Season Deep Dive Week

Join Festival artists and creatives for intimate conversations about the behind-the-scenes work that goes into developing the sensational theatre experiences enjoyed by audiences throughout the season.

History and Design of Shakespearean Gardens

Founding Artistic Director Tyrone Guthrie said, “The tent must have gardens around it. We don’t want people to think it’s a circus.” Since then, gardens have been a defining element of the Stratford Festival, drawing on a tradition of gardens stretching back to Shakespeare’s day. During a conversation with Stratford Festival Head Gardener Joelle Bulbrook, the Festival's former Head Gardener and designer of the Elizabethan Garden, Harry Jongerden, and University of Western Ontario Professor of English and Cultural Theory Allan Pero, audiences will be taken back through history to learn how this living art form has evolved from Elizabethan times through to the beauty of our Festival grounds. The panel will be moderated by Margaret Jane Kidnie, Professor of English at the University of Western Ontario, who has published widely on Shakespearean performance, adaptation and textual studies.