The Stratford Festival continues its 2023 season with a Shakespeare classic, Love’s Labour’s Lost, directed by Peter Pasyk. This beloved comedy has been reimagined for modern audiences and starts previews today at the Studio Theatre.

Seeking self-improvement, the King of Navarre and his three best friends swear off sex and love for three years, just as the Princess of France and three other women arrive on a diplomatic mission. Light-hearted drama reaches its climax in the twist ending of this touching and funny coming-of-age story.

“Words fail us. All of us. Even Shakespeare. Especially when attempting to describe matters of the heart,” says Pasyk. “Love’s Labour’s Lost both celebrates and mocks our human instinct to perform; it exposes our pursuits, whether they be love or learning, as a game we play.”

Love’s Labour’s Lost features Tyrone Savage as Berowne, Amaka Umeh as Rosaline, Gordon S. Miller as Don Armado, Steve Ross as Boyet and Michael Spencer-Davis as Holofernes with Elizabeth Adams, Hilary Adams, Celia Aloma, Thomas Duplessie, Justin Eddy, Christo Graham, Jordin Hall, Matthew Kabwe, Wahsontí:io Kirby, Heather Kosik, Qianna MacGilchrist, Chris Mejaki, Chanakya Mukherjee, Tyler Rive, Andrew Robinson, Jane Spidell, Emilio Vieira, John Wamsley and Hannah Wigglesworth.

Pasyk is joined on the creative team by Set Designer Julie Fox, Costume Designer Sim Suzer, Lighting Designer Arun Srinivasan, Composer and Sound Designer Thomas Ryder Payne, Supervising Fight Director Geoff Scovell and Choreographer Stephen Cota.

Love’s Labour’s Lost has its official opening on September 9 and runs until October 1 in the Studio Theatre. Tickets are available at stratfordfestival.ca or by calling 1.800.567.1600.

The 2023 season also features King Lear, Rent, Much Ado About Nothing, Les Belles-Soeurs, Monty Python’s Spamalot, A Wrinkle in Time, Frankenstein Revived, Grand Magic, Richard II and Wedding Band. Productions of Casey and Diana and Women of the Fur Trade have closed for the season. For more information, visit stratfordfestival.ca.

Illustration: Title page of First Quarto of Love’s Labour’s Lost. © 1593.