Stratford's RICHARD III With Colm Feore Extended For Three Weeks

Thanks to overwhelming demand, the Stratford Festival's 2020 production of Richard III will be extended for another three weeks, giving theatregoers more opportunities to see Colm Feore bring this iconic role to life in the Festival's brand new Tom Patterson Theatre, which opens this spring after more than two years of construction and fundraising.

Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino directs the production, reuniting with Feore for the first time since their 2014 collaboration, King Lear, which became one of the top-selling Shakespeare productions in Festival history.

"It is unprecedented in the Festival's history for a production to be extended this long before rehearsals have even started," says Executive Director Anita Gaffney. "We are absolutely thrilled to see that the public shares our heartfelt enthusiasm for this incredible theatrical event."

Richard III, which now closes on November 14, has already been extended once - even before tickets went on sale to the public in January, after an incredibly brisk Members' advance sale.

The production features an all-star cast, including Michael Blake, Ben Carlson, David Collins, Martha Henry, Jessica B. Hill, Seana McKenna, Lucy Peacock, Tom Rooney and Mike Shara.

"Everyone wanted to be in this production!" Cimolino says. "They all wanted to help launch our new theatre and be part of the next chapter in our history."

Cimolino selected Richard III to open the new Tom Patterson Theatre because it was the first play ever presented by the Stratford Festival back in 1953. The production featured Alec Guinness (now best known as Obi Wan Kenobi) in the title role.

Three other productions are being extended: Shakespeare's All's Well That Ends Well, featuring Danny Ghantous, Jessica B. Hill and Seana McKenna, which also plays at the new Tom Patterson Theatre; Tomson Highway's The Rez Sisters, featuring Jani Lauzon; and Edward Albee's Three Tall Women, with Martha Henry, Lucy Peacock and Mamie Zwettler. This is the second extension for Three Tall Women; performances were added before it went on sale to the public.

There are 15 productions featured at Stratford in 2020 - one of the Festival's biggest seasons ever. First on stage is the spectacular musical Chicago, starting April 11, the first major production outside of Broadway and London's West End in more than 30 years. Also in the lineup are Much Ado About Nothing, Hamlet, The Miser, Wendy & Peter Pan, Monty Python's Spamalot, Wolf Hall, Richard III, All's Well That Ends Well, the brand new Steven Page-Daniel MacIvor musical Here's What It Takes, Frankenstein Revived, Three Tall Women, The Rez Sisters, Hamlet-911 and An Undiscovered Shakespeare (improv in iambic pentameter!). Tickets are available at www.stratfordfestival.ca or by calling the box office at 1.800.567.1600.

Production support for Richard III is generously provided by Jane Petersen Burfield & family, by Dr. M. Lee Myers, by Martie & Bob Sachs, by The Westaway Charitable Foundation and by Catherine & David Wilkes.

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