Based on the book by J.R.R. Tolkien
Adapted by Kim Selody
Licensed by Middle Earth Enterprises
Directed by Pablo Felices-Luna
Bilbo Baggins is reluctantly swept from his cozy hobbit hole into a perilous quest across Middle-earth to help a band of dwarves reclaim their home, Lonely Mountain, from a deadly dragon. Faced with trolls, goblins and a mysterious magic ring, he discovers that true courage often lies in the most unlikely of hearts.
The play “The Hobbit” being presented in this production is adapted for the stage by Kim Selody from the book entitled “The Hobbit” by J.R.R. Tolkien. The play is being presented by permission under license from Middle-earth Enterprises. All rights are reserved. No part of the Play may be performed, recorded or reproduced in any form except with the express written consent of Middle-earth Enterprises.
The 2026 Season is supported by Ophelia Lazaridis.
Production Sponsor:
The Schulich Foundation
(he/him/il)
2026: Bilbo in The Hobbit and appears in A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Tao of the World. Second season. Stratford: Nibs in Peter Pan. Elsewhere: Bing in WIGHTS (Crow's Theatre); Ensemble in Snow in Midsummer (Shaw Festival/NAC); Orphan of Chao (Shaw Festival); Leontes in The Winter's Tale (Shakespeare in the Ruff); Richard in The Humans (Citadel Theatre/Canadian Stage); Falkor in The Neverending Story (Roseneath Theatre); Kai in acquiesce (Factory Theatre/fu-GEN Theatre). Film/TV: Law & Order Toronto: CI; Kim's Convenience; and SHORTY, a light-hearted short about being "short" in a basketball world. Awards: Dora Award Recipient - Sultans of the Street, Cinderella: A RATical Retelling (YPT); paper SERIES (Cahoots Theatre). Online: @RichardTheArtistLee. Et cetera: Richard is also a fight and movement designer, educator, and emerging filmmaker. His passion for storytelling in all forms led to the creation of Monday Nights (Theatre Centre/6th Man Collective), an interactive and immersive basketball theatre show.
(she/ her)
2026: Snout in A Midsummer Nights Dream, Old Took in The Hobbit and Eleanor Marwood in The Tao of the World. Sixth season. Stratford: Muriel Eubanks in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Dindon in La Cage, Smee in Wendy & Peter, Annie, Man of La Mancha, A Little Night Music, Private Lives. Elsewhere: Miss Stacy in Anne, Tanya in Mamma Mia! (Charlottetown Festival); 5 Villains in the Ross Petty Pantos; Myth of the Ostrich, Take Care (Here For Now); Kate in The Wild Party, Charlotte in Falsettos (Musical Stage); Mary in Mary Poppins, Fantine in Les Mis, Original Canadian Alison in Fun Home (Arts Club); Baker's Wife in Into the Woods (Neptune); Velma in Chicago (Mayfield); Rona in Spelling Bee (Belfry); (Drayton). Online: @sjhosie. Et cetera: Check out SJ's new venture The Leonor on George Street. @theleonorongeorge.
Birmingham Conservatory, 2003
2026: Second Waiter in Death of a Salesman and understudy in The Hobbit. 13th season. Stratford (selected): Sense and Sensibility, As You Like It, The Sound of Music, Crazy for You, Man of La Mancha, Love's Labour's Lost, Much Ado…, The Duchess of Malfi, The Brothers Karamazov, Peter Pan, Present Laughter, Measure for Measure, The Threepenny Opera, The Swanne. Elsewhere: Damn Yankees, Mother Daughter, My Fair Lady, Kabarett, Prince Caspian (Shaw Festival); Assassins (MTC/TIFT); Company (Theatre Centre); Onegin (Musical Stage); This Is How It Goes, Frog and Toad, Sweeney Todd (Neptune); Wizard of Oz, Gatsby, Einstein's Gift, Elf (Grand); Christmas Story, Les Misérables (WCT); Treasure Island (TNB); Othello (SLSF); Hockey Mom, Hockey Dad, Hay Fever, The Red Priest (Thousand Islands); Sticks and Stones, The Mikado (NAC); Beauty and the Beast (Citadel/Theatre Calgary). TV: Anne with an E, Suits, Murdoch, Reign. Training: Queen's, Birmingham Conservatory.
(she/her)
Birmingham Conservatory, 2004/2005
2026: First Fairy in A Midsummer Night's Dream and understudy in The Hobbit. 18th season.Stratford (selected): Miss Hannigan (Annie), Malvolio (Twelfth Night), Pauline (Casey and Diana), Mary Shelley (Frankenstein Revived), Emelia (Othello), Irene Malloy (Matchmaker), Mistress Page (Merry Wives of Windsor), Mrs. Darling (Peter Pan), Ashley (Virgin Trial), Chrysothemis (Elektra), Helena (Midsummer Night's…), Audrey (As You Like It), Chorus Leader (Bakkhai). Elsewhere (selected): A Doll's House (Canadian Stage); Fifteen Dogs (Mirvish/Crow's); Madam Minister (Talk Is Free); Fun Home (Mirvish/Musical Stage); A Delicate Balance, Idomeneus, The Heidi Chronicles, The Crucible, The Norman Conquests (Soulpepper); An Enemy of the People, Sextet (Tarragon); Chimerica (Canadian Stage/MTC); THIS (Canadian Stage); Top Girls (Segal Centre); 4:48 Psychosis (Necessary Angel). Awards: Dora nominee/winner; two-time Toronto Theatre Critics award winner. Film/TV: The Players (dir. Sarah Galea-Davis), The Lake, Nurses, Murdoch Mysteries, others. Et Cetera: Thank you, Bryan. Hi Jnr.
Birmingham Conservatory, 2015/2016
2026: Hippolyta inA Midsummer Night's Dream and Bombur in The Hobbit. 10th season. Stratford: Psamathe, Circe in Ransacking Troy, Mattie in Wedding Band, Co-Host of Showstarters, Tituba in The Crucible, Les Belles-Soeurs, Death and the King's Horseman, The Neverending Story, As You Like It, Love's Labour's Lost, Hay Fever. Elsewhere:Ruby and the Reindeer (Here For Now); Death and the King's Horseman Radio Play (Soulpepper); Romeo & Juliet (Spontaneous Theatre); A Christmas Carol (Theatre New Brunswick); five seasons with the Shaw Festival including Major Barbara, Ragtime, Born Yesterday; Binti's Journey (Theatre Direct); The Aftermath (Nightwood Theatre); A Midsummer Night's Dream (Canadian Stage). Film/TV: Murdoch Mysteries, Hamlet (2022), Death and the King's Horseman, Love's Labour's Lost, Hamlet, Macbeth, Timon of Athens (STRATFEST@HOME). Training: Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre; BFA, University of Windsor. Et cetera: To my loves J, Z and S.
(he/ him)
2026: Devan Pillay in The Tao of the World and understudy in Death of a Salesman and The Hobbit. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Don John and the Sexton in Much Ado About Nothing, Sir Eglamour in The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Lucio and Kevin in Measure for Measure, the Courtesan and the Second Merchant in The Comedy of Errors, Bardolph and the Dauphin in Henry V (Bard on the Beach); Ensemble and understudy in Mahabharata (Why Not Theatre); Rexy and Jason in The Legend of Georgia McBride (Arts Club Theatre). Training: University of British Columbia. Awards: The Edmund Kean Sword Award, Bard on the Beach 2022. Online: @karthik.dhananjaikadam. Et cetera: Karthik dedicates this season to the memory of his beautiful mother, Sandhya.
(he/him)
2026: Balin in The Hobbit. Jackson Lee in The Tao of the World, and appears in A Midsummer Night's Dream. Third season. Stratford: Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Annie, Salesman in China, Romeo and Juliet. Elsewhere: Zhang Lin in Chimerica (Duceppe); Jay in Frog Song (Here For Now/Stratford Symphony); Chinatown (City Opera Vancouver); Old Man and the River (WeeFestival); The Cave (Luminato); Antonio in The Tempest (Citadel); Narrator/Mysterious Man in Into the Woods, Louis in Pal Joey, Beadle in Sweeney Todd (TIFT); Mr. Beaver in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (Theatre New Brunswick); Mr. Shi and His Lover (Tarragon/NAC); Boy in Blood Weddings (Modern Times/Aluna Theatre). Awards: Toronto Theatre Critics Award - Best Supporting Actor in a Musical. Online: derekkwan.net, @kwanzoku.
(he/they)
2026: Peaseblossom in A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Tao of the World and understudy in The Hobbit. Second season. Stratford: Casey and Diana. Elsewhere: Life of Pi (Citadel/RMTC); Wicked Nix (Young People's Theatre); Fifteen Dogs (Segal Centre); No Big Deal (Roseneath Theatre); rihannaboi95 (Young People's Theatre); Concord Floral (Canadian Stage). Training: York University's Acting Conservatory. Online: @davinder.pdf. Et cetera: I'm so grateful for my family and friends, and the wonderful team at 10 Talent. All of this is a dream come true.
2026: Bernard in Death of a Salesman and understudy in The Hobbit. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in The Mountaintop (Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, Citadel Theatre); Narrator/Mysterious Man in Into the Woods (RMTC); Caliban in The Tempest (Citadel Theatre); MacDuff in Macbeth (Shakespeare in the Ruins); Othello in Othello (Beau/Echo/Raven); Calpurnia (RMTC/NAC); The Whipping Man (Winnipeg Jewish Theatre); The Brothers Paranormal (Vertigo Theatre). Directing: King James (RMTC); Velveteen Rabbit, Billie and The Moon (Manitoba Theatre for Young People); Hedda Gabler (Echo Theatre). Film/TV: Recurring - The Porter (CBC/BET); Vandits (5'7 Films); Violent Night (Universal Pictures). Training: Black Hole Theatre Company; Citadel/Banff Centre. Awards: Winnipeg Theatre Award winner; Sterling, and ACTRA award nominee. Online: @raystrachanacts. Et cetera: Love to Mom, Dad, Gerls. Big hugs Zaydie.
2026: Kili in The Hobbit, Anna in The Tao of the World and understudy in Death of a Salesman. Fourth season. Stratford: Anne of Green Gables, Forgiveness, Get That Hope, Les Belles-Soeurs, King Lear and Much Ado About Nothing. Elsewhere (selected): Rapunzel (Capitol Theatre); POTUS (Segal); Wedding at Aulis, Animal Farm, Alligator Pie, As You Like It, Threepenny Opera, The Time of Your Life (Soulpepper); James and the Giant Peach, Hana's Suitcase, Seussical the Musical, A Year With Frog and Toad, Blue Planet (YPT); Vietgone, Top Girls, My Fair Lady (RMTC). Film/TV: The Understudy (Stratford Festival/Paunch Pictures), Handmaid's Tale (Hulu), DeSync (Sheridan). Voiceover: Hyperscape (Ubisoft), Stillwater School for Mosquitoes (Bad Hats/The Mulligans). Awards: Guthrie Award (2023 Elliot Hayes Playwright Development Fund). Online: Instagram: @jennifer_villaverde. Training: B.A. Theatre - Honours, University of Winnipeg; Soulpepper Academy (2006-2008). Et cetera: Jennifer is a proud hockey mom - Go, Aces!
Kim has worked as a playwright, director and actor in Canadian theatre for over 45 years. Kim has served as Artistic Director of the Playwrights Theatre Centre (formerly The New Play Centre), Carousel Players and Presentation House Theatre. He was a Theatre Officer at the Canada Council for five years. Most of his career has been working in theatre for young audiences, having created over 120 productions.
As a playwright, Kim has adapted, written and co-created many plays for children including Suddenly Shakespeare, Lovers and Liars, The Last Drop, Where The Wild Things Are, Only Birds and Fools Fly, L'en Vol du L'Ange, Pop Pop, Baking Time, Jelly Belly Makes Garbage Delight of Alligator Pie, Silverwing, and The Hobbit. As a collaborator, he has worked across Canada and internationally with companies in England, Germany, Japan, Mexico, U.S., Belgium, Italy, Portugal and Australia.
This adaptation of The Hobbit premièred at MTYP in 1999, thanks to Leslee Silverman. It has been produced in Canada, the U.S. and England. This newest version was further developed with support from the Stratford Festival.
Kim's main collaborative partner has been, and still is, playwright/actor Linda A. Carson. Together they continue to create work for young children, the latest being The Old Woman Who Lives in a Shoe. He is thankful for her support, and of their two sons, Julian and Timothy.
2026: Director of The Hobbit. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Gather, MTYP's Midwinter Mosey, A Year with Frog and Toad, A Charlie Brown Double Bill, The House at Pooh Corner (MTYP); Peg and the Yeti, Dib and Dob and the Journey Home, The Forest in My Room, Water Under the Bridge, Spelling 2-5-5, Here to Hear, The Remarkable Flight of Marnie McPhee, There's a Mouse in My House, The Big League, Bluenose, The Invisible Girl (Carousel Players); Danny, King of the Basement (Roseneath Theatre). Training: York University, University of Victoria, Cuatrotablas (Perú). Et cetera: Pablo is the artistic director of Manitoba Theatre for Young People. Un millón de gracias a mi familia (Carrie, Emi, Ale, Isa), and to Antoni and the Stratford Festival team for making this adventure into Middle earth possible.
2026: Set designer of The Hobbit, A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Tao of the World. 13th season.
2026: Costume designer of The Hobbit. Stratford debut.
2026: Lighting designer of The Hobbit and Saturday Sunday Monday and head of design for the Stratford Festival. 22nd season. Stratford (selected): Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Winter's Tale, Ransacking Troy, Rent, Chicago, Richard III, Billy Elliot, Little Shop of Horrors, Birds of a Kind, Rocky Horror, The Music Man, The Tempest, Guys and Dolls, The School for Scandal, Macbeth, A Chorus Line, Hamlet, The Sound of Music, Oedipus Rex, King Lear, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Othello, Fiddler on the Roof, The Matchmaker, Twelfth Night. Elsewhere: Jenufa (Opéra du Montreal); Piaf/Deitrich (Mirvish); Bluebeard's Castle (COC, 2022); Così Fan Tutte (Israeli Opera, COC); Il Trittico, Jenufa, Maria Stuarda, Albert Herring (Pacific Opera Victoria); A Doll's House Part 2 (RMTC/Mirvish); Jesus Christ Superstar, Kiss Me Kate, Beautiful, Grease (Drayton); The Humans (Citadel/Canadian Stage); A Word or Two with Christopher Plummer (CTG/Stratford, Los Angeles); Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots,Sideways (La Jolla Playhouse); Chimerica (RMTC/Canadian Stage).
2026: Fight and intimacy director of the 2026 season. Ninth season. Fight and intimacy director (selected): Moonlight Schooner, Robin Hood, Slave Play, Fat Ham, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Hamlet, Fairview (CanStage); The Comeuppance, The Welkin, WildWoman, Three Sisters (Soulpepper); Groundhog Day (YES); CRAZE (Tarragon); A Midsummer Night's Dream (Perchance); The Bidding War, Wights, Bad Roads, Prodigal (Crow's); The Green Line, Roberto Zucco, Angels in America (Buddies in Bad Times); Jesus Christ Superstar (Here for Now); Hamlet (The Rose); Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes (TIP); Fall on Your Knees (CanStage/NAC). Stunt performer/actor credits (selected): Copenhagen, Twisted Metal S2, Law & Order: Toronto, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, The Boys, Handmaid's Tale. Upcoming theatre projects: Witch (Soulpepper). Online: anitanittoly.com.
2026: Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Cath in The King James Bible Play and movement director of The Hobbit. 17th season. Stratford (selected): Shakespeare's Hermione, Juliet, Olivia, Cordelia, Jessica, Rosalind; roles in: Ransacking Troy, Hedda Gabler, Serving Elizabeth, Blithe Spirit, The Misanthrope, Peter Pan, Dangerous Liaisons and many others. Broadway: Cecily in Travesties, Gwendolen in The Importance of Being Earnest, Sally in the original Broadway company of Tom Stoppard's Leopoldstadt. Off-Broadway: Beatrice-Joanna in The Changeling. In the U.K.: Love Me Do, Intimate Apparel. Elsewhere: Two seasons at the Shaw Festival playing the title role in Saint Joan and Ann Whitfield in Man and Superman, Beatrice at The Old Globe, Titania and Ariel at The Shakespeare Theatre Company (D.C.) and appearances on many other stages worldwide. With gratitude to my dear friend Pablo, and love for my nephews Eric, William, and Nathaniel for whose delight my work in The Hobbit is made.
Langham Directors' Workshop, 2026
2026: Assistant director of The Hobbit. Stratford debut.
AVON THEATRE To find out more about all our theatres, please visit the Theatre Maps & Guides page.
Need Help?
Box Office hours
Ticketing FAQs Visit FAQs Membership FAQsCare Commitment