Stratford Festival 2016

If you are a Shakespeare or play fan in general who is visiting Ontario there is one place you must visit to fulfill your theatrical need. I’m referring to Stratford! Stratford puts on a series of plays shown in theaters close to one another in the town. This year my aunts took my brother and I to see a play version of the book, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis.

The play itself was incredible. The aspect that impressed me the most were the sets, due to the fact that the main characters travel from place to place quite rapidly. The sets managed to keep up with them and it was still a full background for them to use, not only for context but to interact with as well. Another part of the play I found was incredible was the acting, and I know what you’re thinking, well… Of course the acting’s good! However, why the acting impressed was due to the fact that all four main characters are children. As adults putting on a childish air to make you seem smaller and less intelligent than you probably are, takes a certain amount of skill. The show was appropriate for all ages, without being too much of something or too little of another.

After the show we decided to hit the gift shop for fun, as I was hoping for something slightly more Shakespearian as I am a huge fan of his plays. And I did not strike out. There was an entire wall dedicated to hard copies with definitions of his plays. I bought a copy of Midsummer Night’s Dream, as it is one of my personal favorites.

Stratford is an amazing experience with wonderful shows, some of which I hope to see again in the future.