LONDON ASSURANCE

c. 1820-1890

Playwright: London Assurance

Anglo/Irish playwright, actor, and manager Dionysius Lardner Boucicault/Bousiquot was born in Dublin, Ireland around 1820 to an Irish mother and a French father. He began his theatrical career as an actor in 1838, under the pseudonym Lee Moreton, in his own play A Legend of the Devil's Dyke. But it wasn't until Charles Mathews and his wife, Madame Vestris, agreed to produce London Assurance (after extensive rewrites) at Covent Garden in 1841 that Boucicault came into wealth and prominence. Three years later, in debt, he was encouraged by theatre manager Ben Webster to go to Paris, where he adapted French plays (Louis XI and The Corsican Brothers).  

In 1852, he appeared as an actor in a melodrama of his own, The Vampire, with theatre owner Charles Kean's adopted daughter, Agnes Robertson, a talented actress whom he later married. From 1853 to 1860 the pair lived in the United States, where they toured, and Boucicault wrote a number of successful plays.  

Back in England, he produced The Colleen Bawn in 1860 at the Adelphi Theatre, which was performed across the UK and the USA, making Boucicault a fortune. The abolitionist play,Octoroon, which followed in 1861, was also a popular success.

His next creations, Arrah-na-Pogue, in which he played a Wicklow Post carman and The Shaughraun, in which he created the character Con, made his reputation as a great "stage Irishman." 

In 1875, he returned to New York City where he made his home. He occasionally returned to London, where he made his final appearance in The Jilt. He had three children with Agnes: a son, Dion, and two daughters, Audrey and Nina, all of whom distinguished themselves in the theatre. Boucicault committed bigamy - and aroused scandal - by marrying a young actress, Lorraine Thorndyke, in 1885, with whom he lived until his death in New York in 1890.

Boucicault is remembered for writing some of the best comedies and melodramas of the 19th century, and for his "character parts." It's said that he often veered toward plagiarism, wrote with the "bottom line" in mind, and careened from bankruptcy to riches several times. But his use of social themes foreshadowed later drama in Europe and America.  

(he/him)

2024: Artistic Director of the Stratford Festival. Director of London Assurance. 37th season. Stratford: Directing credits include Grand Magic; Richard III; The Miser; Birds of a Kind; The Merry Wives of Windsor; The Tempest; Napoli Milionaria!; The School for Scandal; Macbeth; The Hypochondriac; Hamlet; The Alchemist; King Lear; The Beaux' Stratagem; Mary Stuart; The Merchant of Venice; Cymbeline; The Grapes of Wrath; Bartholomew Fair; Coriolanus; As You Like It, featuring original music by Barenaked Ladies; King John; Love's Labour's Lost, with Brian Bedford; Twelfth Night, with William Hutt; The Night of the Iguana; and Filumena, with Richard Monette. A crowning achievement of his tenure as Artistic Director is the building of the new Tom Patterson Theatre, which opened in 2022, winning a number of architectural awards. He was also instrumental in establishing the Festival's Endowment Foundation, which now stands in excess of $90 million, as well as in the renovation of the Avon Theatre and the creation of the Studio Theatre. Elsewhere: The Canadian première of ENRON (Theatre Calgary); Twelfth Night (Attic Theatre, Detroit); A Woman of No Importance (Hilberry Theater, Detroit). A champion of the arts and culture, Mr. Cimolino served as the Founding Chair of Culture Days, a nation-wide celebration of arts and culture in Canada. He has initiated collaborations with several prestigious theatre companies, including Montreal's Théâtre du Nouveau Monde, Ottawa's National Arts Centre, New York's Lincoln Center and City Center, San Francisco's American Conservatory Theater and Chicago Shakespeare Theater.

2024: Set and costume designer of Hedda Gabler, set and lighting designer of London Assurance. 11th season. Stratford: Grand Magic-set and lighting; The Miser-lighting; A Midsummer Night's Dream-costumes; Mother's Daughter-set and costumes; Two Gentlemen of Verona-set and lighting; The Front Page, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Timon of Athens, Agamemnon, Electra, Bereav'd of Light, Fellini Radio Plays, Walk Right Up, Shadows-set; The Flies-set and costumes. Elsewhere: Set: My Fair Lady (Shaw Festival); Set and lighting: De Profundis: Oscar Wilde in Jail (Soulpepper); Set: Sound of Music (Citadel/RMTC); Universal Child Care (Quote Unquote Collective/Canadian Stage); Mahabharata (Why Not Theatre/Shaw/Barbican). Awards: Five Dora Awards. Online: www.lorenzosavoini.com.Et cetera: Member of the Associated Designers of Canada. 

2023: Composer of London Assurance. Fourth season. Stratford: Grand Magic, 1939, The Rez Sisters. Factory Theatre: Apple, Claudius, Amazon Dream, The Leisure Society, Better Living, Escape from Happiness, Beyond Mozambique, The Rez Sisters. Canadian Rep Theatre: Pacamambo, How Do I Love Thee?, Armstrong's War, Tideline. Other Theatre: Yaga (Belfry Theatre); Moonlodge (Soulpepper Theatre); Sunshine & Shadows (Orillia Opera House); Possible Worlds (Helen Gardiner Phelan Playhouse); The Matador (York Street Theatre); Days of Wine and Roses (Hart House Theatre). CBC Radio Dramas: A Dream Within a Dream, The Pet, Alligators in the Lake, A Few Words About Harold, Ultimate Destination, Everything She Wants, The Most Beautiful Girl in Town, What Friends Do, Puppy Love. Online: waynekelso.com. Et cetera: Wayne celebrates his Métis heritage by dedicating this season to his late grandmother, Laura Gladue-Reid.

Birmingham Conservatory, 2002

2024: Movement coach and choreographer. 17th season. Adrienne Gould came to the Stratford Festival in 2000 as an actor. Over 10 seasons, some of her roles included Ophelia, Miranda (with William Hutt), Bianca in The Taming of the Shrew, Yasmin in Pentecost, Hero in Much Ado About Nothing, Regina in Ghosts (with Martha Henry), Phebe in As You Like It, Jaquenetta in Love's Labour's Lost and Jessica in The Merchant of Venice. Her choreography credits include last season's Much Ado About Nothing, Grand Magic and The Miser; assistant choreographer for Shakespeare in Love; movement director for Timon of Athens and The Crucible; intimacy choreography for Love's Labours Lost and the Birmingham Conservatory's Three Sisters. Adrienne is a recipient of the Mary Savidge Award and is a graduate of the North Carolina School of the Arts.

Langham Directors' Workshop, 2024

2024: Assistant director of London Assurance. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Director - Dead Elephants, The Last Mammoth, One Left Hour: The Life and Work of Daniil Kharms, Blue Remembered Hills (Good Old Neon); Frankenstein(esque) (Silent Protagonist); Machinal, A Lysistrata (act2studioWORKS). Actor - Two Character Play, Potosi (Good Old Neon); The Real Sherlock Holmes (Lighthouse Theatre Festival); The Belt and the Necklace (Odyssey Theatre); Mankind UK Tour (PLS); Brimstone and Treacle (Precisely Peters Productions); The Seagull (Chekhov Collective); Love's Labour's Lost (Dauntless City Theatre); Claire Tinsdale in The Good Witch.Training: HB Studio (NYC); George Brown Theatre School. Awards: My Entertainment Critics' Pick - 2017 Outstanding Production, 2014 Audience Choice Best Actress. Online: Instagram @nicolewilson_actor, @gontheatre. Et cetera: Nicole is Co-AD of Good Old Neon. Love and gratitude to my friends, family, and soulmate Alexander.

(she/they)

2024: Assistant set designer of Something Rotten!, Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet and London Assurance. Second season. Stratford: Richard II, Wedding Band. Elsewhere: Designer: There are No Gays in Chechnya (Page 1 Theatre). Costumes: Sweet Charity (AUTS). Online: @freddy.vancamp. 

2024: Assistant costume designer of London Assurance. 10th season. Stratford: Set and costume assistant designer for Chicago. As the design coordinator for seven years at the Festival, Mary-Jo had the pleasure of working alongside many of Canada's greatest designers. She also hired assistants who are now becoming the next generation of young designers in Canada. Elsewhere:  Mary-Jo was Head of Wardrobe for 25 years in Toronto for such companies as Young People's Theatre, Soulpepper Theatre, Necessary Angel and Canadian Stage. When not working at the Festival, Mary-Jo enjoys creating her art and selling it at Stratford Art in the Park and other art shows around Ontario. Online: www.inspiredfromwithin.com.

2024: Assistant costume designer of London Assurance. Sixth season. Stratford: Production design: Never Doubt I Love (Stratfest@Home); Designer: Langham Directors' Workshop 2021, 2022; Assistant designer: Three Tall Women, Bakkhai; Assistant costume designer: Death and the King's Horseman, The Merry Wives of Windsor, An Ideal Husband. Elsewhere: Chemainus Theatre Festival (9-5, Ghost, Lumberjacks in Love, Glorious!); Puente Theatre (Fado); Pacific Opera Victoria (Rattenbury, La Voix Humaine); Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre (The Drawer Boy, Our Town, The Glass Menagerie, Of Mice and Men). Ongoing collaboration with Impulse Theatre (soft spaces). Training: 3D Animation and Character Design (Fanshawe College), Master of Scenography (Wimbledon College of Arts, UAL), BFA Theatre Design (University of Victoria). Online: patriciareilly.com.

(she/her)

2024: Assistant lighting designer of Something Rotten!, Romeo and Juliet and London Assurance. Third season. Stratford: Assistant lighting designer of Rent, Much Ado About Nothing, Les Belles-Soeurs, Chicago, Hamlet and The Miser. Elsewhere: Lighting design: The Two Noble Kinsmen (Shakespeare BASH'd); Legally Blonde, London Road (MacEwan University); La Boheme, Is He Dead?, Almost Maine, The Underpants, Stupid F***ing Bird, Threads: Impact (University of Wisconsin); The Drawer Boy (Port Stanley Festival Theatre); Three Sisters (University of Windsor). Associate lighting designer: FRONTIERS | FRONTIÈRES and WATER SPIRIT (Lua Shayenne Dance Company); Maggie (The Savoy); The Rhubarb Festival (Buddies in Bad Times). Assistant lighting designer: Nutcracker, Fall for Dance North (Meridian Hall); White Girls In Moccasins (Buddies in Bad Times); Tea (University of Wisconsin); Training: MFA - Theatre and Drama - Lighting Design (University of Wisconsin - Madison); BA(H): Drama and Communication Media and Film (University of Windsor). 

(she/her)

2024: Stage manager of London Assurance. 10th season. Stratford: Stage manager of Grand Magic, The Miser, Othello, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Changeling, Breath of Kings: Redemption and Oedipus Rex. 17 seasons with the Shaw Festival, production stage manager from 2003 to 2011. Favourite productions with the Shaw Festival include My Fair Lady, Gypsy, You Can't Take It With You, Detective Story, All My Sons, Chaplin, The Madras House, Man and Superman, Peter Pan and Lady Windermere's Fan. Productions with the Grand Theatre, Drayton Entertainment, Canadian Stage, Manitoba Theatre Centre, Mirvish Productions, National Arts Centre, Blyth Festival, Factory Theatre and Tarragon Theatre.

2024: Assistant stage manager of Something Rotten! and London Assurance. Third season. Stratford: Assistant stage manager: Rent, Les Belles-Soeurs, Chicago and Hamlet. Elsewhere: Before coming to Stratford, Tiffany was an assistant stage manager with the Canadian Opera Company for 20 seasons working on shows such as Aida, Turandot, Elektra, Götterdämmerung, Siegfried, 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 also Stage Managed at Opera Hamilton working on Barber of Seville and The Pearl Fishers. Tiffany has worked with The National Ballet of Canada in past seasons on shows such as Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella, Swan Lake and Innovation. Tiffany's most favourite job though is being Mom to her three girls, Kennedy, McKinley and Reagan.

(she/her)

2024: Assistant stage manager of Twelfth Night and London Assurance. Fifth season. Stratford: Assistant stage manager of Rent, Les Belles-Soeurs; apprentice stage manager of Chicago, The Miser, Three Tall Women; Festival Theatre production assistant. Elsewhere: Stage manager - Bluebeard's Castle (Against the Grain Theatre); The Laundry List (Vintage Taps); rochdale (SummerWorks). Assistant stage manager - A Huron County Christmas Carol (Blyth Festival); The Breathing Hole (National Arts Centre); The Tender Land (UofT Opera). Apprentice stage manager - Homes: A Refugee Story,Home for the Holidays (Grand Theatre); August: Osage County (Soulpepper); Cinderella: The Panto (Capitol Theatre); Angel (Opera Atelier). Apprentice production manager - Twelfth Night (a Company of Fools). Training: York University, SMArts. Et cetera: Caitlin would like to thank her friends, family, and mentors for all their support.

2024: Apprentice stage manager of London Assurance. Second season. Stratford: Production assistant for the Festival Theatre (2023) and the Birmingham Conservatory's Three Sisters. Elsewhere: Mary's Wedding (Drayton Entertainment); Elf: The Musical (Grand Theatre); Finding Home: A Salmon Journey Up the Humber River (Theatre Direct and Animacy Theatre Collective); King Henry Five (Driftwood Theatre); Art In Transit: Luminato On The GO! (Luminato Festival Toronto); R.U.R.: A Torrent of Light (Tapestry Opera); Grounds For Goodness (Jumblies Theatre); Life Assignment (Theatre Nidāna). Et cetera: All the thanks and gratitude to my parents and Copper for their endless love and support!

2024: Production stage manager of the Festival Theatre. 10th season. Stratford: Production stage manager of the Festival Theatre ('23). Assistant stage manager of Chicago, The Music Man, Guys and Dolls, Romeo and Juliet, A Chorus Line, As You Like It, Hamlet, The Sound of Music, Crazy for You and Fiddler on the Roof. Elsewhere: Production stage manager for the Charlottetown Festival, Soulpepper, Perchance Theatre, Theatrefront. Stage manager for The Segal Centre/NAC, Citadel Theatre, Neptune Theatre, Opera on the Avalon, Western Canada Theatre, Persistence Theatre, Theatre New Brunswick, Tarragon Theatre. A proud Newfoundlander, Krista stage managed the first Newfoundland production of Come From Away (Rubinoff/ACC) in Gander last summer.

(she/her)

2024: Production assistant of the Festival Theatre. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Ghost the Musical, The Fiancé (Chemainus Theatre Festival). Training: University of Victoria. Online: @louesums. Et cetera: Louey would like to thank her little sister, family and friends for all their love and support.