2024 Achievements

Meeting our Mission: The work of the Stratford Festival

The Stratford Festival was launched in 1953 in beautiful Stratford, Ontario, Canada, with a thrust stage that revolutionized theatre performance. It has grown to become North America's largest repertory theatre company and is committed to the highest level of artistic excellence.

Operating year round, we produce works from classical and contemporary repertoires that represent as fully as possible the spectrum of human experience. We present a seven-month repertory season of about a dozen productions in four unique theatres, with a maximum daily capacity of roughly 7,000.

With Shakespeare at our core, we enlighten and inspire audiences by reimaging great works of theatre and by fostering the creation of new plays, allowing us to bring the work of exceptional actors, directors, designers, musicians and playwrights to an expansive audience.

To extend the Festival's reach nationally and internationally, we showcase our work digitally on our streaming platform, Stratfest@Home. Through the Meighen Forum, we offer a vast range of events reflecting on the plays on our stages to enrich the theatregoing experience. We seek to develop the artists and audiences of tomorrow by providing high level training to Canadian artists and educational support and enrichment to teachers and students.

We invite people from around the world to enjoy exhilarating communal experiences: to enter imaginative worlds of wonder, to explore with us the eternal questions of life and relate them to the issues of today, to be stirred to the depths of the soul or simply to have fun.

2024 Report from the Executive and Artistic Directors

An astonishing 430,000 people came to the Stratford Festival in 2024. That's a remarkable number.

As we look at attendance in the performing arts in this post-pandemic world, we do so having experienced a life-changing event. In 2020, the Stratford Festival was forced to cancel its entire season, a season that would have been among the largest in its 70-year history and would have seen the opening of its gorgeous new $73-million Tom Patterson Theatre. Instead that theatre sat unused while the world endured an unprecedented shutdown of life as we knew it. The following year, 2021, we produced an outdoor season, attracting 34,000 people, stalwart supporters who were willing to do whatever it took to get to the Stratford Festival during a public health emergency. And we heard from a good many more who would have been here had the border not been closed.

Hand in hand with our Members, donors and sponsors, we forged ahead, determined to continue bringing engaging, entertaining, thought-provoking experiences to audiences, some of whom had forgotten how much live performance added to their lives.

The challenge of winning back audiences has been felt around the world, and we know it is a challenge we must surmount. What drives us to attract people into our theatres is the impact we see that the Stratford Festival has on people's lives.

Barely a week goes by that I do not receive a Google alert for an obituary that notes that the dear departed regularly attended the Stratford Festival. I must say, that the first time or two I received these notices I thought isn't it nice that this person enjoyed the Festival enough that their family included mention of it in summing up their life. But after receiving hundreds of these notices over many decades, I have come to see them as emblematic of the powerful impact the Stratford Festival has on people's lives. People feel deeply connected to this place, to the artists, to the work on stage, to the people who sit around them in the auditorium.

At the other end of the life cycle are the tens of thousands of young people who join us each year, for student matinees, for our mentorship programs, for our family shows or in our theatre camps. Our camps have now run for so many years and trained so many theatre kids that alumni are beginning to turn up at auditions. We have two former campers in the company this season alone! And even those who don't pursue a career in the theatre remain lovers of this place: they become the parents who bring their children, and then their grandchildren, building traditions that pass from generation to generation.

This knowledge causes me to redouble my efforts to attract people back to live theatre. My drive is sparked not by the (very real) need for ticket revenue, but by the difference we can make for people, people who over the past few difficult years may have forgotten what it is to commune with others around a brilliant piece of entertainment, to laugh, to cry, to think, to consider another viewpoint, to feel empathy or anger or sheer joy. And to do it together, as one.

As we work to remind people of the importance of theatre, and we pull against the temptation many have to cocoon in their homes, we thank our Members, donors and sponsors for providing us with the funds we need to do this vital work. As we build back to full audience capacity, this donated revenue allows us not only to continue putting exceptional work on stage but also to continue the important value-added projects we carry out in training and education, supporting students and teachers, hosting post-secondary educational courses, training actors and directors, providing mentorship to artists and artisans, fostering new plays and even building a warehouse of high quality costumes and props, which gives schools, amateur theatre groups and professional performing arts organizations access to exceptionally designed items that they would be unable to afford to build or buy themselves.

Below you will find some of our notable achievements from this past year. I trust you will feel proud that you played a part in bringing these things to pass. The gratitude we feel for your support is enormous. By making the Stratford Festival a chosen charity, you share the joy the Festival gives you with countless others, enriching lives and bringing people together.

How has the Festival fulfilled its mandate? Let's break it down.

Shakespeare at our core

Each year we typically present three Shakespeare productions. To do more would cycle through his 38 plays too quickly. In 2024 we presented three beautifully crafted Shakespeare productions:

His famous tragedy of young love Romeo and Juliet
His beloved comedy Twelfth Night
The fantastical romance Cymbeline, one of his rarely produced works.

Reimagining great works of theatre

Each production is reimagined each year. We never view the classics as museum pieces. Some fascinating new takes in 2024 included:

Salesman in China, a new play about Arthur Miller's 1983 production of his play Death of a Salesman in Beijing. Presented in Mandarin and English, it included scenes from the original.
Get That Hope, a new play reflecting on Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night, set in Toronto's Little Jamaica.
Wendy and Peter Pan, a relatively new adaptation of the JM Barrie tale, centering the character Wendy and featuring a twist that reaches deep inside every parent's heart.
Twelfth Night was set in Canada, just before the Summer of Love, with Feste portrayed as a Joni Mitchell-style folk singer
Cymbeline was a traditional exploration but with the central character portrayed as a Queen and mother rather than King and father.

Exceptional actors, directors, designers, musicians and playwrights

We employed more than 200 artists with exceptional skills and talent in 2024:

118 actors
13 directors
39 designers
8 assistant directors
21 assistant designers
16 playwrights

An expansive audience

2024: a solid year

430,000 attended productions
19,500 attending events at the Meighen Forum
46,000 streamed productions on Stratfest@Home.

Fostering the creation of new plays

The Stratford Festival commissioned its first play in 1958 and since that time has commissioned or developed more than 100 new plays, translations and adaptations.

In 2024, three new commissions were presented:

Salesman in China by Leanna Brodie and Jovanni Sy
The Diviners, based on the novel by Margaret Laurence. Text by Vern Thiessen with Yvette Nolan
Get That Hope by Andrea Scott

There are at any given time about 25 projects in active development in The Foerster Bernstein New Play Development Program. The current roster includes work by such artists as:

Carmen Aguirre
Marie Beath Badian
Augusto Bitter
Charlotte Corbeil-Coleman
Zoë Marsland
Jessica Hill
Jeff Ho
Britta and Anika Johnson
David S. Criag
Marica Johnson
Jordan Laffrenier
Alexandra Lainfiesta
Ann Marie MacDonald
Daniel MacIvor
Steven Page
Yvette Nolan
Corey Payette
Luke Reece
Sepehr Reybod
Andrea Scott
Erin Shields
Makambe Simambe
Meghan Swaby
Jovanni Sy
David Yee

Seven new works are in active development at this moment, and new commissions are constantly being evaluated.

Once we have developed and produced these new works we endeavour to send them out into the world. Some recent examples include:

Freedom Cabaret: The Spirit and Legacy of Black Music, 2021, went on to be produced in Kingston, London and Peterborough in 2023
Casey & Diana, 2023, was remounted at Soulpepper Theatre in Toronto and was/will be produced at the following theatres: Arts Club Theatre (Vancouver); YES Theatre (Sudbury); Theatre Aquarius (Hamilton); Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre (Winnipeg); Neptune Theatre (Halifax)
1939, the Festival's 2022 production was remounted at Canadian Stage in Toronto and the Belfry Theatre in Victoria.
Little Women, 2022, was produced at Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre (Winnipeg).
Play On! A Shakespeare Inspired Mixtape, 2021, was produced at St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival in Prescott.
Salesman in China, 2024, the Festival's production was remounted at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa.

Extending the Festival's reach nationally and internationally by showcasing our work digitally on Stratfest@Home

Stratfest@Home has showcased 48 filmed Stratford Festival productions and has created 28 original productions, including short films, series, documentaries, interactive media, podcasts and audio plays. We have received 19 Canadian Screen Award nominations and five wins. We have shown our films at international film festivals, gaining still more recognition and awards.

In 2024 our films were streamed more than 46,355 times and we had subscribers from the following countries:

Canada, United States, United Kingdom, France, Spain, Mexico, Singapore, India, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Hong Kong, Czechia, Barbados, Guernsey, Switzerland, Benin, Cyprus, Northern Mariana Islands, Malaysia, Portugal, Oman, Iceland, Syria, Bahamas, Latvia, South Korea, Mozambique, El Salvador, Guadeloupe, Guam, Brazil, Turks and Caicos Islands, Cabo Verde, Slovenia, Chile, Laos, Nepal, Ecuador, Colombia, Ukraine, Zambia, Ghana, Mauritius, Albania, Belgium, Taiwan, Honduras, Italy, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Puerto Rico, Türkiye, Egypt, American Samoa, Thailand, Libya, Malta, Costa Rica, Russia, Vietnam, China, Poland, U.S. Virgin Islands, Sint Maarten, Slovakia, Jordan, Kuwait, Tunisia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, Philippines, Timor-Leste, United Arab Emirates, Palestine, Bangladesh, Norway, Macao, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Mongolia, Morocco, New Zealand, Finland, South Africa, Sweden, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Indonesia

A vast range of events reflecting on the plays on our stages to enrich the theatregoing experience

The Meighen Forum offered about 200 events to enhance the playgoing experience in 2024, attracting attendance of 19,500. A wide variety of experiences were offered, from the musical comedy of the Wolves of Glendale to talks by celebrated authors, from events about trans families and same-sex parenting, to panels with international media. There was even a Broadway singalong that allowed non-performers a chance to shine.

Offerings included On Stage with Adam Gopnik, Song and Dance Workshops, The Great Fire, The Artist's Life, Forum Academy, Lobby Talks, Meet the Festival, Monday Night Music and Funny Forum Fridays.

Themed weeks included Pride, Season Deep Dive, The Guardian at Stratford, CBC Ideas: Brave New Worlds, The New York Times at Stratford, The Chicago Tribune at Stratford, Global Theatre, Readers and Writers, Peer Into the Playbill and Scholars and Experts.

High level training for Canadian artists

The Stratford Festival offers two major theatrical training programs, the Birmingham Conservatory and the Langham Directors' Workshop.

The Birmingham Conservatory is a paid two-year intensive program for actors who have completed theatre school and acted professionally for a short time. It is focused on developing actors' ability to tackle text and language-based plays.

Cross-country auditions are held every other year, with roughly a thousand young artists vying for one of the coveted spots. In 2024, eight actors participated in the 10-week training program and all were cast in productions as part of their training, providing almost a full year of experience.

Since 1998, when the Conservatory began, 234 actors have participated in the program. They have gone on to rewarding careers at the Stratford Festival and beyond.

The Langham Workshop offers emerging and mid-career directors the opportunity to work and learn at one of the largest stages in the country, where they can explore innovative Shakespeare and classical works and support large-scale productions.

From more than 50 applications, five directors were selected to participate in 2024, serving as assistant directors on major productions. Additionally, they each created a final presentation, working with Festival actors, designers and production teams.

Since the program began in 2010, 85 directors have participated, many going on to become artistic directors of theatres across the country.

Between April 2023 and March 2024, 36 alumni of the Langham Directors Workshop were serving as Artistic Directors in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K.

Educational support and enrichment for teachers and students

Developing the audience of tomorrow is vital to our work and our efforts in this regard are wide-reaching.

Roughly 40,000 students from 500 schools attended performances in 2024, attracted by accomplished productions of Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night, Wendy and Peter Pan and Something Rotten!
The Festival's digital education program Classroom Connect provides Stratford Festival experiences for schools and students unable to attend in person or those wishing to supplement their visits with additional plays. Approximately 45,000 students worldwide and 40 universities, colleges and high schools are now making use of this offering.
Our online Study Guides were viewed almost 18,000 times.
Our Shakespeare video platform for students, PerformancePlus, had 36,000 views.
For Teachers, the Festival offers Teacher Days and the Teaching Stratford Program. Roughly 100 teachers participated in 2024, with 1,425 students benefitting from our work in classrooms in the Ontario communities of Bradford, Brantford, Burlington, Cambridge, Dutton, Fort Erie, Hamilton, Kitchener-Waterloo, London, Manitoulin Island, Mattawa, Markham, Midland, North Bay, Oakville, Orleans, Port Elgin, Stayner and Toronto, as well as from the state of Michigan.
The annual Michigan Residency, which is funded by an endowed gift, had more than 700 participants this past November, enjoying a selection of 30 workshops.
Public engagement through our Education programs includes partnerships with a number of universities—Windsor, Western, Guelph, Brock, St. Jerome's, Waterloo and Bishop's. These allow us to offer university level courses related to the work on stage.
We also regularly host Bachelor of Education students as part of their curriculum requirements for placements. These students come from Queen's, Laurier, York, and OISE.
A pilot partnership with First Nations University provided an experiential week of learning for two students, who also connected with the First Nation's, Inuit and Métis Circle at the Festival.
Through partnerships with libraries, we offered 30 lectures and workshops to more than 700 people.
For the third consecutive year, we hosted the Conference of Independent Schools Drama Festival.

The Festival is committed to the highest level of artistic excellence

This can be seen in everything we do, from the training programs to the design and building of costumes and props, to the final work on stage. But rather than say "take our word for it" we offer up the opinions of international media, many of whom visit for extended periods each season to take in as many shows as possible.

In 2024, we had senior writers from The Guardian, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post, The Chicago Tribune and The South China Morning Post. It is quite rare for these outlets to cover regional theatre, so we take their presence as endorsements in themselves.

Writers visit every season from all over North America and beyond. Here's a sampling of their comments:

"Since its first production of Richard III in 1953 starring acting titans Irene Worth and Alec Guinness, the Stratford Festival is considered one of world's greatest arts festivals and is the largest classical repertory theater company in North America." – Forbes

"The clash and coupling of such seemingly different works is the great value, and great pleasure, of the repertory system, one so difficult to sustain that few theaters bother anymore. Stratford is by every measure—budget, employment, attendance, production—the largest repertory theater in North America, and likely the largest nonprofit theater, period." – The New York Times

"A visit is the closest a grownup gets to theater camp." – The Washington Post

"Watching Thom Allison's riotous yet profoundly heartfelt revival of Harvey Fierstein and Jerry Herman's musical, I was reminded of a scene in Something Rotten! where Nick Bottom urges his company to ditch the idea of doing something deep and meaningful and put on a big old crowd-pleaser instead. This festival proves, time and again, that both are possible at once." – The Guardian

"Nirvana for theater fans" – National Geographic Traveler

"North America's largest classical producing theatre, unrivaled by any city in the USA... it may very well be what I hope heaven will be like." – Playbill

"Stratford, where fans of classic drama come in large numbers to worship at its leading, four-stage, North American shrine." – Chicago Tribune

"I suspect Salesman in China, which is performed in English and Chinese (with subtitles), will become a hot title stateside. Not only is it a fascinating piece of little-known history, but the engrossing play also boils down a still-contentious, extremely complicated, massively relevant multinational divide into an idea that's simple, timeless and universal: The show must go on." – The New York Post

"I got the bucket-list chance to visit Stratford for the first time. The experience is powerful, a mission of pleasure in itself." – The New York Times

"A Disney for discerning theater aficionados tucked away in rural Ontario" – Cleveland Plain Dealer

"If you have been longing to encounter greatness in the theatre, it's waiting for you at the Stratford Festival." – Toronto Star

"Yet we kept returning to something more abstract: the seemingly opposing feelings of intimacy and community that theater as a human endeavor, and this theater in particular, were designed to encourage. It's an approach that acknowledges the art form as a palimpsest: a text that has been revised and overwritten for thousands of years. If we go to the theater in part to commune with the ghosts of our human past, we also go to feel a deeper connection to people living and breathing right now, in the seats immediately to our right and left." – The New York Times

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS