Apollo, Venus, Mars:
Reflections on Harmony, Love and War
As I was putting together the 2025 season, I began with a few wonderful plays, and one in particular that I have always wanted to direct, Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale. Central to the resolution of this story is the god Apollo, who helps bring harmony to a family ripped apart by passionate conflict.
Apollo is the God of healing, of music and the arts, of truth and the protection of the young. What a wonderful figure to have at the centre of the season, I thought: a god of harmony, a state we yearn for in this world.
But in its humblest form harmony can become dull, ‘some settled low content’ as is described in As You Like It. And when it does, we yearn for passion to seize us and take us to the heights of pleasure, but it can just as easily drive us into conflict, which once more sees us craving harmony.
And so two other gods took their place in my mind alongside Apollo, Venus and Mars, entwined in a never-ending cycle of destruction and creation. Together these three inspired what I hope audiences will find to be an entertaining and meaningful playbill, themed around Apollo, Venus, Mars: Reflections on Harmony, Love and War.
Antoni Cimolino
Artistic Director
As You Like It
Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Chris Abraham
“All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players”
Rediscover Shakespeare’s tale of transformation and resilience, in a production directed by Chris Abraham, whose Much Ado About Nothing was a critical and box office hit in 2023.
In a world rocked by political upheaval, a Duke’s daughter, Rosalind, faces exile from the city to the countryside. She flees with her cousin Celia, and the pair discover new identities and the prospect of new love, even as they confront their deepest fears.
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Book by Jeffrey Lane
Music and Lyrics by David Yazbek
Directed by Bobby Garcia
“To be with another woman, that is French. To be caught, that is American.”
Like last season’s La Cage aux Folles, this razzle-dazzle show, in the vein of The Producers, is set on the French Riviera. It features a conman who woos wealthy women and pockets their money to fund a glamorous lifestyle. When a competitor comes to town, they team up to raise the stakes but soon find themselves in unhealthy, though hilarious, competition. A final con – to prove who is the better hustler – sees both men get their just reward.
Made famous in the film starring Steve Martin and Michael Caine, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels delivers laughs galore and is certain to entertain audiences at the Avon Theatre.
The Winter’s Tale
Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Antoni Cimilino
“Exit chased by a bear.”
Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino will at last have the opportunity to direct one of his most beloved Shakespeare plays, The Winter’s Tale, a story about the intense power of human emotions and their ability both to bring people together and tear them apart.
King Leontes, obsessed by suspicions of infidelity, puts his pregnant wife, Hermione, on trial for her life. He comes to his senses only when his actions have cost him both wife and children. But true love can work miracles and even the bitterest winter contains the seeds of spring.
The Winter’s Tale is one of Shakespeare’s final romances, a bittersweet drama of wrath and regret – culminating in one of the most poignant reunions ever written. Full of wonderful surprises and coincidences, this colourful and wildly entertaining story speaks to our deepest fears and greatest hopes.
Cimolino’s Shakespeare productions have been among the most popular at the Festival, including King Lear and Richard III with Colm Feore, The Tempest with Martha Henry and The Merry Wives of Windsor with Sophia Walker, Brigit Wilson and Geraint Wyn Davies.
Macbeth
Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Robert Lepage
“Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.”
Visionary director Robert Lepage takes on Shakespeare’s tragedy of unchecked corruption and heinous self-interest.
Set in the milieu of Quebec’s biker gangs, the production will reflect on violence and the allegiances that drive it, revealing the horrors that grow unhindered once the seeds of evil are planted in the soul.
Obsessed by omens and urged on by his wife’s ambition, a heroic figure takes his destiny into his own hands. He murders his way to the top, only to find himself plunged ever deeper into tyranny as he battles vainly against enemies, real and imagined, from both sides of the grave.
Lepage, Artistic Director of Ex Machina, is celebrated around the world for his stunning, boundary-breaking work. His landmark production of Shakespeare’s little-known play Coriolanus took Stratford audiences by storm in 2018. Just imagine what he will do with this illustrious tale, the play whose title must not be uttered!
Annie
Book By Thomas Meehan
Music by Charles Strouse
Lyrics by Martin Charnin
Directed & Choreographed by Donna Feore
“It’s the hard knock life for us!”
Donna Feore is back with a musical for the whole family! Annie, winner of seven Tony Awards, is one of the most popular musicals ever written. It’s filled with memorable and oh-so-hummable songs, including “Tomorrow”, “It’s the Hard Knock Life” and “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile.”
It tells the story of a loveable orphan, Annie, who is stuck in an orphanage run by the dreadful Miss Hannigan. The child dreams of being reunited with her parents, but instead finds happiness with the wealthy Daddy Warbucks, who becomes not only her protector but also her hero, finding wealthy homes for all her friends at the orphanage.
Feore’s list of hit musicals grows longer with every passing season and includes Chicago, Billy Elliot the Musical, The Rocky Horror Show, The Music Man, Guys and Dolls, The Sound of Music, Fiddler on the Roof – and another show about a sad little orphan, Oliver! Feore’s recent credits also include the world premières of the musicals Summer Stock and The Griswold’s Broadway Vacation, and the multimedia orchestral production Life Reflected, which after opening in Ottawa toured Canada and Europe.
Sense and Sensibility
Written by Kate Hamill
Based on the novel by Jane Austen
Directed by Daryl Cloran
“I will be calm. I will be mistress of myself.”
This production of Jane Austen’s beloved classic will use an adaptation by Kate Hamill, one of the most exciting and oft-produced playwrights working today. Audiences will enjoy the vibrancy of her script, which clearly reflects her genuine love of Austen and of classical theatre. Her adaptation is filled with playfulness, humour and emotional depth, as well as substantial roles for women – and men – which makes Sense and Sensibility an ideal showcase for our exceptional actors.
The play follows the Dashwood sisters, who have been left destitute after the sudden death of their father. The girls find romance – and suffer heartbreak – as they try to regain social stability for their family in gossipy 18th century England.
