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A Campaign for the new Tom Patterson Theatre

The Stratford Festival would like to thank both the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario, which have each contributed $20 million to this project.

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THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

Finally - the opening of the new Tom Patterson Theatre! 

When we started this project, we knew that we were offering something very special: a gift to the Festival, to the city of Stratford and to the whole theatre community.

We welcomed donors from throughout North America who wanted to be part of this wonderful project and were thrilled by the response. This was not just from leadership donors but from thousands of patrons who made a gift to create this magnificent theatre. And we especially appreciated the enthusiastic support of our acting company, artisans, crew, stage management, staff and Friends of the Festival, all of whom participated in the campaign and led to its success.

We set an ambitious goal of raising $100 million dollars to build the theatre and to create an endowed fund to secure its operational future. Thanks to you, we announced on May 10, 2022 - the official opening of the facility - that we had raised over $105 million dollars!

In the end, the campaign truly lived up to its name as we all felt the spirit that lay behind the establishment of the Festival in 1953: a profound belief in the importance of theatre and a commitment to our beloved Stratford Festival.

Thank you for joining us in this extraordinary adventure. We hope you will feel great pride every time you walk through the doors - because you made this happen!

With gratitude,

Ophelia Lazaridis and Dr. M.L. Myers, campaign co-chairs

Hon. Michael A. Meighen, honorary chair





“We want to make sure this is one of the best theatre rooms in the world.” – Architect Siamak Hariri

We searched the globe for an architect and found the very best right here in Canada

Siamak Hariri, of Toronto-based Hariri Pontarini, is the winner of more than 50 architectural awards, including the Governor General’s Medal in Architecture. In 2016, he was celebrated as one of Canada’s Artists Who Mattered Most by The Globe and Mail, which said of his Baha’i Temple of South America, “It is real, it is surprising and it is beautiful.” Closer to home, Mr. Hariri designed the Richard Ivey Building at Western University in London, Ont., and the Schulich School of Business at York University. In 2013 he and partner David Pontarini were awarded the prestigious Architectural Firm Award by the Royal Architectural Institute.

“We approached dozens of firms from around the world, but the work of Canada’s own Siamak Hariri stood out and was the Board’s unanimous choice,” says Dan Bernstein, head of the architectural search committee.

The campaign is co-chaired by Ophelia Lazaridis and Dr. M. Lee Myers, with the Honourable Michael Meighen serving as Honorary Chair.

Campaign Cabinet

Daniel S. Bernstein (Westport, CT)

Sylvia Chrominska (Toronto, ON)

Robert Gorlin (Northville, MI)

Beth Kronfeld (Chicago, IL)

Rick Orr (Stratford, ON)

Dr. Cecil Rorabeck (London, ON)

Carol Stephenson (London, ON)

Donald Woodley (Mono Township, ON)

Ophelia Lazaridis

Ophelia Lazaridis was a member of the Festival’s Board of Governors from 2007 to 2014. An avid supporter of the Festival’s education initiatives, she served as Chair of the Education and Archives Committee during her Board tenure and has been a key supporter of the Stratford Festival for more than a decade. 

“I am inspired by what the Festival has accomplished and even more energized for the future with this new theatre,” she says. “I am particularly enthusiastic to support the Festival’s efforts to expand the youth audience and applaud the advances in education initiatives that will be made possible at the new Tom Patterson Theatre. That is why I have pledged $15 million to this campaign.”

Dr. M. Lee Myers

Dr. M. Lee Myers is a cardiac surgeon at the London Health Sciences Centre. Dr. Myers first joined the Stratford Festival’s Board of Governors in 2002 and was Board Chair from March 2010 to 2012. She is currently a member of the Board of Governors, a director of the Festival’s Foundation Board and Chair of the Campaign’s steering committee and campaign cabinet.

“This campaign will permit us to create a stunning new facility, fund the theatre’s new and expanded programs, and ‎ultimately strengthen a very important part of Canada’s cultural heritage,” she says.

The Hon. Michael Meighen

The Hon. Michael Meighen, a lawyer and retired Senator, was a member of the Festival’s Board of Governors from 1986 to 1997, serving as Board Chair from 1996 through 1997. He was Chair of the Festival’s Act III campaign to renew the Festival Theatre from 1995 to 1997.

“Members of the Meighen family have been supporters of the Stratford Festival for three generations,” he says. “We are proud to be involved with this newest project, which will see the Festival in an excellent position to remain a world leader in theatrical production and cultural tourism.”

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