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Stratford's New Leaders

Jun 28, 2006 Mike Mackenzie

The Stratford Festival of Canada has announced the appointment of three new Artistic Directors to the company beginning in the fall of 2007.

As reported here in Modern Theatre last week, Des McAnuff (pictured here at the media conference) is one of three new faces added to the artistic staff at the Stratford Festival of Canada.

Joining McAnuff will be Marti Maraden, former Artistic Director of the English Theatre at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, who co-directed Much Ado About Nothing this season at the Festival, and Don Shipley, a native of Stratford who currently serves as Artistic Director at the Dublin International Theatre Festival in Ireland. These directors have extensive resumes, filled with ample experience both in the classics and in the cultivation of new work.

Working as part of an artistic team, headed by General Director Antoni Cimolino, the group will program the seasons, and direct their productions. This is the first time the Festival has embarked on such a leadership model.

With the wide range of skill and experience now found at the head of the Festival, audience members might be concerned about the Festival moving away from its Shakespearean roots. McAnuff said in a prepared statement, "I am here first and foremost to do Shakespeare, Marlowe and Chekhov."

Richard Monette, the current Artistic Director, is retiring at the end of the 2007 season. Toasting his successors, he said eloquently, "Just remember, Shakespeare never lets you down."

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