stage manager of the Festival Theatre. Ninth season. Stratford: Production stage manager: Festival Theatre, Tom Patterson Theatre. Assistant stage manager: Billy Elliot, Othello, The Music Man, To Kill a Mockingbird, Shakespeare in Love, The Hypochondriac, The Sound of Music, The Taming of the Shrew, Love's Labour's Lost, As You Like It, King of Thieves. Elsewhere: King Lear, Twelfth Night (SiHP); A City, Divisadero (Necessary Angel); Cracked: new light on dementia (UW/Collective Disruption); Comfort (Red Snow Collective); The Road to Paradise, Night (Human Cargo); Miracle on 34th Street (STC); Bella (HGJTC); Anne of Green Gables, Canada Rocks! (Charlottetown); Falling: A Wake (Blyth); The Barber of Seville (Soulpepper); Binti's Journey, Head à Tête, Old Man and the River (Theatre Direct); Danny, King of the Basement (Roseneath); Othello, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Twelfth Night, All's Well That Ends Well (SLSF).

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