What is the best show to see at this year’s Stratford Festival? Our theatre reporter answers your questions | Canada Voices

The famous Stratford Festival is in full swing, and theatre fans from across the country and beyond are flocking to catch some unique performances – from reimaginings of iconic Shakespearean plays to more modern theatrical offerings.

On June 24, the Globe’s theatre reporter Aisling Murphy answered reader questions about the Stratford Festival, the best shows to see, the future of the festival’s artistic director, and why the Globe doesn’t do star ratings.

Here are some highlights from the Q+A.

Questions and answers have been edited for length and clarity.

The performances at Stratford

What is the best performance to see at Stratford this year?

Aisling Murphy: Anne of Green Gables is my crème de la Critic’s Pick, if you like — I laughed, I sobbed, I remembered why I fell in love with live theatre in the first place. I know folks have preconceived notions of what Anne “should” be, but I’d really encourage everyone to give this gorgeously written, brilliantly acted production a shot.

What are some standouts for people who like traditional theatre?

Murphy: Antoni Cimolino’s production of A Winter’s Tale is as traditional a Shakespeare as you could get, and while I preferred Chris Abraham’s more modern take on As You Like It, you’ll probably enjoy A Winter’s Tale.

I also really appreciated Forgiveness, Hiro Kanagawa’s adaptation of Mark Sakamoto’s Canada Reads-winning memoir. I found the production beautifully captured the various eras present in the story — the topical resonances with today’s politics are relatively subtle.

What did you think of this year’s Macbeth?

Murphy: I didn’t like it! Robert Lepage’s scenography is impressive, yes, but overly busy – and when I saw the show on opening night, the actors seemed rather unsure of how to navigate that massive, clunky set. It’s a formidable cast, but I found them to have shockingly little chemistry with one another.

And indeed – why is the Stratford Festival mic’ing some of the best actors in Canada for…Macbeth? Huh?

I was looking forward to this one and was really disappointed – I might try and catch it again before the end of the season to see if it’s improved since opening.

You gave Forgiveness a glowing review, while a reviewer at the Toronto Star gave it one star. Did their very different take on the performance make you rethink your own review and how do you approach disagreement with your colleagues?

Murphy: I actually love it when my colleagues and I disagree about shows – that’s how discourse starts!

I enthusiastically disagree with Joshua Chong at the Toronto Star on this occasion – I found Forgiveness to be touching without being saccharine, and at no point did I find it overly violent. But I have no doubt at least a few audience members agree with him (just as I have no doubt at least a few agree with me). That’s just how this job goes, sometimes.

If polarizing reviews get people talking about theatre, or even better, encourage folks to buy a ticket to form their own opinion, I’m more than on board with that.

The future of the festival

Does this year’s festival seem different from years past? How so?

Murphy: Yes – I’ve found it to be much stronger. Last year’s festival also had a curious dearth of sets – La Cage Aux Folles was pretty much the only exception – so it’s nice to see the festival return to spending money on spectacle as well as everything else.

This is also the first year (in my time) where the must-see shows are neither Shakespeares nor traditional musicals.

What would you be looking for in a new leader to replace Antoni Cimolino? Who are the leading contenders?

Murphy: Well, I think Antoni has done a great job. I hope his successor continues to emphasize training programs at the festival (the Birmingham Conservatory for emerging actors and the Langham Directors’ Workshop, for instance). I hope, too, that the next artistic director continues to pour resources into new play development – some of the best new plays I’ve seen since moving to Canada in 2016 have come from the Stratford Festival. (I think about Casey and Diana about twice a day.)

Most importantly, I hope the next artistic director continues to be creative in how they interpret the festival’s mandate: Where does Shakespeare fit into the contemporary Canadian theatre ecology? What are “classics,” and what is the festival’s responsibility to produce and re-interpret them?

The festival has kept its selection process tightly under wraps; I don’t know any more than audiences at this point. On a personal level I’d be pleased to see Chris Abraham, Daryl Cloran or Stafford Arima in the role, or any of the handful of possible candidates from the U.S. and U.K. I’m looking forward to seeing who they pick!

What is your dream Stratford Festival season?

Murphy: I answered this in a recent AMA session on Reddit, and my answers have changed a tad. See below!

Musicals: Side Show (dir. Donna Feore, with Jessica B. Hill and Olivia Sinclair-Brisbane as the twins, maybe) and Dogfight (dir. Andrew Kushnir, staged in the Tom Patterson Theatre with SO MUCH theatrical haze).

Shakespeare: Much Ado About Nothing (dir. Chris Abraham, as a remount of last year’s production), Midsummer Night’s Dream (dir. ted witzel), Othello (dir. Philip Akin)

Et cetera: A Tender Thing by Ben Power (Romeo and Juliet but re-imagined in the context of older adults – dir. Jackie Maxwell, perhaps?), Phaedra’s Love by Sarah Kane (dir. Brendan Healy), new plays by Nick Green, Djanet Sears and Yvette Nolan. A reimagined version of MONKS (Annie Lujan and Veronica Hortiguela) for the Stratford Festival. A new Goblin adaptation – Goblin: Hedda Gabler? Goblin: Anne of Green Gables? The possibilities are endless.

How does the city of Stratford handle the influx of visitors to the festival every year?

Murphy: Pretty well, I find – the city in many ways is built around the festival, so there are a lot of resources for tourists in the vein of hotels, motels and Airbnbs. The food scene is pretty strong, too, for a city of that size. (When the festival’s running, at least — it can be shockingly hard to find restaurants open after 8 p.m. during the off-season.)

I don’t drive, so this is a sensitive issue for me, but I do wish the VIA train ran more frequently – I’ve often had to stay overnight to accommodate the train schedule. That said, the Stratford Direct bus is very convenient if you’re visiting from Toronto on a day that happens to have a shuttle running.

Of course, the city and festival could do more to accommodate visitors, but I find it much easier to get to (and enjoy) Stratford than I do Niagara-on-the Lake (home of the Shaw Festival).

Canadian theatre

Why doesn’t The Globe do star ratings?

Murphy: I’m glad we don’t! I find that star ratings can undercut the content of a review. A Critic’s Pick doesn’t imply that a production is perfect in the same way a four-star review might — it lets the reader know that I’d enthusiastically recommend that production, but I can then get into the nuances of my critiques in the review itself.

Also, I’m not the only one who writes about theatre for The Globe and Mail – we have an amazing slate of freelancers who write, think and feel differently about theatre than I do. A three-star rating from me might not mean the same thing as a three-star rating from Martha Schabas, Martin Morrow or Ilana Lucas. The Critic’s Pick system helps keep reviews more or less consistent between writers.

How does Stratford compare to this year’s Shaw Festival?

Murphy: Broadly speaking, I’ve found the Stratford Festival to be much stronger than Shaw this year. (I’ve felt the opposite way in previous years — you never know which direction a particular season will swing.) Stratford is having an unusually strong season; meanwhile, the three Shaw shows I’ve seen so far this year have been unusually weak.

There are several shows left for me to see at both fests this summer, so I suppose that balance could shift, but at this point in the season I’d direct audiences toward Stratford.

At Shaw, a confounding writing choice nearly ruins an otherwise passable trip to Narnia

As the theatre critic you, understandably tend to focus on Ontario productions. Has the Globe and Mail ever considered, or would it consider, using regional critics so we get a fuller look and reviews of stage productions throughout Canada, and be less Ontario-centric?

Murphy: Indeed, my coverage so far in my five months on staff at the paper has been Ontario-centric – I’m hoping to change that as I continue to settle into the role.

The work I’ve seen outside of Toronto/southwestern Ontario (particularly at festivals such as FTA in Montreal) has only strengthened my ability to comment on the work I see at home – I sincerely hope to do more of this over the years, but I’ve appreciated having these few months to get settled into the job and this wonderful newsroom.