Shaw Speakers Series takes audiences Beyond the Stage
– Margaret MacMillan and Paul Gross headline first weekend event exploring WWI –
Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON (July 17, 2014) — The Shaw Festival opens their stages to brilliant guest speakers and artists whose insights go Beyond the Stage and demonstrate new ways of seeing and thinking about the world through literature, theatre and food.
The Speakers Series begins this weekend with The War to End All Wars?: Commemorating World War One featuring acclaimed historian Margaret MacMillan, author of Paris 1919, and actor/director/writer Paul Gross. The series continues with Thought for Food, a panel discussion led by celebrated food writer and cookbook author Lucy Waverman, on September 13 and At the Heart of the Matter with Lawrence Hill, insightful and accomplishedauthor of the bestselling novel The Book of Negroes, on October 4.
July 19/20: The War to End All Wars?: Commemorating World War One
World War I sits at the heart of The Shaw’s mandate period and the first weekend in the Series centres on this significant world event:
- Saturday, July 19, 2014, Royal George Theatre (85 Queen Street), 11 a.m.: a 45-minute intimate talk given by historian and author Margaret MacMillan and discussion of her latest book The War that Ended Peace: The Road to 1914, followed by a Q&A session and book signing.
- Sunday, July 20, 2014, Studio Theatre (10 Queen’s Parade, behind the Festival Theatre), 11 a.m.: reading of The Accrington Pals, Peter Whelan’s play set during the First World War and based on real-life events.
- Sunday, July 20, 2014, Studio Theatre (10 Queen’s Parade, behind the Festival Theatre), 3 p.m.: a 45-minute conversation with Paul Gross, actor, director and writer of the WWI film Passchendaele, followed by a Q&A.
Tickets: $25 (each speaker)/$20 (reading)
September 13, Festival Theatre (10 Queen’s Parade), 11 a.m.: Thought for Food
A visit to the Shaw Festival often includes indulging in Niagara’s wine and culinary bounty. This interesting and entertaining panel discussion is the perfect opportunity to sample and savour the best of what Niagara has to offer. Focused on providing a better understanding of the farm-to-table movement, participants will come away from the event with a greater appreciation for local producers and a desire to further explore Niagara’s produce, cuisine and wine. Culinary writer Lucy Waverman moderates a panel discussion featuring Linda Crago, Tree and Twig Heirloom Vegetable Farm; Bill Redelmeier, Southbrook Vineyards; and Stephen Treadwell, Treadwell Farm to Table Cuisine. Presented in association with Niagara Wine Festival.
Tickets: $35
Saturday October 4, Festival Theatre (10 Queen’s Parade), 11 a.m.: At the Heart of the Matter
Lawrence Hill’s new non-fiction book Blood: The Stuff of Life is a bold meditation on blood as an historical and contemporary marker of identity, belonging, gender, race, class, citizenship, athletic superiority, and nationhood. It’s full of the kind of ideas that are explored in the work The Shaw presents each season. Lawrence Hill, author of nine books, including the provocative and bestselling novel The Book of Negroes, gives a lecture about his most recent work. A Q&A session and book signing will follow.
Tickets: $25
Tickets can be purchased online at www.shawfest.com or by calling the Shaw Festival Box Office at 1-800-511-SHAW (7429) or locally at 905-468-2172.
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About the Shaw Festival
The Shaw Festival is a theatre company inspired by the work of Bernard Shaw. We produce plays from and about his era and contemporary plays that share Shaw’s provocative exploration of society and celebration of humanity.
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