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Plays to see at Stratford
Without a doubt, it has been a great season to be back seeing live theatre. We have been fortunate to get tickets for five different plays and they vary from drama to comedy, musical to family productions. The Stratford Festival 2022 season provides plenty of choices for plays to see at Stratford. It’s not too late as the season ends at the end of October. Although we are running out of time, you can still see some of these wonderful plays. I read some great reviews of Death and the King’s Horseman and hope it will make it to Straftford@Home.
As a family, we began the season with the modern interpretation of Hamlet and ended with All’s Well that Ends Well. I have read wonderful reviews of I’m hoping to catch one last production, Colm Feore in Molière’s comedy, The Miser.
Richard III
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Our favourite play of the season is a tie between a drama and a musical. We absolutely LOVED Richard III. Another tour de force performance by Colm Feore we were riveted by his performance. From the first scene to the last, it was hard to look away. The costume department did a fantastic job on his leather jacket to illustrate what his scoliosis would have looked like. The illusion created. as well as Feore disfigured stance throughout the play, was amazing.
If you have a chance to go, I would suggest you have a read of the Playbill (house program) online as it does a great job of breaking down a very complicated plotline and a cast of characters. There is also a pretty simple illustration on YouTube explaining the many shenanigans (and deaths) of Richard III.
This is a large cast. It can be confusing sometimes to keep track of who is related to whom and what royal or aristocratic families are friends and which are foes. This play is set at the end of the War of the Roses (civil war for the British crown where the House of York is victorious – defeating the House of Lancaster). Keeping these alliances straight is helpful to understanding why Richard, Duke of Gloucester has to do away with so many to ascend to the throne.
Other notable performances are Andre Sills as Lord Buckingham, Seana McKenna as the ghostly, bewitching Queen Margaret, and her daughter-in-law, the lovely, Jessica B. Hill as Lady Anne. She is the widow of Prince Edward (of Lancaster), and despises Richard for killing her husband and father-in-law (King Henry VI) but is persuaded by Richard to marry him. This scene was one of the most memorable of the play.
After the intermission, the best scenes in the best plays to see at Stratford were: (1) Richard’s dream of regret when all those people he has killed come back to haunt him; and (2) the battle scene behind the tent. Once again director Antoni Cimolino and designer Francesca Callow outdo themselves. The movement on stage is mesmerizing.
I cannot recommend this production of Richard III enough. I love it so much, I saw it twice. My son wrote a full review here. It plays until October 30th, 2022.
Runtime: Two hours and 53 minutes, including one 18-minute interval
Chicago
The other show we found equally as entertaining but with a completely different aesthetic and vibe was Chicago. This whole summer I keep telling my friends and family to go see Chicago any chance I get. I love a good musical and in my opinion, this was one of the best that Stratford has produced (a close second to 2018’s Rock Horror Show).
What sets this apart is the spectacular dance numbers from director-choreographer Donna Feore. Her very entertaining production has it all: great dancers, seasoned singers and veteran actors that carry the show without pause.
The plot, based on a true story from 1920s Chicago, spins around two women accused of murder. Vaudeville artist Velma Kelly (Jennifer Rider-Shaw) is locked up in Cook County Jail for allegedly killing her adulterous husband and sister. Her crooked lawyer Billy Flynn (Dan Chameroy) has turned Velma into a media sensation, and she’s cruising towards acquittal. It’s the crime of Roxie Hart (Chelsea Preston) is accused of that gives the show its overall structure: she shoots her lover, is thrown in the pen, and persuades her hapless husband Amos (Steve Ross) to put up the money for Billy to defend her. As Roxie’s trial approaches, so does her rivalry with Velma escalate, as they struggle to stay in the public eye while other celebrity crimes steal the limelight.
Runtime: Two hours and 23 minutes, including one 18-minute interval
Hamlet
Amaka Umeh did a wonderful job of Hamlet. This role has overwhelmingly been played by white men, but was refreshingly played by a woman of colour. This was a first for both identifiers in Stratford’s 70 years. As Umeh pointed out in her interview with Tom Power on CBC’s Q, ‘none of the other people who have played this part are Danish princes either. I don’t think it’s that far-fetched’. This version of Hamlet continues to use he/him pronouns.
Although modern in setting, I don’t feel that the overall production is lost. Director Peter Pasyk’s modernized production of Shakespeare’s tragedy challenges the traditional setting with modern dress, cell phones (for selfies), and love letters in the form of text messages. Having studied Hamlet in high school my son loved this production. He felt that it was something he could relate to without making it a caricature of the classical staging. He loved when the colorfully dressed and vaping Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (Norman Yeung and Ijeoma Emesowum) saunter on stage – offering up a bit of comic relief.
This version of Hamlet will be one for the books. Fresh, bold, and entertaining from start to finish.
Fun fact: The French actor and theatre manager Sarah Bernhardt was one of the first women to play the Danish Prince. She played Hamlet on stage in Paris and London in 1899, and then in a 1900 film. She was the first female actor to play the part on film.
Runtime: Two hours and 57 minutes, including one 18-minute interval
All’s Well That Ends Well
This dark comedy is about Helen’s (Jessica B. Hill) quest to snag a husband and the unreasonable challenges that she must meet to win his heart. Bertram (Jordin Hall) is a nobleman who is indifferent to Helen’s attention. She realizes that if she cures the dying king (Ben Carlson) he will grant him Bertram’s hand in marriage. She has one strong ally, the Countess of Rossillion (Seana McKenna) Bertram’s mother.
For me, the interactions between Lavatch (André Sills) and the Countess of Rossillion (Seanna McKenna) are the highlights of the play. Both also appear in Richard III and are even better – if that is possible.
This is a long play – running almost 3 hours – and was my least favourite Shakspeare production of the 2022 season. I found both Hill and Hall’s performances flat and unconvincing. They failed to engage the audience. Hill was much stronger in portraying Princess Ann in Richard III.
Runtime: Two hours and 53 minutes, including one 18-minute interval
Little Women
Little Women was the play that disappointed us the most at Stratford this season. We saw it at the beginning of the season and as we went to more plays we knew it was not to the standard of players that we were used to. It felt forced and the stage seemed to limit the activity. Both my daughters were also disappointed and felt that it felt like the actors were over-acting when subtlety was in order.
I have only ever wanted to leave a Stratford Play once (Uncle Vanya) but I have to say, I was tempted to leave after the intermission. We all held hope that it would improve. Alas, it did not. I would not recommend this production.
Runtime: Two hours and 52 minutes, including one 20-minute interval
Stratford Productions through the years…
- What’s Playing at Stratford in 2023
- One of the Best Plays at Stratford this year: Much Ado About Nothing – 2023
- Watch past productions of Stratford Festival online – Stratford@Home – 2020
- Richard III – 2022
- Little Shop of Horrors – 2019
- To Kill a Mockingbird – 2018
- Twelfth Night – 2017
- Theatre Do’s and Don’ts – It’s Simple Etiquette: Leave your candies at home
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