ARTISTIC DIRECTOR TIM CARROLL ANNOUNCES CASTING FOR THE 2018 SHAW FESTIVAL

– Tickets go on sale to Friends of The Shaw on November 4 and the public December 9 –

Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON (November 2, 2017) — Artistic Director Tim Carroll announces the Shaw Festival’s 2018 ensemble. This season’s 56 actors will take to the stage in 14 productions, plus numerous Secret Theatre experiences.

“I was thrilled to see the way this company and our audience engaged with each other last season. The connection between those of us who work at The Shaw and our visitors is deepening into a real sense of community,” says Tim Carroll, Artistic Director of the Shaw Festival. “All of us at the Festival are looking forward to sharing the next part of the journey with our wonderful, loyal audience.”

The Shaw Festival’s 2018 season goes on sale to Friends of The Shaw beginning November 4 and the public on December 9. Tickets are available through the Box Office at 1-800-511-7429 and online at www.shawfest.com.

FESTIVAL THEATRE
THE MAGICIAN’S NEPHEW
By C.S. Lewis
Adapted for the stage by Michael O’Brien

Directed by Tim Carroll
Set designed by Douglas Paraschuk
Costumes designed by
Jennifer Goodman
Lighting designed by Kevin Lamotte

Projections designed by Cameron Davis
Original music and sound designed by Claudio Vena
Movement and puppetry direction by Alexis Milligan

Previews April 4 ♦ Media Premiere May 9 ♦ Closes October 13
A magical and spectacular plunge into Narnia… at its very beginning as Aslan (Kyle Blair) shapes it. Sent on an adventure by his Uncle Andrew (Steven Sutcliffe), Young Digory (Travis Seetoo) and his friend Polly (Vanessa Sears) stumble on a way to explore other worlds – but accidentally unleash a malevolent queen (Deborah Hay) who could destroy everything.

The Magician’s Nephew also features Andrew Broderick, Starr Domingue, Patty Jamieson, Madelyn Kriese, Emily Lukasik, Matt Nethersole, David Andrew Reid, Jeremiah Sparks, Michael Therriault and Jay Turvey.

GRAND HOTEL
Book by Luther Davis
Music and lyrics by Robert Wright and George Forrest
Based on Vicki Baum’s Grand Hotel
By arrangement with Turner Broadcasting Co.
Owner of the motion picture Grand Hotel
Additional music and lyrics by Maury Yeston

Directed by Eda Holmes
Music direction by Paul Sportelli
Choreography by Parker Esse

Previews May 3 ♦ Media Premiere May 23 ♦ Closes October 14
Love, betrayal and murder are on the hotel itinerary in this musical set in the Roaring Twenties. The lives of the guests – a fading prima ballerina (Deborah Hay), an ill bookkeeper (Michael Therriault), a doctor with a love of morphine (Steven Sutcliffe), a typist enamored with the theatre (Vanessa Sears), a handsome, but poor Baron (James Daly) and a wealthy businessman (Jay Turvey) – collide over one unforgettable night at the Grand Hotel.

Grand Hotel also features David Ball, Kyle Blair, Andrew Broderick, Ryan Cunningham, Starr Domingue, Kristi Frank, Élodie Gillett, Jeff Irving, Patty Jamieson, Madelyn Kriese, Allan Louis, Emily Lukasik, Marla McLean, Matt Nethersole, Kimberley Rampersad, David Andrew Reid, Kiera Sangster, Travis Seetoo, Jeremiah Sparks and Jenny L. Wright.

Grand Hotel is sponsored by TD Bank Group.

MYTHOS: A TRILOGY
Gods. Heroes. Men.
Written by and starring Stephen Fry

Directed by Tim Carroll
Set designed by Douglas Paraschuk
Lighting designed by Kevin Lamotte

Projections designed by Nick Bottomley
Original music by Paul Sportelli

Previews May 24 ♦ Media Premiere June 7, 8, 9 ♦ Closes July 14, 15
One of the world’s greatest storytellers, telling the world’s greatest stories. In this trilogy of plays, Stephen Fry takes to the stage in the company of the Greek gods, heroes and men whose gripping tales still echo today. Laugh-out-loud funny, mind-blowing and often personal, Mythos is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Mythos is sponsored by Tim and Frances Price and Corinne and Victor Rice.

THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES
By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Adapted by R. Hamilton Wright and David Pichette

Directed by Craig Hall
Designed by Dana Osborne

Lighting designed by Alan Brodie
Projections designed by James Nesbitt

Previews August 1 ♦ Media Premiere August 11 ♦ Closes October 27
The murder mystery returns to the Shaw Festival with The Hound of the Baskervilles. Sir Baskerville has been scared to death – literally. Now deductive genius Sherlock Holmes (Damien Atkins) and his trusty companion Dr. Watson (Ric Reid) are on the case to find the murderer.

This whodunit mystery also features Kristopher Bowman, Patrick Galligan, Cameron Grant, Claire Jullien, Natasha Mumba, Gray Powell and Graeme Somerville.

ROYAL GEORGE THEATRE
STAGE KISS
By Sarah Ruhl

Directed by Anita Rochon
Designed by Gillian Gallow

Lighting designed by Louise Guinand

Previews April 11 ♦ Media Premiere May 9 ♦ Closes September 1
Two bitter exes are cast in the same play as passionate lovers. They’ll either strangle or seduce each other. Heartfelt and hilarious, this modern romantic comedy stars Fiona Byrne and Martin Happer.

Stage Kiss also features Neil Barclay, Rong Fu, Jeff Meadows, Sarena Parmar and Sanjay Talwar.

Stage Kiss is sponsored by CIBC.

OF MARRIAGE AND MEN: A COMEDY DOUBLE-BILL
How He Lied to Her Husband and The Man of Destiny
By Bernard Shaw

Directed by Philip Akin
Set and lighting designed by Steve Lucas

Costumes designed by
Tamara Marie Kucheran

Previews May 13 ♦ Media Premiere May 23 ♦ Closes September 2
Two of the best short plays about marriage. In How He Lied to Her Husband, find out what a man will do for the lady he loves – and how unexpected the consequences can be. In The Man of Destiny, Napoleon must defend his wife’s honour. This comedy double-bill about the hitches of being hitched features David Adams, Shawn Ahmed, Fiona Byrne, Martin Happer, Krystal Kiran, Andrew Lawrie and Kelly Wong.
Of Marriage and Men: A Comedy Double-Bill is sponsored by the
Gabriel Pascal Memorial Fund.

O’FLAHERTY V.C.
By Bernard Shaw

Directed by Kimberley Rampersad
Designed by Sue LePage

Lighting designed by Mikael Kangas

Previews May 31 ♦ Media Premiere June 20 ♦ Closes October 6
Young Dennis O’Flaherty has been sent back from the front to recruit more Irishmen to the war. But he’s neglected to tell his Irish Nationalist mother he’s fighting for the English. Packed with family feuding and witty repartee, this Bernard Shaw one-act features Patrick McManus, Tara Rosling, Ben Sanders and Gabriella Sundar Singh.
O’Flaherty V.C. is sponsored by Vintage Hotels.

OH WHAT A LOVELY WAR
Book by Joan Littlewood, Theatre Workshop and Charles Chilton
Research by Gerry Raffles

Directed by Peter Hinton
Music direction by Paul Sportelli
Designed by Teresa Przybylski

Lighting designed by Bonnie Beecher
Projections designed by Howard Davis
Movement direction by Alexis Milligan

Previews July 14 ♦ Media Premiere August 1 ♦ Closes October 13
This provocative WWI musical is known to make audiences laugh, cry and clench their fists – all within a single number. Follow a band of singing, dancing Canadian soldiers into the Great War and rediscover the spirit behind “lest we forget.” This fiercely funny, piercing musical features David Ball, Ryan Cunningham, James Daly, Kristi Frank, Élodie Gillett, Jeff Irving, Allan Louis, Marla McLean, Kiera Sangster and Jenny L. Wright.
Oh What a Lovely War is sponsored by
William and Nona Macdonald Heaslip Foundation.

JACKIE MAXWELL STUDIO THEATRE
The Jackie Maxwell Studio Theatre is sponsored by Paradigm Capital Inc.
THE ORCHARD (AFTER CHEKHOV)
By Sarena Parmar

Directed by Ravi Jain
Designed by Camellia Koo

Lighting designed by André du Toit
Original music and sound designed by
Debashis Sinha

Previews June 7 ♦ Media Premiere June 20 ♦ Closes September 1
Sarena Parmar transforms Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard into the tale of a Punjabi-Sikh family fighting to hold on to their Okanagan Valley orchard. Based on the writer’s childhood in British Columbia, this fresh adaptation confronts life, loss and the Canadian immigrant experience with bravery and beauty. The Orchard (After Chekhov) features David Adams, Shawn Ahmed, Neil Barclay, Rong Fu, Krystal Kiran, Jani Lauzon, Andrew Lawrie, Jeff Meadows, Sarena Parmar, Pamela Sinha, Sanjay Talwar and Kelly Wong.

The Orchard (After Chekhov) is sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP with support from the Wuchien Michael Than Foundation.

THE BARONESS AND THE PIG
By Michael Mackenzie

Directed by Selma Dimitrijevic
Designed by Camellia Koo

Lighting designed by Kevin Lamotte
Original music and sound designed by John Gzowski

Previews June 10 ♦ Media Premiere June 20 ♦ Closes October 6
An idealistic 19^th century baroness (Yanna McIntosh) has found her next maid – a feral girl (Julia Course) who can barely speak, let alone keep house. Part Pygmalion, part wildly original buddy comedy, this heart-warming Canadian play cuts to the core of what it means to be “civilized” – and to be human.
The Baroness and the Pig is sponsored by James F. Brown.

HENRY V
By William Shakespeare

Co-directed by Tim Carroll and
Kevin Bennett
Designed by Camellia Koo

Lighting designed by Kevin Lamotte

Previews July 22 ♦ Closes October 28
A troop of Canadian soldiers is hunkered down in a dugout during WWI with some copies of Shakespeare’s Henry V for company. As they enter the death-haunted morally ambiguous world of the play, the play enters theirs. Starring Gray Powell, this imaginative spin on Shakespeare’s play is a powerful exploration of what it means – and costs – to fight for king and country.

Henry V also features Damien Atkins, Kristopher Bowman, Julia Course, Patrick Galligan, Cameron Grant, Claire Jullien, Yanna McIntosh, Natasha Mumba, Ric Reid and Graeme Somerville.

VARIOUS VENUESSECRET THEATRE
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Returning for a second season, Secret Theatre will delight audiences with surprise theatrical experiences featuring ?????????, ??????????, ?????????, ??????????, ?????????? and others. People who want to be in on the secret can sign up for the Secret Theatre newsletter at www.shawfest.com.

About the Shaw Festival

Inspired by the spirit of George Bernard Shaw, the Shaw Festival creates unforgettable theatrical encounters in any way we want. The Shaw Festival, home to Two-Way Theatre, is a place where people who are curious about the world gather to share the unique experience of live theatre. For more information, please visit www.shawfest.com.

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR TIM CARROLL ANNOUNCES CASTING FOR THE 2018 SHAW FESTIVAL