April 25 – December 22, 2024
Various Theatres
New production of the Festival’s most beloved musical Lerner and Loewe’s My Fair Lady starts May 4
Artistic Director Tim Carroll announced today the casting and creative teams for the Shaw Festival’s 62nd season. “Our extraordinary acting ensemble and creative artists are already working to make unforgettable experiences out of this mixture of all-time classics and hidden gems you won’t find anywhere else,” said Tim Carroll. “Our mission is to create real human connection and rekindle the joy of shared experiences; live theatre is the best way to burst out of our isolated bubbles.
May 23 – December 22, 2024 (Previews May 4 )
Lerner and Loewe’s MY FAIR LADY
Book and Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner
Music by Frederick Loewe
Age Recommendation: 9+/Grade 4+
The adored musical adaptation of Bernard Shaw’s play and Gabriel Pascal’s motion picture Pygmalion follows a Cockney flower girl’s transformation into a proper lady under the tutelage of a professor of phonetics and his fellow linguist.
The Shaw Festival’s production of Lerner and Loewe’s My Fair Lady will feature Kristi Frank as Eliza Doolittle, Tom Rooney as Professor Henry Higgins and David Alan Anderson as Colonel Pickering. The cast will also include David Adams as Alfred Doolittle, Alana Bridgewater as Mrs. Eynsford-Hill, Shane Carty as Harry, Sharry Flett as Mrs. Higgins, Patty Jamieson as Mrs. Pearce, Taurian Teelucksingh as Freddy Eynsford-Hill, with Matt Alfano, Tat Austrie, Élodie Gillett, JJ Gerber, Gryphyn Karimloo, Graeme Kitagawa, Allan Louis, Tama Martin, Allison McCaughey, André Morin, Drew Plummer, Jade Repeta, Kiera Sangster, Gabriella Sundar Singh, Jeremiah Sparks and Jacqueline Thair.
June 21 – October 13, 2024 (Previews June 6)
ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS
By Richard Bean
Based on The Servant of Two Masters by Carlo Goldoni
Age Recommendation: 11+/Grade 6+
Collecting a payout in Brighton with his current employer, petty East End criminal Roscoe Crabbe, Francis Henshall takes another job with Stanley Stubbers, an upper-class buffoon. To prevent discovery and remain dually employed, Francis must do everything to keep these “two guvnors” apart. Peter Fernandes is Francis Henshall, the one man in the employment of the two guvnors – Fiona Byrne as Roscoe (a.k.a. Rachel Crabbe) and Martin Happer as Stanley Stubbers – in this commedia dell’arte-styled comedy.
Matt Alfano as Alfie, Patrick Galligan as Harry Dangle, Allan Louis as Lloyd Boateng, André Morin as Alan Dangle, Jade Repeta as Pauline Clench, Tom Rooney as Charlie Clench, Kiera Sangster as Dolly, Graeme Somerville as Gareth, along with Andrew Lawrie and Lawrence Libor, join in this mayhem-filled comic romp.
World Premiere
August 15 – October 13, 2024
SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE MYSTERY OF THE HUMAN HEART
By Reginald Candy
Age Recommendation: 12+/Grade 7+
Damien Atkins dons the deerstalker once again as Sherlock Holmes, the master of deduction and observation, in a new work by Reginald Candy. This time round, Holmes faces off against a villain so clever, so compelling and so lethal, that he may have met his match. Ric Reid returns as his ever-faithful friend Dr. John Watson.
Playing alongside the Baker Street duo will be Deborah Castrilli as Sarah, Rais Clarke- Mendes as Amelia Lestrade, Nehassaiu deGannes as Mrs. Allstrud, Sochi Fried as Miss Mary Sutherland, Michael Man as Mr. James Ryder, Johnathan Sousa as Mr. Hall Pycroft, Sanjay Talwar as Inspector Lestrade, Sophia Walker as Mrs. Vespertine Hunter and Kelly Wong as Mr. Jabez Wilson.
April 25 – October 13, 2024 (Previews April 6, 2024)
WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION
By Agatha Christie
Age/Grade Recommendation: 8+/ Grade 3+
A wealthy widow is found brutally murdered and there is only one suspect: her handsome, charming, and much younger gentleman friend. At the centre of this Christie stage whodunit is a high-stakes fight to escape the hangman’s noose. Full of clever twists, shocking revelations and mounting tension, this thriller will feature Kristopher Bowman as Mr. Mayhew, Fiona Byrne as Greta, Patrick Galligan as Sir Wilfred Robarts, Martin Happer as Inspector Hearn, Andrew Lawrie as the accused Leonard Vole,
World Premiere
June 20 – October 13, 2024 (Previews May 31, 2024)
THE SECRET GARDEN
A Play with Songs
Based on the novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Adapted for the stage by Jay Turvey and Paul Sportelli
Age Recommendation: 8+/Grade 3+
After the death of her parents, unloved and overindulged Mary Lennox is uprooted and moved to Yorkshire to live with her reclusive uncle in his cheerless mansion. She soon meets her sickly cousin Colin, and Dickon, a boy who knows all about animals and nature. When she discovers a walled garden with a locked door on the manor grounds, her curiosity is sparked into life.
The cast of this new adaptation by Jay Turvey and Paul Sportelli will include David Adams as Ben, David Alan Anderson as Archibald, Sharry Flett as Mrs. Medlock, Patty Jamieson as Mrs. Sowerby, Gryphyn Karimloo as Colin, Tama Martin as Robin, Drew Plummer as Dickon, Gabriella Sundar Singh as Mary Lennox and Jacqueline Thair as Martha.
Children and Family Programming supported by Christopher and Jeanne Jennings.
World Premiere
June 21 – October 5, 2024 (Previews June 13, 2024)
THE ORPHAN OF CHAO (Lunchtime One-Act)
Adapted by Michael Man
Based on the classical Chinese drama, The Great Revenge of the Zhao Orphan, by Ji Junxiang
A violent palace power struggle leaves an infant – the last of the house of Chao – orphaned. A benevolent doctor sacrifices his own son to keep the child alive. Later adopted by his family’s killer as son and heir, the orphan of Chao discovers the truth about his identity and exacts vengeance for the death of his clan.
Eponine Lee, Richard Lee, John Ng, Jonathan Tan and Lindsay Wu are set to appear in Michael Man’s adaptation of this epic revenge tale.
July 31 – October 11, 2024 (Previews July 13, 2024)
CANDIDA
By Bernard Shaw
Caught in an emotional tug-of-war between her charming socialist vicar husband and her “foundling”, a young and aristocratic, but penniless poet, Candida must ultimately decide which one truly needs her most. The cast of the 2024 production of Shaw’s popular and enduring romantic comedy will include Damien Atkins as Reverend Lexy Mill, Sochi Fried as Candida, Ric Reid as Mr. Burgess, Johnathan Sousa as Eugene Marchbanks and Sanjay Talwar as Reverend James Mavor Morell.
June 20 – October 12, 2024 (Previews June 12, 2024)
THE HOUSE THAT WILL NOT STAND
By Marcus Gardley
MATURE CONTENT | Age Recommendation: 14+/Grade 9+
Set in early 19th century New Orleans, a wealthy free Black woman with three unwed daughters finds herself facing an uncertain future as racial divides widen and society around her begins to change. The cast of this steamy family melodrama about love, rivalry, passion and one woman’s struggle for survival will include Deborah Castrilli as Agnès, Nehassaiu deGannes as La Veuve, Rais Clarke-Mendes as Maude Lynn Albans and Sophia Walker as Makeda.
August 15 – October 5, 2024 (Previews August 8, 2024)
SNOW IN MIDSUMMER
By Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig
Based on the classical Chinese drama,
The Injustice to Dou E that Moved Heaven and Earth, by Guan Hanqing
MATURE CONTENT | Age Recommendation: 14+/Grade 9+
Young widow Dou Yi is sentenced to death for a murder she didn’t commit. She curses her town with a devastating drought, which will only end when she is proven innocent. A visiting businesswoman and her young daughter may be the key to the town’s redemption and Dou Yi’s peace in the afterlife.
Courtney Ch’ng Lancaster as Dou Yi, Eponine Lee as Fei-Fei, Richard Lee as Worker Zhou, Michael Man as Handsome Zhang, John Ng as Master Zhang, Travis Seetoo as Worker Fang, Jonathan Tan as Rocket Wu, Lindsay Wu as Worker Chen and Kelly Wong as Doctor Lu will be featured in this reimagined work from the 13th century Yuan Dynasty.
November 8 – December 22, 2024
A CHRISTMAS CAROL
By Charles Dickens | Adapted and originally directed by Tim Carroll
ROYAL GEORGE THEATRE
The magic of Christmas returns as does the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge! A Christmas Carol is the gift that keeps on giving and is the perfect annual reminder of what the Christmas spirit is all about. The perfect holiday treat is in Niagara-on-the-Lake, the merriest of holiday destinations.
May 23 – December 22, 2024
Lerner and Loewe’s MY FAIR LADY
Book and Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner
Music by Frederick Loewe
Age Recommendation: 9+/Grade 4+
The adored musical adaptation of Bernard Shaw’s play and Gabriel Pascal’s motion picture Pygmalion follows a Cockney flower girl’s transformation into a proper lady under the tutelage of a professor of phonetics and his fellow linguist.
The Shaw Festival’s production of Lerner and Loewe’s My Fair Lady will feature Kristi Frank as Eliza Doolittle, Tom Rooney as Professor Henry Higgins and David Alan Anderson as Colonel Pickering. The cast will also include David Adams as Alfred Doolittle, Alana Bridgewater as Mrs. Eynsford-Hill, Shane Carty as Harry, Sharry Flett as Mrs. Higgins, Patty Jamieson as Mrs. Pearce, Taurian Teelucksingh as Freddy Eynsford-Hill, with Matt Alfano, Tat Austrie, Élodie Gillett, JJ Gerber, Gryphyn Karimloo, Graeme Kitagawa, Allan Louis, Tama Martin, Allison McCaughey, André Morin, Drew Plummer, Jade Repeta, Kiera Sangster, Gabriella Sundar Singh, Jeremiah Sparks and Jacqueline Thair.
About the Shaw Festival
Inspired by the spirit of Bernard Shaw, the Shaw Festival creates unforgettable theatrical encounters. The Shaw is a place where people who are curious about the world gather to share the unique experience of live theatre and to create a deeper human connection with the artists, the beauty and abundance of Niagara and with each other. For more information, visit shawfest.com.
