July finds the Meighen Forum in full swing, offering a vast array of experiences to enhance a visit to the Stratford Festival: the 2023 Season Deep Dive led by Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino, events hosted by CBC Ideas and The New York Times, the inaugural Stratfest@Home film festival, as well as musical performances, culinary experiences and more.

Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino will host 2023 Season Deep Dive Week (July 3 – 9) and will welcome fellow directors and artistic directors to discuss the season, theatre in Canada and something that all directors do but audiences may not always be aware of. For the first event in our new Forum Academy Series, director Peter Pasyk and archivist Nora Polley will discuss “Directors All Do It: Cutting Shakespeare.” The Forum Academy will carefully consider and engage with the 2023’s playbill through a series of university-style lectures throughout the season.

The Forum Dinner Series is hosting our modern take on an Elizabethan Feast on July 8, complete with genuine dishes prepared by Chef John Higgins. From cooking for the Queen at Buckingham Palace and Balmoral Castle to travelling the world promoting Canadian cuisine as captain of the Canadian Culinary Olympic Team, Chef John Higgins’s global career has been marked by creativity flavouring every dish he envisions for the table. This event will also feature a musical performance by Terry McKenna and a special discussion led by Jeffrey Pilcher, professor of history and food studies at the University of Toronto. Ticket price includes dinner and drink pairings.

Canadian singer-songwriter and visual artist Tom Wilson will perform in the award-winning Tom Patterson Theatre on July 10, the first in a series of special concerts throughout the 2023 season of the Meighen Forum. Accompanied by pianist Jesse O’Brien, Tom’s performances have been described as literary recitals, spoken word pieces, but most notably as a workshop in storytelling. Punctuated with both heartbreaking and humorous real-life tales, Tom leaves audiences entertained with a sense of wonder and introspection. Last season, the Festival featured Tom’s powerful work Fading Memories of Home, an installation exploring the systemic erasure of Indigenous culture in residential schools, as part of a reflection space adjacent to the Studio Theatre following performances of 1939 by Jani Lauzon and Kaitlyn Riordan, and directed by Lauzon.

On July 13, the Stratford Festival will mark the first Stratfest@Home Film Festival with a gala opening event featuring screenings from Northern Tracks - A Canadian Mix Tape, followed by a Q&A with some of the creative team behind this original work including directors Richard Ouzounian and Thom Allison. Throughout the week, the Stratfest@Home Film Festival will screen the filmed version of Stratford Festival stage productions The Miser, Death and the King’s Horseman and 1939, and Stratfest@Home original productions Just Short of Reality and Leer Estates. Young filmmakers will have an exciting opportunity for their work to be selected and screened in front of a live audience and panel of industry experts, and have their shorts streamed on Stratfest@Home.

As the 2023 season of the Meighen Forum continues, the Stratford Festival will welcome host Nahlah Ayed for CBC Ideas Week (July 17 – 23), a series of events looking back at five pivotal years and moments of upheaval in the 20th century. In a special, limited performance at the Meighen Forum, Krystle Dos Santos will tell the powerful story of Canadian civil rights hero Viola Desmond through music in Hey Viola! (July 26 – 30). Funny Forum Friday will continue with Howie Miller on Friday, July 7 and Matt Wright on Friday, July 21. Rodrigo Fernandez-Stoll will open for Howie Miller and Anna Menzies will open for Matt Wright.

The Forum Dinner Series continues with Tastes from Turtle Island: An Indigenous Culinary Experience on July 23. Indigenous recipes have been passed down through generations, inspired by the land and fresh, local ingredients. Curated by Chopped champion and Top Chef Canada season 6 contestant Chef Matthew Sullivan with the Food Dudes, this event will take your senses on a journey across this land through traditional cuisine and techniques.

The Meighen Forum also includes favourites such as Peer into the Playbill and exclusive backstage tours and workshops. This season, we are excited to unveil a new, never previously offered, backstage tour of the Festival Theatre. Visit www.stratfordfestival.ca for details.

2023 Season Deep Dive

July 3 to July 9

Join the Stratford Festival’s Artistic Director, Antoni Cimolino, as he hosts a series of conversations based on the season theme, Duty vs. Desire, and how it resonates within each 2023 production. Meet the directors behind the productions on the 2023 season slate and learn what goes into envisioning and staging performances at the Stratford Festival and across Canada.

Events include:

 • Up Close with Antoni Cimolino

Lazaridis Hall, Tom Patterson Theatre

Friday, July 7

10:30 a.m. – noon

Antoni answers your questions about the 2023 season and plans for the future.

 • Funny Forum Fridays: Howie Miller

Lazaridis Hall, Tom Patterson Theatre

Friday, July 7

9 – 10:30 p.m.

Back for a second season, Funny Forum Fridays return with a new lineup featuring some of Canada's best and brightest comedic minds as curated by Mark Selby. Bring a friend, grab a drink, and "frame your mind to mirth and merriment" at the Stratford Festival!

Howie Miller is one of the funniest corporate and club comedians in North America. His quick wit and unique point of view on multi ethnic stereotypes is enjoyed by all audiences and has garnered numerous television appearances in both Canada and the US. Howie is also a talented writer, actor and producer and has been nominated for a Gemini Award, a Canadian Comedy Award and a Canadian Screen Award.

• Meet the Directors

Lazaridis Hall, Tom Patterson Theatre

Saturday, July 8

10:30 a.m. – noon

A conversation with Yvette Nolan (director Women of the Fur Trade), Thom Allison (director Rent), Antoni Cimolino (director Grand Magic) and others about their work, the plays and staging them in 2023.

 • Elizabethan Feast

Festival Marquee

Saturday, July 8

5:30 – 7:30 p.m.

Join us for a one-of-a-kind culinary experience that promises nothing short of royal treatment with a dinner prepared by Chef John Higgins. From cooking for the Queen at Buckingham Palace and Balmoral Castle to travelling the world promoting Canadian cuisine as captain of the Canadian Culinary Olympic Team, John Higgins’s global career has been marked by creativity flavouring every dish he envisions for the table. Enjoy a throw-back to Shakespeare’s day and sit down to a fantastic spread of culinary creations inspired by the luxury of the Elizabethan court, complete with lovely lute melodies courtesy of musician Terry McKenna. Plus, learn as you dine with a special discussion led by Jeffrey Pilcher, professor of history and food studies at the University of Toronto.

Curated by Chef Matthew Sullivan with The Food Dudes.

Act Fast! Reservations will not be taken past July 3.

 • Artistic Director Insights

Lazaridis Hall, Tom Patterson Theatre

Sunday, July 9

10:30 a.m. – noon

From coast to coast, Artistic Directors in Canada are faced with the exciting, yet complicated task of leading a theatre company into the future while satisfying a variety of stakeholders. Join Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino, former Artistic Director of the National Arts Centre English Theatre, Jillian Keiley and Theatre Calgary's Artistic Director Stafford Arima as they discuss theatre in Canada today.

 • Directors All Do It: Cutting Shakespeare

Lazaridis Hall, Tom Patterson Theatre

Sunday, July 9

2 – 3:30 p.m.

Four hundred years after the First Folio was printed, new productions of Shakespeare's plays come to life around the world, each with unique textual variations. Everything old is new again when a director tackles one of Shakespeare’s works with a pair of scissors in hand. Love's Labour's Lost director Peter Pasyk and legendary stage manager Nora Polley take a look at how and why we cut and edit the Bard’s work, and the impact it has on stage.

 • STRATFEST@HOME Film Festival

Lazaridis Hall, Tom Patterson Theatre, July 13 - July 16

Stratfest@Home Film Festival Gala Opening featuring a screening of Northern Tracks

Lazaridis Hall, Tom Patterson Theatre

Thursday, July 13

8 – 11 p.m.

Come join us on the red carpet for the Gala Opening of the STRATFEST@HOME Film Festival. The gala opening will feature a screening of Northern Tracks - A Canadian Mix Tape, followed by a Q&A with some of the creatives behind this original work, including Richard Ouzounian and Thom Allison.

 • Northern Tracks: A Canadian Mixtape

A love letter to the greats of Canadian music told through performances captured throughout the Tom Patterson Theatre. For the Opening Gala of the Film Festival, a new and exclusive cut of the series featuring the greatest hits from the original nine-episode series will be shown.

In this musical series, Stratford Festival artists reimagine the classics of beloved singer-songwriters Leonard Cohen, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Neil Young, Rufus Wainwright, Susan Aglukark, Joni Mitchell, Oscar Peterson, k.d. lang and Gordon Lightfoot.

 • A Screening of The Miser

Lazaridis Hall, Tom Patterson Theatre

Friday, July 14

2 – 5 p.m.

This lively Molière comedy is modernized by the sharp adaptation of Ranjit Bolt and the direction of Antoni Cimolino. Filmed during the Festival’s 2022 season, this production’s impeccable timing and physical comedy will have you laughing the whole way through.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with some of the creatives, including Nick Shields (Suede Productions) and actor Emilio Vieira.

 • Young Filmmakers’ Showcase

Lazaridis Hall, Tom Patterson Theatre

Saturday, July 15

10:30 a.m. – noon

In collaboration with our Education and Digital departments, this event will be a showcase of short films from young filmmakers. After watching A Wrinkle in Time, young patrons submit their projects, with select films to be screened in front of a live audience and panel of industry experts such as Festival actors and television stars Kolton Stewart and Alex Wierzbicki, and hosted by Stratford Festival Director of Education Lois Adamson. Winners will receive awards, and have their shorts streamed on STRATFEST@HOME!

 • A Screening of 1939

Lazaridis Hall, Tom Patterson Theatre

Saturday, July 15

2 – 5 p.m.

Jani Lauzon and Kaitlyn Riordan’s ingenious and insightful new play made its world première on the Studio Theatre stage. Equal parts heartwarming and heartbreaking, don’t miss this powerful performance from the Festival’s 2022 season.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with some of the creatives including Jani Lauzon and Kaitlyn Riordan.

 • Double Feature: Just Short of Reality and Leer Estates

Lazaridis Hall, Tom Patterson Theatre

Saturday, July 15

8 – 11 p.m.

A Double Feature screening of our award-winning original series, Just Short of Reality, and the exclusive première of the highly anticipated second season of Leer Estates followed by a Q&A with the creators including Chad McFadden, Dan Chameroy and Ron Kennell.

 • A Screening of Death and the King's Horseman

Lazaridis Hall, Tom Patterson Theatre

Sunday, July 16

2 – 5 p.m.

Director Tawiah M’Carthy expertly brings this masterpiece from Nobel Prize winner Wole Soyinka to the Tom Patterson stage, culminating in a haunting and potent tale and a must-see theatrical event.

CBC Ideas Week:

 • The Shock of the New - The Twentieth Century

July 17 to July 23

Five years in the 20th century, five snapshots of great upheaval: Ideas explores the conflicting ideas that have shaped our world today. This CBC Ideas series, hosted by Nahlah Ayed, explores the remaking of social life, the civil rights movement, the AIDS crisis, new gender roles - and the corrupting effects of power.

Events include:

 • The Year 1919: Dividing the Spoils

Lazaridis Hall, Tom Patterson Theatre

Wednesday, July 19

10:30 a.m. – noon

After WW1, the Western powers create new borders and carve out spheres of influence, Pan-Africanists fight for a new future, unrest in China foreshadows the future, the League of Nations is formed, and Kemal Atatürk launches a war of independence in Turkey.

 • The Year 1938: The Winds of War

Lazaridis Hall, Tom Patterson Theatre

Thursday, July 20

10:30 a.m. – noon

On the eve of WWII, Hitler annexes Austria and escalates the persecution of Jews, Japan wages war on China, the oil industry explodes in the Middle East, and the discovery of nuclear fission sets the stage for disaster.

 • The Year 1963: Social Revolutions

Lazaridis Hall, Tom Patterson Theatre

Friday, July 21

10:30 a.m. – noon

Martin Luther King Jr. leads a march on Washington, the Pan-African movement ushers in a new era for Africa, President Kennedy is assassinated, and the war in Vietnam heats up.

 • Funny Forum Fridays: Matt Wright

Lazaridis Hall, Tom Patterson Theatre

Friday, July 21

9 – 10:30 p.m.

Back for a second season, Funny Forum Fridays return with a new lineup featuring some of Canada's best and brightest comedic minds as curated by Mark Selby. Bring a friend, grab a drink, and "frame your mind to mirth and merriment" at the Stratford Festival!

Matt Wright is a JUNO Award losing Canadian stand-up comedian, writer, and actor who has appeared on televised galas for Just For Laughs, CBC, and CTV. Matt has written for six seasons of This Hour Has 22 Minutes where he was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award. As a filmmaker, his short "Snowstorm Roulette" was nominated for Best International Short at the Austin Comedy Festival.

 • The Year 1973: The Dictators

Lazaridis Hall, Tom Patterson Theatre

Saturday, July 22

10:30 a.m. – noon

Augusto Pinochet comes to power in Chile, and dictators also rule Portugal, Greece, Uganda… and beyond. The OPEC oil embargo sets the world on a new path. In the U.S., Richard Nixon insists he’s not a crook, and the Supreme Court legalizes abortion in Roe v. Wade.

 • The Year 1989: Uprisings and Downfalls

Lazaridis Hall, Tom Patterson Theatre

Sunday, July 23

10:30 a.m. – noon

The Berlin Wall comes tumbling down, there are democratic uprisings in Czechoslovakia, Poland and Hungary, and a riot in Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The National Commission on AIDS launches, and this thing called the 'world wide web' is proposed.

 • Forum Academy: Shakespeare Dramaturgy

Lazaridis Hall, Tom Patterson Theatre

Sunday, July 23

2 – 3:30 p.m.

A great deal of analysis goes into a play before the acting begins. In this exclusive seminar, Professor Alexa Alice Joubin from George Washington University and Professor Jyotsna Singh from Michigan State University will explore dramatic theory to dramaturgy and how the vital aspects of Shakespeare’s texts are brought to life through a play’s production. In short, learn when the analysis ends and the acting begins.

 • Tastes from Turtle Island: An Indigenous Culinary Experience

Festival Marquee

Sunday, July 23

5:30 – 7:30 p.m.

Across Turtle Island, Indigenous recipes have been passed down through generations, inspired by the land and fresh, local ingredients. Join us for a meal that will take your senses on a journey across this land through traditional cuisine and techniques. Curated by chef Matthew Sullivan with The Food Dudes.

The 2023 Season Deep Dive and CBC Ideas series of events are part of the six themed weeks introduced for the 2023 season of the Stratford Festival’s Meighen Forum, each featuring curated performances, celebrated speakers, culinary experiences and timely discussions with artists and experts:

 • Pride Week - June 5 to June 11

 • 2023 Season Deep Dive - July 3 to July 9

 • CBC Ideas Week: The Shock of the New - July 17 to July 23

 • Global Theatre Week - August 7 to August 13

 • Readers and Writers Week - August 21 to August 27

 • Scholars and Experts Week - September 11 to September 17