Stage Door News
Stage Door News
February 22, 2016… Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino and Executive Director Anita Gaffney are proud to launch the second season of Stratford Festival HD with the première of The Taming of the Shrew on Saturday, March 12, at Cineplex theatres across Canada. It returns to cinemas on March 17 for an encore screening.
Hamlet will première on April 23 – the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death – with an encore on April 28, and The Adventures of Pericles will screen on May 7 and 12.
Directed by Barry Avrich, The Taming of the Shrew is faithful to the 2015 stage version of the production but with an intimacy even greater than that provided by the famously intimate Festival Theatre.
The Taming of the Shrew, directed for the stage by Chris Abraham, was captured live with a full audience at the Stratford Festival on September 29, 2015, using 10 cameras and 128 tracks of sound to create a sensational high-definition, surround-sound production. Additional footage was captured on stage immediately following the performance, also with an audience present, allowing Mr. Avrich to create an unparalleled amalgam of live theatre and cinematic production.
The Taming of the Shrew features Ben Carlson as Petruchio, Deborah Hay as Katherina, Sarah Afful as Bianca, Peter Hutt as Baptista, Cyrus Lane as Lucentio, Gordon S. Miller as Biondello, Tom Rooney as Tranio and Mike Shara as Hortensio.
Canadian distribution is through Cineplex Events, which specializes in bringing world-class events and performances to the big screen. Cinema screenings will be followed by a broadcast window on CBC-TV, Canada’s national public broadcaster. Digital and on-demand release will follow.
U.S. and international distribution is through SpectiCast, the fastest growing event cinema marketing and distribution company in the world.
Stratford Festival HD is sponsored by Sun Life Financial, as part of their Making the Arts More Accessible® program. Generous support is provided by Laura Dinner & Richard Rooney, the Jenkins Family Foundation, the Henry White Kinnear Foundation, Ophelia & Mike Lazaridis, Sandra & Jim Pitblado, the Slaight Family Foundation, and Robert & Jacqueline Sperandio. The Festival also acknowledges the generous support of the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario.
Running Time: 180 minutes (including 15-minute intermission show)
Rating: PG
Photo: Deborah Hay and Ben Carlson. ©2014 Don Dixon.
2016-02-22
Stratford: Stratford Festival’s "The Taming of the Shrew" premières March 12 at Cineplex theatres across Canada