Seeing all the Stratford Festival of Canada's productions for AnEVibe this year, I'm the resident authority, and here's my top 5 picks of the season....

The Stratford Festival of Canada 2007 Top 5 Productions You Simply Must See!

By: Kindah Mardam Bey

Richard Monette’s final season as Artistic Director of the Stratford Festival Of Canada has proved to be a triumphant exeunt, with some delightfully traditional productions and some boundary pushing productions as well. The season seemed to work cohesively, and being the official correspondent to the Stratford Festival Of Canada this year I have a strong comprehension of all the productions; however, finding the top five became an absolute challenge for me! So much to choose from, so little time. If you have the opportunity to wander your way up to North America’s renowned repertory company, here are my picks as to what would be the best shows for you to delight in.

1. An Ideal Husband - Read the Review

OK, so perhaps a Shakespearean company should have a production from the bard topping the list, but I have good reason to choose An Ideal Husband. For one rationale, this is Monette’s final production he will direct before the end of his tenure. Monette seems to be reverting to absolute traditionalism, humour, grandeur and directing excellence; basically, going out of the top job with fireworks! Although Monette’s legacy will be the financial stability he brought to the Stratford festival and programs like The Birmingham Conservatory for young actors; this production of An Ideal Husband will be remembered for the playful, intelligent and detailed production brought forth by Monette. Aside from that reason, I recommend An Ideal Husband as the simply must see of the season for its stunning costumes, fantastic performances, the delightful wit of Wilde and a comedic timing that will have you laughing for days after!

2. King Lear – Read the Review

Alas, here is my Shakespeare pick! King Lear is always a delight to watch, and even though Christopher Plummer’s rendition in 2002 at the festival has deterred audiences from this production, credit where credit is due. Brian Bedford as Lear commands the stage and all the performers he directs both on stage and from the sidelines. With Scott Wentworth, Brian Donaldson, Bernard Hopkins, a deeply committed cast has been moulded. These are the heavyweights of Canadian theatre participating in a traditional version of King Lear done to perfection. Read my interview with Gareth Potter ‘The New Generation of Shakespeare…’ as he plays Edgar in King Lear.

3. Pentecost – Read The Review

I’ve been converted! David Edgar is the most dynamic, intelligent, thought-provoking playwright of our time and this production of Pentecost at the Stratford Festival is riveting. I was gripped throughout every scene of this production and left thinking about it for days after. A relevant story to the present day global community, and yet set in 1989 during the crumbling of many Eastern European countries. If you go to theatre to think and process the world in which we live, this is the play for you. Performed on the smallest stage at Stratford to a very large cast, Pentecost brilliantly draws you into the storyline and captivates you. Edgar is my newest passion, and I want to read every play he’s ever wrote and see every production of his plays that I can. Go see this, go see this, go see this!

4. Oklahoma/My One & Only - Read The Oklahoma! Review/Read The ‘My One And Only’ Review.

We have a tie! I must admit to being rather backwards about coming forwards to see the musicals this year; I do love Gershwin and Rogers & Hammerstein, but still was hesitant. These productions proved any hesitation to be bypassed by enjoyment! Oklahoma! and My One and Only were splendid! Truly professional musicals, Donna Feore’s marvellous choreography for Oklahoma! seemed to showcase bundles of talent from the cast and all that tap in My One And Only was delightful to watch. The contrast of the two musicals was also agreeable as My One And Only was highly stylized and Oklahoma! was fresh, bright and playful.

5. To Kill A Mockingbird – Read The Review

Harper Lee, when asked why she never wrote a follow-up novel to her classic To Kill A Mockingbird said ‘I had something to say, and when I have something else to say, I’ll write again.’ How wonderful is that? Translated to stage TKAM is an emotional journey for the audience members; poetic and almost elegant in many ways. The Stratford Festival’s 2007 version of TKAM is a solid production with a quiet strength behind its rendition. I enjoyed TKAM immensely, but more from a quieter and reflective perspective.

As I mentioned, so many productions were fabulous this year I simply couldn’t exclude these two from the list, so I’ve made an ‘honourable mention’ category…

Honurable mentions:

The Blonde, The Brunette and The Vengeful Redhead – Read The Review

Lucy Peacock really spreads her acting wings in this one man show, back for a second time. It is an intimate play, with one story told from multiple characters point of view; to which Peacock plays all the roles. A great showcase for talent such as Peacock, but also the atmosphere of this production was enchanting, from the music, to the images, to the semi-transparent screens; one almost gets the feeling you are watching talent and production in its most raw form.

Of Mice & Men – Read The Review

A hard one to place, I enjoyed Of Mice And Men immensely; the performances by Graham Greene as Lennie and Nicolas Van Burek as George were simply phenomenal (look for my interview with Van Burek in the features section this coming week), but because the play has some disturbing elements to it, and particularly the way the play ends, you don’t leave this production saying ‘that was fantastic.’ Instead I suspect audiences leave feeling quite winded and saying little comments solemnly like ‘wow.’ Don’t push this production aside because it is hard to define, for if you do, you will most likely be missing a dynamic and intense production.

So those are my top five ‘must see’ of the Stratford Festival of Canada for the 2007 season. Somehow my top 5 was stretched to top 8, but with such an extensive selection of productions, diversity, talent, something old, something new and something to sing along with, how could I not!

Of course, just because I say these are the picks of the year, others might have been inspired by the other three Shakespearean productions performed this year (Othello, Comedy of Errors, The Merchant of Venice), or Albee’s A Delicate Balance, or the two other productions in The Studio Theatre; The Odyssey, and Shakespeare’s Will.

To learn more about the Stratford Festival of Canada go to www.stratfordfestival.ca