Stratford Shakespeare Festival Hosts Reading of Edward Bond's BINGO, June 15

The Stratford Shakespeare Festival will present a reading of British playwright Edward Bond's Bingo on June 15 at 8 p.m. at the Tom Patterson Theatre.

The reading is part of Toronto theatre company Sheep No Wool's Edward Bond Festival, a festival dedicated to presenting the works of one of Britain's most important and controversial dramatists in several theatrical venues including the Shaw Festival, Tarragon Theatre and Buddies in Bad Times Theatre.

Bingo tells the imagined story of William Shakespeare and his divided interest between his sensibility as an artist and his self-interest as a property owner protecting his rental income against the needs of the poor. Shakespeare's daughter Judith and his fellow playwright Ben Jonson are among the characters in this play, which has been called a radical classic.

The reading will be directed by Associate Artistic Director Dean Gabourie and will be read by company members Barbara Barsky, Nigel Bennett, Wayne Best, Keith Dinicol, Xuan Fraser, Luke Humphrey, Claire Lautier, Lucy Peacock, Christopher Prentice, Stephen Russell and Sophia Walker.

Admission to the reading is free; however, attendees are asked to bring a non-perishable food item for collection.

The Edward Bond Festival runs from June 12 to 20. For more information, contact info@sueedworthy.ca or visit Edwardbondfestival.wordpress.com.