Stratford Festival 2027 season will include earlier start times and the return of Des McAnuff
The Stratford Festival has announced its 2027 season, featuring new artistic leadership and a shift toward earlier performance start times. The changes aim to accommodate patrons who travel for shows and signal a potential move toward year-round programming.
Why it matters
Operational shifts in major cultural institutions reflect changing audience behaviors and efforts to improve accessibility and sustainability.
Jonathan Church's first season as artistic director includes some big changes to the festival. Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
The Stratford Festival’s 2027 season, the first to be programmed by Jonathan Church, will feature a Des McAnuff-directed Hamlet, a triple bill of plays starring Saul Rubinek and Mary Poppins , co-directed by Brits Jonathan O’Boyle and Stephen Mear.
Announced on Wednesday, the season marks big changes for the fest – and not just because Church will officially become its artistic director in November after a year of working in a transitional role with outgoing AD Antoni Cimolino.
For one, the company will follow the Shaw Festival’s lead by moving to earlier start times for performances, with matinees at 1:30 and evening performances at 7:30. (Shaw moved its start times to 1 and 7 in 2025.) Some shows, particularly those aimed at school-age audiences, will also include noon matinees.
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