For immediate release – June 3, 2016
Canadian Stage presents Hamlet and All’s Well That Ends Well
at Shakespeare in High Park June 30 to September 4
Canada’s longest-running outdoor theatre event returns this summer with pay-whatyou can double bill
Toronto, ON – Just in time for William Shakespeare’s 400th anniversary, Canadian Stage’s Shakespeare in High Park
returns to the High Park Amphitheatre for a 34th season with two passionate Shakespearean classics: the great
tragedy of Hamlet alongside the bold fairytale romance All’s Well That Ends Well. Outdoors and under the stars,
the plays run on alternating evenings from June 30 to September 4, Tuesday to Sunday at 8 pm. Each performance
is pay-what-you can, with a suggested contribution of $20. The productions are presented by Canadian Stage in
collaboration with the Department of Theatre, School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design at York University.
“As part of the global celebration of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, Canadian Stage is delighted to
pay tribute to the Bard’s enduring legacy on our outdoor stage,” said Matthew Jocelyn, Artistic and General
Director, Canadian Stage. “This summer, over 30, 000 Torontonians and visitors to our city will have the opportunity
to discover or re-discover Shakespeare through two of his most memorable and richly complex heroes – Hamlet and
Helen. With a multi-talented and energetic acting ensemble led by two of the city’s most exciting young theatrical
minds, Birgit Schreyer Duarte and Ted Witzel, Shakespeare in High Park continues to be the quintessential theatrical
event of the Toronto summer.”
For the first time in its 33-year history, audiences will have the opportunity to enjoy Shakespeare’s tragic
masterpiece Hamlet under the stars. Tormented by the mysterious death of his father the King and the union of his
mother Gertrude (Rachel Jones) and Uncle Claudius (Alon Nashman), the young prince Hamlet (Frank CoxO’Connell) takes action to avenge his father’s death. Faced with the impossibility of the task, Hamlet’s world quickly
spirals into chaos; the boundaries between truth and deception, sanity and madness, start to unravel. Offering a
gripping psychological portrait of a family caught in a web of manipulation and shifting allegiances, director Birgit
Schreyer Duarte’s (Canadian Stage Dramaturg & Artistic Associate) stripped-back contemporary staging will cast
Shakespeare’s most infamous royal family in a thought-provoking new light.
In the rarely performed fairytale comedy All’s Well That Ends Well, Helen (Mina James) will go to any lengths to
win the affections of Count Bertram (Kaleb Alexander). When she cures the King of France of fistula, Helen claims
Bertram as her reward. But her brand-new husband immediately flees to the Italian warfront with his wingman
Parolles (Qasim Khan), setting off a battle of wits and wills that sparkles with some of the Bard’s most inventive
wordplay. Director Ted Witzel (The Taming of the Shrew– Canadian Stage, Artistic Director - the red light district),
shakes up the play’s traditional fairytale tropes against a modernized setting in an uproariously upbeat production
that drives towards Shakespeare’s infamously elusive happy ending.
Performed in repertory and sharing the same 11-person cast, actors transition from comedy to tragedy night after
night, playing a combined total of 37 characters. The sizzling company of both established and up-and-coming
actors includes Kaleb Alexander, Frank Cox-O’Connell, Raechel Fisher*, Nicki Guadagni, Marvin Ishmael, Mina
James, Rachel Jones, Qasim Khan, Kyle McWatters*, Alon Nashman, and Rose Tuong (*current students at York
University’s Acting Conservatory).
Following the success of the jointly-presented double bill Botticelli in the Fire & Sunday in Sodom by Jordan
Tannahill and building on the Shakespeare in High Park collaboration established in previous seasons, the
Shakespeare in High Park creative team includes both past and present talent from York University’s theatre
department.
An inaugural graduate of York University's MFA in Theatre - Stage Direction in Collaboration with Canadian Stage,
All’s Well That Ends Well director Ted Witzel brings forward an interrogation of gender construction and politics
after his 2013 take on The Taming of the Shrew. York University Theatre faculty members Teresa Przybylski (Set
Design - Hamlet, All’s Well That Ends Well) and Shawn Kerwin (Costume Design - All’s Well That Ends Well) lend
their respective design talents to the Shakespeare in High Park shows alongside Costume Designer Michelle Tracey
(Hamlet), a recent graduate of York’s Theatre Production and Design program. Once again this year, York
Undergraduate students get hands-on experience as apprentices and assistants under the guidance of York faculty
members and professional theatre artists on each production’s creative team.
With a growing audience of over 30, 000 visitors every summer, Canadian Stage’s Shakespeare in High Park
continues to be one of Toronto’s favourite summer traditions and a cornerstone of the company’s mission to
present accessible theatre of the highest quality.
Hamlet runs from June 30 to September 3 with performances on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at 8 pm. Opening
night will be July 15 with previews June 30, July 5, 7, 9, and 12. All’s Well That Ends Well runs from July 1 to Sept. 4
with performances on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at 8 pm. Opening night will be July 15 with previews July 1, 3,
6, 8, 10, and 13. Both performances run approximately 90 minutes without intermission at the High Park
Amphitheatre (1873 Bloor St. W). Gates open at 6 pm.
Tickets: Each performance is pay-what-you can (suggested $20 contribution), with the option to pay with debit or
credit at the entrance. Advanced $25 premium seats can be reserved online at canadianstage.com . Backstage
tours, youth nights and pre-show workshops for groups are also available.
Facebook: Canadian Stage
Twitter: @CanadianStage
Instagram: @Canadian Stage
Hashtag: #SiHp, #csHamlet, #csAllsWell
Website: www.canadianstage.com/online/Shakespeare_16.17
For more information or interview requests, please contact:
Andrea Elalouf, Associate Director of Communications, Canadian Stage, 416. 367.8243 x 250,
[email protected]
About Hamlet
Media Opening: Thursday, July 14 – 8 pm
CAST
Laertes
Hamlet
Dr. Rosencrantz, Attendant
Polonius
Cornelius, Osric, Gravedigger
Fortinbras, Attendant
Gertrud
Horatio
Kaleb Alexander
Frank Cox-O'Connell
Raechel Fisher
Nicky Guadagni
Marvin Ishmael
Mina James
Rachel Jones
Qasim Khan
Player King, Cast
Claudius, Ghost
Ophelia
Kyle McWatters
Alon Nashman
Rose Tuong
CREATIVE TEAM
Director
Set Designer
Costume Designer
Lighting Designer
Sound Designer
Videographer
Design Assistant
Production Stage Manager
Stage Manager
Assistant Stage Manager
Apprentice Stage Managers
Assistant Director
Birgit Schreyer Duarte
Teresa Przybylski
Michelle Tracey
Oz Weaver
Lyon Smith
Zack Russell
Claire Smith
Sandy Plunkett
Laura Baxter
Andrea Baggs
Victoria Wang, Cole Vincent
David Di Giovanni
About All’s WelL That Ends Well
Media Opening: Friday, July 15 – 8 pm
CAST
Bertram
Dumaine 1
Mcdonalda, Maudlin, Soldier
Countess Rossillion
King of France, Soldier
Helen
Widow, Lavatch
Parolles
Dumaine 2
Lafeu, Soldier
Diana, Rynalda
Kaleb Alexander
Frank Cox-O'Connell
Raechel Fisher
Nicky Guadagni
Marvin Ishmael
Mina James
Rachel Jones
Qasim Khan
Kyle McWatters
Alon Nashman
Rose Tuong
CREATIVE TEAM
Director
Set Designer
Costume Designer
Lighting Designer
Sound Designer
Videographer
Design Assistant
Production Stage Manager
Stage Manager
Assistant Stage Manager
Apprentice Stage Managers
Assistant Director
Ted Witzel
Teresa Przybylski
Shawn Kerwin
Oz Weaver
Lyon Smith
Zack Russell
Claire Smith
Sandy Plunkett
Laura Baxter
Andrea Baggs
Victoria Wang, Cole Vincent
Lauren Gillis
About Canadian Stage:
Founded in 1987, Canadian Stage is one of the country’s leading not-for-profit contemporary theatre companies,
with the 16.17 season marking the organization’s 29th season. Led by Artistic & General Director Matthew Jocelyn
and Managing Director Su Hutchinson, Canadian Stage produces and showcases innovative theatre from Canada
and around the world, allowing its audience to encounter daring work guided by a strong directorial vision and a
21st-century aesthetic. The company prides itself on presenting multidisciplinary pieces and work in translation that
pushes the boundaries of form and style. Canadian Stage reinforces the presence of Canadian art and artists within
an international context through work that mirrors the cultural diversity of Toronto. The company stages an annual
season of work at three major venues (the Bluma Appel Theatre, the Berkeley Street Theatre and the High Park
Amphitheatre) and runs a series of artist development and education initiatives, as well as youth and community
outreach programs. For more information, visit canadianstage.com.
Proper usage of company name: please ensure to use “Canadian Stage” when referring to the company (“CanStage” and “Canadian
Stage Company” refer to previous incarnations of the organization)
About York University’s Master of Fine Arts in Theatre - Stage Direction in Collaboration with Canadian Stage:
York University’s MFA Program in Theatre - Stage Direction in Collaboration with Canadian Stage brings together
one of Canada’s pre-eminent theatre schools and leading not-for-profit contemporary theatre companies to
support the development of outstanding young directorial talent for the national and international stage. The twoyear program offers highly specialized, advanced training in large-scale theatre directing, allowing students to
develop their creative and technical skills to the highest level within a rigorous academic and professional context.