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KHALDI MOHAMED AMINE & RABIA YOSR 2010-2011

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The Stratford Shakespeare Festival (formerly known

as the Stratford Festival of Canada) is an internationally

recognized annual celebration of theatre running from

April to November in the Canadian city of Stratford,

Ontario. Theatre-goers, actors, and playwrights flock to

Stratford to take part many of the greatest Canadian,

British and American actors play roles at the Stratford

festival. It was one of the first and is still one of the most

prominent arts festivals in Canada and is recognizedworldwide for its productions of Shakespearean plays.

The Festival's primary mandate is to present productions

of William Shakespeare's plays, but it also produces a wide

variety of theatre from Greek tragedy to contemporary

works. Shakepeare's work typically represents about a

quarter of the Festival's offerings.

The success of the festival dramatically changed the image of Stratford into one of a city

where the arts and tourism play important roles in its economy. The festival attracts many

tourists from outside Canada, mainly those British and American, and is seen as a very

important part of Stratford's tourism sector.

History :The Festival was founded as the Stratford

Shakespearean Festival of Canada, due mainly to Tom

Patterson, a Stratford-native journalist who wanted torevitalize his town's economy by creating a theatre

festival dedicated to the works of William Shakespeare,

as the town shares the name of Shakespeare's birthplace.

Stratford had originally been a major railway junction

and had fallen into decline when the railway yards were

moved. Patterson achieved his goal, and the Stratford Shakespearean Festival became a legal

entity on October 31, 1952. British actor and director Tyrone Guthrie agreed to become the

festival's first Artistic Director. On July 13, 1953, actor Alec Guinness spoke the first lines of

the first play produced by the festival: "Now is the winter of our discontent / Made glorious

summer by this son of York."

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This first performance took place in a giant canvas tent on the banks of the River Avon. The

season lasted six weeks and comprised just two plays: Richard IIIandAll's Well That Ends

Well. In the second year the playbill expanded, and included the first non-Shakespeare play,

Oedipus Rex. The Festival Theatre was opened in 1957, and was deliberately designed to

resemble a tent, in memory of those first performances. The Festival Theatre's thrust stage

was designed by British designer Tanya Moiseiwitsch to resemble both a classic Greekamphitheatre and Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, and has become a model for other stages in

North America and Great Britain.

Today :The Festival runs from April to November, and has four permanent venues: the Festival

Theatre, the Avon Theatre, the Tom Patterson Theatre, and the Studio Theatre. Although the

Festival's primary mandate is to produce the works of Shakespeare, its season playbills

usually include a variety of classical and contemporary works and at least one musical.

The Festival Fringe runs during the season, and features music concerts, readings from major

authors, lectures, and discussions with actors or management.

Long-serving Artistic Director Richard Monette retired in 2007 after holding the position for

fourteen seasons. He was replaced with an artistic team consisting of General Director Antoni

Cimolino and Artistic Directors Marti Maraden, Des McAnuff, and Don Shipley. On March

12, 2008 it was announced that Shipley and Maraden would be stepping down, leaving Des

McAnuff as sole Artistic Director.

The 2009 season features three plays by Shakespeare, two musicals (one at the Festival, one at

the Avon), and nine other plays.

The Stratford Shakespeare Festival is listed as a Major Festival in the book Shakespeare

Festivals Around the Worldby Marcus D. Gregio (Editor), 2004.

2011 season : Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare The Merry Wives of Windsor by William Shakespeare Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare Richard III by William Shakespeare Camelot by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe Jesus Christ Superstar by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice The Grapes of Wrath by Frank Galati The Homecoming by Harold Pinter The Misanthrope-by Molire Hosanna by Michel Tremblay The Little Years by John Mighton

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