Anticipation has been running high for years and now the time has come to welcome audiences to the next great chapter in Stratford Festival history. The new Tom Patterson Theatre will see its very first public performance on Tuesday, May 10, as Colm Feore takes centre stage as Richard III.

The glorious new Tom Patterson Theatre and the Festival’s 2022 production of Richard III are both born of the vision of Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino.

“For two long years, this spectacular theatre has been our sleeping beauty,” says Cimolino. “Now after years of planning, working and refining every detail, we get to bring the theatre to vibrant life. It is a dream come true.”

Shakespeare’s Richard, Duke of Gloucester, is the embodiment of lethal ambition, manoeuvering and murdering his way to the throne of England. But once he has reached the top, the only way left to go is down – and in Richard’s growing roster of vengeful enemies, none are more menacing than the ghosts of his past.

“The historical Richard, like Shakespeare’s tyrant, was defeated and killed. But he was replaced by a much more sophisticated police state, under regimes that were more cruel and more effective at political manipulation,” says Cimolino. “The text of Richard III is an example of that manipulation. Yet it is also a subversive indictment of tyranny, revealing the tricks used to deceive and manipulate.”

The production’s creative team includes Designer Francesca Callow, Lighting Designer Michael Walton, Composer Berthold Carrière and Sound Designer John Gzowski. Debbie Patterson is the Disability Consultant and Dramaturg.

Colm Feore takes on the title role, in his 18th season with the Festival. He is joined by Sean Arbuckle as Earl Rivers, Michael Blake as George, Duke of Clarence, Ben Carlson as Lord William Hastings, David Collins as Lord Stanley (Earl of Derby), Jessica B. Hill as Lady Anne, Diana Leblanc as Duchess of York, Seana McKenna as Queen Margaret, Lucy Peacock as Queen Elizabeth, André Sills as Duke of Buckingham and Emilio Vieira as Sir William Catesby, with Elizabeth Adams, Anousha Alamian, Peter N. Bailey, Wayne Best, Jon de Leon, Christo Graham, Jordin Hall, Kim Horsman, Ron Kennell, Qasim Khan, Daniel Krmpotic, Beck Lloyd, Jamie Mac, Devin MacKinnon, Hilary McCormack, Dominic Moody, Chanakya Mukherjee, Lisa Nasson, Chase Oudshoorn, Sepehr Reybod, Tyler Rive, Bram Watson, Hannah Wigglesworth and Ezra Wreford.

The production has its gala opening night on June 4 and runs until October 30 in the Tom Patterson Theatre. Tickets are available at www.stratfordfestival.ca or by calling 1.800.567.1600.

Production support is generously provided by the Jentes family, by Dr. M.L. Myers, by Martie & Bob Sachs, by The Westaway Charitable Foundation and by Catherine & David Wilkes.

Support for the 2022 season at the Tom Patterson Theatre is generously provided by Daniel Bernstein & Claire Foerster.

Corporate support for the 2022 season at the Tom Patterson Theatre is generously provided by BMO Financial Group (BMO).

The 2022 season also features Hamlet, Chicago, The Miser, Little Women, All’s Well That Ends Well, Death and the King’s Horseman, Every Little Nookie, Hamlet-911 and 1939. For more information, visit www.stratfordfestival.ca.