Experience a mystical world of adventure-filled drama as Shakespeare’s Cymbeline begins at the Tom Patterson Theatre. Lucy Peacock takes on the title role with Allison Edwards-Crewe as her daughter, Innogen, in this comedic yet tragic romance directed by Esther Jun.

Forbidden love. Familial strife. Political intrigue. In Cymbeline, the final play from Shakespeare’s First Folio, the playwright fuses romance, comedy and tragedy to create a unique fantasia brimming with mistaken identities and gender-swapping disguises. Cymbeline’s daughter, Innogen, one of Shakespeare’s most celebrated heroines, is thrust into the world of court politics and ruthless personal ambitions when she chooses a lover beneath her station. Deceived by the dastardly Iachimo, a worthy contender for the Bard’s all-time greatest villain, Innogen must fight to protect her honour and agency.

“Cymbeline brings together all the things I truly love and hold dear about theatre,” says Jun. “It is a play full of magic and beauty, and to me, it’s Shakespeare at his finest.”

Cymbeline features Jonathan Goad as Belarius, Jordin Hall as Posthumus Leonatus, Irene Poole as Pisanio, and Tyrone Savage as Iachimo with Christopher Allen as Cloten, Noah Beemer as Arviragus, Caleigh Crow as Lady in Waiting, Cynthia Jimenez-Hicks as Philarmonus (Soothsayer), Matthew Kabwe as Caius Lucius, Wahsontí:io Kirby as Cornelius, Josue Laboucane as Philario and Jailer, Julie Lumsden as Helen and Ghost Mother, Chris Mejaki as Roman Captain and Briton Servant, Evan Mercer as Second Lord and Ghost Brother 1, Marcus Nance as Jupiter, Anthony Palermo as First Lord and Ghost Brother 2, Jennifer Rider-Shaw as Soldier, Rick Roberts as Duke, Anthony Santiago as Frenchman and Ghost Sicillius, Tara Sky as Queen’s Guard and Michael Wamara as Guiderius.

The creative team includes Set and Lighting Designer Echo Zhou, Costume Designer Michelle Bohn, Composer Njo Kong Kie, Sound Designer Olivia Wheeler, Fight and Intimacy Director Anita Nittoly and Movement Director Alyssa Martin.

Cymbeline officially opens on May 29 and runs until September 28 at the Tom Patterson Theatre. Tickets are available at stratfordfestival.ca or by calling 1.800.567.1600.

The 2024 season also features Twelfth Night, Something Rotten!, Romeo and Juliet, London Assurance, La Cage aux Folles, Wendy and Peter Pan, Salesman in China, Hedda Gabler, The Diviners, The Goat or, Who is Sylvia? and Get That Hope. For more information, visit stratfordfestival.ca.

Photo: Lucy Peacock as Cymbeline and Allison Edwards-Crewe as Innogen. © 2024 Ted Belton.