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The (UofT) Student’s Guide to the Stratford Shakespeare Festival

In a Nutshell

The Stratford Shakespeare Festival is an annual theatre festival in Stratford, Ontario. Although it is primarily dedicated to the works of William Shakespeare, the Festival also produces musicals, contemporary classics, and new plays. The Stratford Festival has an international reputation for the high quality of its productions. Each show, from the largest musical to the smallest comedy, is the result of the talent and work of dozens of accomplished, gifted artists and producers. The Festival runs annually from April through October, and is the highlight of the summer theatre in Southern Ontario.

Choosing a Show

The Festival programme includes 12 different and diverse plays, but unfortunately, I’ve only had the chance to see 2. That hasn’t stopped me from making this handy-dandy guide as to which of those 2 shows – Tommy and Waiting for Godot – is right for you.

I like plays to be…
  • Loud
  • Raucous
  • Exciting
  • Subtle
  • Clever
  • Thought-provoking
I want to talk about the play with…
  • Parents (& other nostalgic folks)
  • Music geeks
  • Professors and classmates
  • Theatre geeks
I go to the theatre to be… Entertained Educated
My ideal souvenir is… A soundtrack A mug with a witty message
I prefer… High-brow pop culture Accessible high culture

I want to see…

Tommy

Waiting for Godot

Or both!

Of course, you could also go with any of the other ten.

Buying Tickets

As you may have noticed, we at blogUT are really all about the green. That doesn’t end when it comes to theatre tickets – we’ve got the goods on getting the best (and most dramatic) bang for your buck. Play On tickets go for an even $25, but are available only for select performances and not always in advance. Don’t worry – there are plenty of Play On shows left before the festival ends. And if even that’s too much, Play On tickets are available for only $20 when you’re seeing Othello. All you need to do is prove that you are 16-29 years old with photo ID.

Getting There

Road trips and voyages out of town are often seen by students as too costly to be worth it, but the Stratford Festival has that covered. Tickets are only $10 each way on the Stratford Direct, and the bus drops you off at any of the four Festival theatres (pick-up is at Front and Simcoe at 10:00AM and 3:30PM). The buses are comfortable and roomy, and have wi-fi, a bathroom, and undercarriage storage for large bags. An added bonus: riding back into the city in a bus full of people to talk to about your experiences at the Festival. My perfect day at Stratford ended yesterday with a lovely conversation with some other festival-goers, who were sitting behind me. We traded reviews and recommendations for almost an hour.

Other Things to Do in Stratford

Only 30,000 or so people call Stratford, Ontario home, but there’s still plenty to do there. In addition to myriad book and antique stores, the best shopping prospects are the warm, inviting candy and chocolate shops that line the town’s quaint streets. A terrific place to sit down for a hot or cold drink after or before a show is Balzac’s coffee, a small chain with a few locations in Toronto as well. I had dinner at Boomers Gourmet Fries, a small burger shop with a big menu and fantastic prices. And, obviously, delicious gourmet fries. For dessert, you can head next door to Scooper’s Ice Cream, which also serves shakes and frozen yogurt at excellent prices. If you’re more of the picnicker type, I recommend staking out a bench by the water on Lakeside Drive and watching the swans and ducks go by.

 

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Louis Goes to Stratford: Waiting for Godot

Like so many others with an interest in the theatre, I’m no stranger to Waiting for Godot. The now legendary play, which took the world by storm in the 1950s, deals with the hollowness of a life spent waiting for meaning and redemption. I’ve read Godot both for pleasure and for study, in high school and in university. I’ve seen amateur productions and professional ones; interpretations that adhered strictly to the original text and others that veered sharply towards the avant-garde. But none has compared to what I saw tonight.

The Stratford Festival’s production of Waiting for Godot is staged in the Festival’s lesser-known Tom Patterson theatre, a relatively small space adjacent to a community centre. The theatre’s most interesting feature is not its size but its structure: the seats are located in shallow rows along three sides of the stage, putting audience members closer to the action and giving each of them a different angle from which to view the play. This was perfectly suited to Jennifer Tarver’s direction of Godot. She made brilliant use of the show’s slapstick comedy and the stage’s layout to maximize the visual, physical element of the play and, with it, she truly brought out the piece’s humour. The audience often laughed out loud at the jokes and gags, although they were soon abruptly hushed by the show’s darker elements, which were captured with intensity by all members of the cast. This balance ideally represents why Samuel Beckett chose to label his masterpiece a “tragicomedy”.

It is impossible to summarize Waiting for Godot in terms of plot – all two hours and thirty minutes consist of men waiting, alone except for the occasional interaction with a passing traveller, for a mysterious man named Godot. Vladimir and Estragon are certain that Godot will arive soon, and with him, redemption from their meaningless, painful lives. But by the evening’s end, Godot is nowhere to be seen, and Vladimir and Estragon must prepare for another day of waiting.

Some plays deal with personal, emotional issues that their playwrights have experienced but other people have not. Some playwrights try to tackle broader societal problems, but in doing so become products of their generation and nothing but relics for the future. Waiting for Godot, which is personal and cultural, and also philosophical and psychological, is extraordinary because the themes it addresses are universal; international and timeless. There will never be a generation of people who don’t ask the questions that Beckett asks, and I hope, never a generation that isn’t stunned by the horror and humour of Beckett’s attempts to answer them.

from the Stratford Festival website:

Waiting for Godot

by Samuel Beckett
Directed by Jennifer Tarver
Tom Patterson Theatre
 to September 26
 Approximate running time: 2 hrs 40 min, including one interval

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Louis Goes to Stratford: Tommy

I had no idea what to expect when I sat down to watch Tommy, the musical by Pete Townsend of The Who, at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival this afternoon. I didn’t have time to do much expecting, however, because before long the excited buzz of the eager audience was broken by a deafening riff on the electric guitar as the show began. Originally billed as a “rock opera,” Tommy is a musical narrative told almost entirely through rock and roll. It began as a concept album by The Who in the 1960s and, due to its popularity and creativity, enjoyed life as a movie and a concept concert before it was adapted into a Broadway musical in the 1990s by Townsend and director Des McAnuff. Yes, that Des McAnuff – the legendary director of musicals right here in Stratford  also directed this production of the show he helped to create decades ago. This time, he assures us in the programme, is different; this time he’s made use of all the technological innovations that have been developed since the show’s first production. And boy, he keeps that promise.

Tommy is, in a word, overwhelming. The music, by nature of its composition, is loud even when the volume is turned down; this afternoon it was cranked up to 11. The visuals, which range from actors suspended by wires to blinding light displays, make it impossible to turn away. At any given moment something is happening, singing, shouting, flying, preaching, dancing, murdering, or shattering

But this is not an accident – an excess of stimuli fits in perfectly with the plot of Tommy. The titular character, who is depicted at various ages from childhood to his 20s, witnesses an horrific murder through the reflection of a mirror when he is a child. Traumatized by what he has seen, Tommy stops communicating with the outside world, seemingly blind, deaf, and dumb. In fact, the only things Tommy seems to do are look at himself in the mirror and play pinball, at which he has a peculiar talent. Tommy comes to block out the sights and the noises of his life, the sights and noises that the audience experiences in supererogatory amounts.

Tommy is overwhelming, but not for no reason and certainly not for waste. The music, which is known to millions of people as a rock classic, is exciting and breathlessly paced. The visuals are stunning; the performances enthralling. The show is, from start to finish, a piece of theatre with so much energy, passion, and skill that it will dominate your every thought and action at least until you leave the theatre and possibly for long after. Or, in a word, overwhelming.

 

from the Stratford Festival website:

Tommy

Music and lyrics by Pete Townshend
Book by Pete Townshend and Des McAnuff
Additional music and lyrics by
John Entwistle and Keith Moon
Originally produced on Broadway by Pace Theatrical Group and Dodger Productions with Kardana Productions
Directed by Des McAnuff
Approximate running time: 2 hrs 3 min, including one interval
Avon Theatre
to October 19

 

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Louis Goes to Stratford: The Journey

A man walks onto a bus…

That man is me and that bus is the Stratford Direct Bus, the large, beautiful, flamboyantly-decorated beacon of hope for the cash-strapped, geographically-challenged Torontonian theatre-goer. For only $10 each way, the Stratford Direct picks passengers up on Front Street and drives them right up to any of the Stratford Theatres of their choosing. The bus’s schedule – Toronto pick-ups at 10:00AM and 3:30PM – coincides perfectly with show times, arriving a few hours before matinees and evening shows, respectively. It is a quick, cost-effective way of getting in town to see some shows while still making it home for bed-time.

But now that the boring stuff is out of the way, let me tell you about how much I love buses. I’m not talking about the TTC, or any kind of cramped, dirty municipal bus. I’m talking about fun buses, coach buses, the kinds of buses you only go on for long voyages. They’re comfy and they’re roomy, yes, and some even have wi-fi (thanks, Pacific Western!) but the main reason that getting on a coach bus delights me is that it always signifies the start of an adventure. No one ever gets on one to go the movies, or to school. We ride them to go to different cities, to do and see awesome things in far-off places. Like Pavlov and his dogs, stepping onto a coach bus incites in me an emotional reaction born from memory. Every other trip I’ve taken flashes through me the moment I take my seat; every scenery I’ve taken in through coach bus windows rolls through my imagination as I wonder what I’ll see today. What I’ll hear today. What I’ll do today.

Ah, the open road.

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Louis Goes to Stratford: The Prelude

On Friday, August 16, at about 3:45 PM, I punched in the last period of the last sentence of my last summer exam and, in doing so, granted myself my first moment of freedom since summer school began. It was exhilarating, walking out of the Exam Centre and along College without worrying about assignments or exams. But it also raised a new question: What’s next? What do I do in my paltry two weeks of freedom before Frosh Week? What activity could be so entertaining, so holistically enjoyable and relaxing, that it could make me feel like I had a proper summer vacation?

Stratford.

S – T – R – AT – FORD.

Or, more specifically, the Stratford Shakespeare Festival.

When I was a kid, my family went every year. It was our one big cultural outing, and we all piled into the minivan for the two-hour drive to the distant land where everything seemed to have something to do with theatre, where everyone seemed to know exactly why we were there. We usually saw musicals, but occasionally – and often only at my insistence – some of us would also check out a Shakespeare play. Always a comedy, of course. When I read an abridged version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in grade 5, I begged my father to take me to see it at Stratford that summer. He agreed, and in the months before the outing it I was perpetually giddy with anticipation, as if every night were the night before Christmas.

I am not ashamed to say that I am exactly that giddy right now, over-zealously typing this and worrying for the safety of my poor, abused keyboard. I should be asleep, resting up for a big day, but I’m simply too excited for tomorrow. I started writing this hoping that it would be therapeutic, that if I could shout out to the blogosphere about how excited I am, I could get it all out of my system.

I haven’t.

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Introducing CourseTexts.ca – An Interview with the Creators

Last week, I received an e-mail from someone asking me to promote his new project – a website for buying and selling used textbooks, to take the place of the often inoperable TUSBE. After checking out his site and posting some books of my own, I happily agreed to promote this wonderful new resource, and also got the chance to ask CourseTexts.ca co-creator Rajaie AlKorani a few questions about his endeavour.

Continue reading “Introducing CourseTexts.ca – An Interview with the Creators”

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Why I Never Want to Have a Wedding

I don’t know about you, but the idea of a wedding really freaks me out.  But, contrary to what you might think, I don’t shrivel up into a ball of fear when I think about the “most important day of my life” for the most conventional reasons. I’m not scared of committing to one person for the rest of my life, nor am I hesitant about the love I have for my partner.  I don’t squirm at the prospect of waking up beside the same guy every morning, and I’m not repelled by the thought of someone knowing all of my dirty little secrets.  I love the idea of spending the rest of my life with the person I love, but I don’t feel the need to stand up in front of a bunch of my friends and family to prove it.  I want to show my love without a caterer, flowers, and dresses; I want to see everyone happy for my love without the need to buy me a gift; I want to spend the money I have on paying off my school debts and maybe thinking about buying house.  And so, dear reader, I give to you:

The four reasons why I don’t want to have a wedding.

1. Money.

It really is the root of all evil.  But honestly, if I’m going to drop 20,000 dollars on something, it’s going to be for something worthwhile, like debts, mortgages, or a really awesome bedroom with a fridge built into one of the walls.  I’m not going to spend seven thousand dollars on ONE dress that I can only wear once.  I’m not going to ask four to six of my friends (depending on where we all are in life, and, you know, if they became weird or not) to drop at least 200 bucks on something that will always clearly be a bridesmaid dress, no matter what colour it is (and face it, even the most neutral colour will always have that braidsmaids-y feel to it).  And, most importantly, I’m not going to fork over God-only-knows-how-much to get bland food that is almost never finished.  I mean, I understand that the most important part of a wedding is the open bar (for those of you who are NOT planning an open bar: stop.  Stop right now.  You are failing at weddings already.), but why do I need to do the ceremony part too?  Can’t I just have, like, a really sweet party at a bar with everyone I care about there?  And they can all wear whatever they want: tank tops and shorts, jeans and a blazer, an old bridesmaids dress, anything is possible!  I know I’ll probably show up in jeans, boots, and a t-shirt.  And do you know why?  Because that’s what I’m comfortable in, and I’ll be damned if I’m uncomfortable on my wedding day!  Which leads me to my next point…

2. Comfort

I know that there are a lot of women out there who LOVE dresses and can’t wait until summer to slip into one.  They love how flowey and free dress make them feel, the breeze blowing lightly against their nether regions, and the materials come in a variety of cute colours and pretty patterns, almost irresistible to the feminine brain.  But whenever I wear a dress, all I can think about is what would happen if a zombie apocalypse happened, like, right now?  I’d be stuck wearing that stupid dress while I tried to run away from those cannibalistic cretins, probably trip over it, get eaten, and die horrible.  And I always picture myself hanging out with Daryl Dixon when the dead inevitably rise, so the dress thing is kind of ruled out for me.  Now, if that’s how I feel about dresses that are cheap and made in China, can you image how awkward I would be in a really expensive dress that’s made of white fabric and is all pretty and pure?  Ugh, the thought of wearing something like that makes me cringe, let alone walking down an aisle in front of a ton of people.  And, knowing me, I’d probably spill something on myself, or have an overwhelming urge to fart halfway through the ceremony, and ruin the whole thing for everyone.  Gross.  Next!

3. Effort

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m really not a lazy person, but the idea of planning a wedding just exhausts me.  It’s not just because everything has to perfectly mapped out for, like, at least 50 people to be happy, and—if television has taught me anything—I’ll probably be freaking out when things inevitably go wrong.  I don’t want this; no one wants this!  I want my wedding to be a completely relaxed affair without all the fanfare that seems to be a requirement.  Stag and doe?  No thanks.  Bridal shower?  Pass.  Another bridal shower for the other side of the family because my mother-in-law couldn’t make it to the one my mother threw for me?  Um, no. Bachelorette party?  Well, if you insist…  But honestly, I could just go out with my friends and get drunk any old time.  I get that it’s kind of a tradition and the symbolism behind it is quite appealing (last night as a single person…even though we’ve been dating for eight years, have lived together for five, call each other husband/wife already, and are completely committed to each other in every way imaginable.  But still last night as a single, woo hoo!).  And it’s not just I who has to put all the energy into getting this thing out of the way: my parents, friends, in-laws, acquaintances all have to contribute in some way.  People have to fly in from out of town, buy new socially appropriate attire, fret about losing weight, get their hurr all did, get their makeup done, write speeches, pretend they care, etc.  Really, all of this just requires far too much…

4. Time!

For every hour that I spend planning my wedding I lose one hour that could go towards me playing StarCraft.  I’d rather play StarCraft.  In fact, there are a lot of other things I’d rather be doing with my time than deciding on a theme or colours for the wedding.  I can’t think of anything right now, but I’m almost positive there are more productive ways to spend my time.  And it’s not just my time either; everyone has to rearrange their schedules to fit whatever I want.  What about those weirdos who decide to have their wedding on a Friday?  What the hell is that all about?  Not only does everyone have to take at least two days off of work, but a lot of people will have to cancel at the last minute because something important came up.  I recently had to do this myself: I had an exam (in Toronto) scheduled for the time the wedding (in London) was supposed to start.  The out-of-towners have even more to think about, because nobody is going to fly into Toronto from Vancouver for just a weekend!  I guess it helps eliminate the extra people that were invited for the sake of it, but come on!  Just don’t invite them if you don’t want them there!  It’s your wedding, after all.

So, there you have it, the reasons I will not be having a wedding.  Of course, this isn’t to say that I won’t do a common-law marriage and then just have a really awesome party afterwards where everyone can show up and get sloshed without worrying about the tab!  Because THAT’S what a good wedding host should do: make the party fun for everyone.  Nobody wants to sit through the boring ceremony, so just go do that on your own time.  We go for the free booze, the dancing, and all the other shenanigans that come with a wedding reception, so if your wedding is just going to be me getting wasted with you on your special day, I’m game.  As long as it doesn’t fall on a day that I’m busy, feel bloated, or have my period; nor will I have to spend money on a dress, or wear any kind of dress for that matter, then I will officially deem your wedding a success and you may proceed with a happily married life together.