Thom Allison News

The Stratford Festival is putting the finishing touches on casting and will soon open its box office for a special holiday pre-sale for tickets to the 13 exciting shows of the 2023 season. With savings up to 25%, this is a perfect opportunity to secure tickets for your favourite shows or buy gifts for the theatre-lovers on your list.

Just as the 2022 season comes to a close, work for the 2023 season is getting underway at the Stratford Festival. Creative teams for next year's productions are coming into place and the casting department is busy confirming key roles for the season. Soon the workshops will be abuzz with artisans building the season's sets, props and costumes.

Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino has announced the 2023 season, inspired by the theme of Duty vs Desire. The playbill includes 13 lively and thought-provoking productions across four theatres, along with a full slate of events in The Meighen Forum.

The cast and crew of Queen Tut, a queer immigration tale, directed by Egyptian-Canadian up-and-coming filmmaker Reem Morsi (virgins!), starring Ryan Ali (The Hummingbird Project, SkyMed) in the titular role alongside SAG Award-nominee Alexandra Billings (Transparent) and Thom Allison (Pinecone & Pony, Coroner, Killjoys), moved to a new location.

Plans for RENT AND SPAMALOT At The Stratford Festival this 2023 season have just been released.

To some it may seem like Theatre Collingwood has not been affected by the past 2+ years but the truth is they really have, and May 31st-June 5th will mark the first of their Regular Season Theatre Programming since 2019.  You are correct to think they have been staying in t

Based on the book The Princess and the Pony by New York Times best-selling author Kate Beaton, and hailing from DreamWorks Animation and First Generation Films, “Pinecone & Pony” is an eight-episode animated comedy for kids and families. Watch the new trailer now!

In 2021 The Musical Stage Company celebrated an extraordinary summer, bringing live musical experiences to over 6000 Torontonians: the company presented BLACKOUT, an incredible new Canadian musical under the stars in the glorious High Park Amphitheatre; they produced another sell-out series of PORCHSIDE SONGS travelling cabaret concerts; and launched MUSICAL MOMENTS, bringing free street parties, jam sessions, and surprise performances to every corner of the city. 

With the latest restrictions based on the surge of the Omicron variant, and the cancellation of every other beloved seasonal offering, audiences want more ALICE IN WINTERLAND.  Ross Petty Productions is delivering the best gift of all with a new extended viewing window, beginning today until midnight new year's eve.

Louise Pitre, Canada's first lady of musical theatre, is headlining LOFT Community Services' Home for the Holidays Benefit Concert. Known for an impressive career that spans theatre, television and concert stages across North America and Europe, Pitre is giving back to a cause that is near and dear to her heart.

The holiday season wouldn't be the same without the annual Ross Petty Productions family musical, so for the second year, the holiday “Panto” goes virtual with a brand-new production, ALICE IN WINTERLAND. Double the fun with this year's Choose Your Own Adventure for an interactive one-of-a-kind theatrical experience.

Featuring a special look at the challenges, artistry, surprise appearances, and gag-worthy drama in store for season two, the trailer showcases the twelve fierce Canadian queens competing for the title of Canada’s next Drag Superstar. 

Productions from the Stratford Festival’s 2021 season begin streaming this Thursday, September 2, with a ticketed viewing party of selections from Why We Tell the Story: A Celebration of Black Musical Theatre on Stratfest@Home, the Festival’s streaming platform. It will feature a live chat for all those virtually attending at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday.

Their new mini-season of four plays includes a world premiere, the return of a holiday classic, a heartwarming story about community and women, and a rock 'n' roll show that will make you want to dance in the aisles.

After over a year without live theatre pretty much anywhere in the world, Canadian musical theatre lovers made it known just how much they missed this art form by quickly scooping up tickets to YOU CAN’T STOP THE BEAT - a Cabaret at the Stratford Festival curated and directed by Thom Allison. This performance is exactly what everyone needs as they return to the theatre and so if you have the chance, be sure to purchase a ticket, add yourself to the waitlist, or watch the filmed version from home when it becomes available. The team of Evangelia Kambites, Mark Uhre, Alana Hibbert, and Gabrielle Jones delivers a wide array of memorable musical numbers spanning from Tin Pan Alley to the present day. A lot of material is covered in the hour and twenty minutes and there is sure to be something for everyone.

What is it about musical theatre that captures the hearts of millions of fans? Through wars, disasters, heartbreaks and triumphs, musicals have been there to give us a way to understand the human experience and flourish.

The Ontario government has issued its guidance for attendance at outdoor performing arts events, paving the way for the opening of the Stratford Festival’s 2021 season. According to these guidelines, the Stratford Festival will be able to accommodate 100 people (or 25% capacity) in each of its new outdoor canopies.

The Stratford Festival is continuing to expand its online offerings as it marks the first anniversary of its Thursday night viewing parties this week with an encore screening of King Lear, and with a specially curated selection of theatrical content newly added to Stratfest@Home, the Festival’s $10-a-month streaming service.

The Stratford Festival is transforming, for this summer, into an outdoor festival offering a season of six plays and five cabarets reflecting on the theme of Metamorphosis, with performances held under beautiful canopies that will hark back to the Festival’s founding under a tent in 1953.

As winter descends and the pandemic continues, the Stratford Festival offers up some heartwarming new content to entertain and inspire as we await the days when we will be able to gather in theatres again.