The Shaw Festival returns to the wondrous world of Narnia for a second time with a new adaptation of C.S. Lewis’s The Horse and His Boy. Directed by Christine Brubaker and adapted by Governor General's Award-nominee and playwright Anna Chatterton, this world premiere opens the Shaw Festival’s 2019 season on April 6 at the Festival Theatre.

The Shaw Festival’s popular pre-show workshop is back to inspire and rekindle the child in all of us. Join an actor from The Horse and His Boy and help create the show during this season’s Creating The Horse and His Boy – A Pre-Show Workshop – an interactive 40-minute long experience for both grown-ups and children held prior to all matinee and evening performances ($5 with a ticket to the day’s performance of The Horse and His Boy).

Persuaded by their talking horses Bree (Jay Turvey) and Hwin (Kristi Frank), Shasta (Matt Nethersole), a poor fisherman’s son, and young aristocrat Aravis (Madelyn Kriese) escape the confines of their home country of Calormen and head for freedom. Along the way, they prevent the invasion of Narnia, come face-to-face with the noble Aslan (Jenny L. Wright) and ultimately make discoveries that change their destinies forever.

Inspired by light box dioramas and video game graphics, designer Jennifer Goodman creates diverse mystical lands with equally varied costumes using a myriad of multicoloured hues and shapes, while the animals of Narnia are embellished with full headdresses, tails, horns and ears. Lighting by Siobhán Sleath and projections by Cameron Davis work in tandem with Goodman’s colour schemes to denote the various lands travelled. Deanna H. Choi’s soundscape, spoken word chants and original music, alongside shadowplay, mime, puppetry and movement direction by Alexis Milligan, help tell this mythical Narnian adventure.

The Shaw Festival’s 2019 season is on stage April 6 through December 22 featuring a playbill that includes The Horse and His Boy, Brigadoon, The Ladykillers, Man and Superman with Don Juan in Hell, Rope, Getting Married, The Russian Play, Cyrano de Bergerac, The Glass Menagerie, Sex, Victory, Secret Theatre, A Christmas Carol and Holiday Inn. Tickets for the 2019 Festival season are available through the Box Office at 1-800-511-SHAW and online at www.shawfest.com.
 
Direct bus service four days a week from downtown Toronto and Burlington to Niagara-on-the-Lake, plus a new Holiday Season service, on the Shaw Express begins April 6. Luxury buses are wheelchair accessible and offer free Wi-Fi. On board hosts will ensure your journey to The Shaw is comfortable and enjoyable. Book online when you book your tickets or call our Box Office 1-800-511-7429. $25 return per person. Ticket to a 2019 performance required. Schedule is subject to change. Please confirm dates and times with the Shaw Festival Box Office.

For information on Creating The Horse and His Boy – A Pre-Show Workshop, or to purchase tickets for the 2019 Festival season and Shaw Express, please contact the Shaw Festival Box Office at 1-800-511-SHAW and online at www.shawfest.com.