The Stratford Festival's Meighen Forum Announces August Highlights

The Meighen Forum at the Stratford Festival continues with opportunities to explore Alice Childress' Wedding Band, Global Theatre Week with Mũkoma wa Ngũgĩ, Readers and Writers Week with Margaret Atwood, an authentic Italian culinary experience with Maître Fromager (Cheese Master) Afrim Pristine and an array of workshops, discussions and performances.

Following the opening of Wedding Band earlier this season, the Meighen Forum will be taking audiences beyond the script in a series of discussions and special events. Company members Cyrus Lane (Herman) and Liza Huget (Fanny Johnson) will be taking questions and sharing their experiences at Meet the Festival (August 2). As part of the Peer Into the Playbill series, On Alice Childress (August 17) will feature Wedding Band director Sam White and dramaturge Arminda Thomas in a discussion on the life and legacy of one of America's unsung artists of the twentieth century, moderated by E.B. Smith. Also on August 17, audiences are invited to be part of Festival history and join us as we film our beautiful production of Wedding Band. As part of Readers and Writers Week, Sam White will return to discuss creativity, impulse, artistry and life with Canadian literary icon, Margaret Atwood (August 25).

Global Theatre Week at the Meighen Forum (August 7 – 13) will feature a series of conversations with global experts, including Mũkoma wa Ngũgĩ, Professor of Literatures in English at Cornell University and a prolific Kenyan American poet and author. During this themed week, the idea of language as a vehicle for transmitting knowledge and artistry will be examined through a wide range of perspectives.

Back home after an international tour, Canadian-Filipino comedian Ron Josol will headline Funny Forum Friday (August 11) at the Meighen Forum during Global Theatre Week. Josol's vibrant and energetic material mixes thoughts on life while sampling the Canadian experience. Opener Jean Paul brings international comedy appeal that has allowed him to perform extensively across Canada, the United States, the Caribbean, Israel, South Africa and the United Kingdom.

The Meighen Forum Dinner Series is headed to the world of Eduardo De Filippo's Grand Magic for Un grande pasto italiano (A Grand Italian Meal) on August 26 in the Paul D. Fleck Marquee at the Festival Theatre. Food Network personality and Maître Fromager (Cheese Master) Afrim Pristine will collaborate with Chef Matthew Sullivan (Chopped champion and Top Chef Canada contestant) to create dishes inspired by this season's Grand Magic. Pristine, Canada's premier cheese expert with over 25 years of experience in the art of cheese making, will introduce each dish and share his exceptional cheese knowledge. This authentic Italian cena (dinner) will include a talk about the inspirations and history of Italian gastronomy by Professor Teresa Lobalsamo from the University of Toronto. Ticket price includes dinner and drink pairings. The Forum Dinner Series is curated by Chef Matthew Sullivan with The Food Dudes.

On August 21 through 27, the Stratford Festival will host the Meighen Forum's first annual Readers and Writers Week. Join Canadian literary icon Margaret Atwood in a celebration of the written word and storytelling as a craft. The Meighen Forum brings together writers, playwrights and artists to lead conversations on the opportunities and challenges when navigating the shifting worlds outside of a play's representation of society. Atwood will be joined by Sam White, Founding Artistic Director of Shakespeare in Detroit and Director of this season's Wedding Band, for an informal conversation on creativity, impulse, artistry and life. Award-winning author of Bunny and 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl, Mona Awad, and Naomi Alderman, novelist and game writer and author of award-winning novel The Power, will join Atwood onstage to discuss the idea of superego vs. the id and what happens when they get out of control. Acclaimed author, international best-seller and Academy Award nominee for Best Adapted Screenplay, Emma Donoghue will appear with Atwood for a meeting of the minds that discusses what goes into adapting their work for both the big and small screen - from The Handmaid's Tale's breakout success on HBO to Room's awards-laden film version.

With her own achievements in television and beyond, Las Vegas regular and four-time Canadian Comedy Award winner Kristeen Von Hagen will headline Funny Forum Friday on August 25. Four-time winner of the Funniest Female Comic at The Canadian Comedy Awards, Laurie Elliott, will open.

The Meighen Forum also includes favourites such as Peer into the Playbill and exclusive backstage tours and workshops. This season, we are excited to unveil a new, never previously offered, backstage tour of the Festival Theatre. Visit https://www.stratfordfestival.ca/WhatsOn/TheForum for details.

Global Theatre Week

August 7 to August 13

In this series of conversations with global experts, including Mũkoma wa Ngũgĩ, the idea of language as a vehicle for transmitting knowledge and artistry will be examined through a wide range of perspectives. Join us for an exciting journey as we use the foundational ideas and concepts of language as our point of departure for these exciting events.

Events include:

 

In Conversation with Dr. Mũkoma wa Ngũgĩ

Lazaridis Hall, Tom Patterson Theatre

Friday, August 11

10:30 a.m. – noon

A conversation with Mũkoma wa Ngũgĩ, Associate Professor of Literatures in English at Cornell University and the author of The Rise of the African Novel: Politics of Language, Identity and Ownership (2018), and the novels: Nairobi Heat (2009), Unbury Our Dead with Song (2020), Black Star Nairobi (2013), Mrs. Shaw: A Novel (2015) as well as two poetry books: Hurling Words at Consciousness (2006) and Logotherapy (2016).

This conversation will be moderated by world literature scholar, Mathias Iroro Orhero from McGill University.

The Art of Translation

Lazaridis Hall, Tom Patterson Theatre

Saturday, August 12

10:30 a.m. – noon

In this conversation, we will consider the art of translation and the careful consideration needed to maintain the beauty and intent of a language when it is translated. Canadian Dramaturge and Literary Translator, Linda Gaboriau, joins the experienced team of translators and playwrights currently developing the new play Salesman in China, Leanna Brodie, Jovanni Sy and Fang Zhang, for this in-depth discussion moderated by Keith Barker, Director of the Foerster Bernstein New Play Development Program.

Politics of Recognition: Breaking Down the Colonial Theatre Framework

Lazaridis Hall, Tom Patterson Theatre

Sunday, August 13

10:30 a.m. – noon       

Theatrical storytelling modes germinate from a given socio-cultural environment thus they are models of consciousness. However, in an age of globalization, cultural contact and exchange often reminds us that cultures do not meet on an equal ground. Points of contact and exchange are mitigated by colonial legacy and the enforcement of dominance. Pam Patel, Artistic Director of MT Space, Mumbi Tindyebwa Otu, Artistic Director at Obsidian Theatre and novelist and professor Mũkoma wa Ngũgĩ consider access and politics of recognition in this conversation moderated by Mathias Orhero, Department of English at McGill University.

Celebrated Speaker

Cross-Border Connections with US Consul General Susan R. Crystal
Lazaridis Hall, Tom Patterson Theatre
Saturday, August 19
10:30 a.m. – noon

Each season, the Stratford Festival welcome many Americans and others from around the world to our theatres, both in the audience and on stage. Join Susan R. Crystal, U.S. Consul General in Toronto, Sarah Smith, Canadian Research Chair in Art, Culture and Global Relations at Western University and Stratford Mayor Martin Ritsma as we celebrate and consider the cross-border connections that have made the Stratford Festival such a success.

Readers and Writers Week

August 21 to August 27

Join Canadian literary icon Margaret Atwood in a celebration of the written word and storytelling as a craft. The Meighen Forum brings together writers, playwrights and artists to lead conversations on the opportunities and challenges found when navigating the shifting worlds outside of a play's representation of society.

 

Events include:

 

On Creativity: Margaret Atwood with Sam White

Tom Patterson Theatre
Friday, August 25
10:30 a.m. – noon

Sam White, Founding Artistic Director of Shakespeare in Detroit and Director of this season's Wedding Band, sits down with her friend and multi-award-winning author, Margaret Atwood, for an informal conversation on creativity, impulse, artistry and life.

On Gothic Literature: Margaret Atwood with Mona Awad and Naomi Alderman

 

Tom Patterson Theatre

Saturday, August 26
10:30 a.m. – noon

Celebrated author Margaret Atwood speaks with award-winning author of Bunny and 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl, Mona Awad, and Naomi Alderman, novelist and game writer and author of award-winning novel, The Power to discuss the idea of superego vs. the id and what happens when they get out of control.

Un grande pasto italiano (A Grand Italian Meal)

Festival Marquee
Saturday, August 26
5:30 – 7:30 p.m.

Buono, Squisito, Gustoso and Saporito are just a few ways to describe delicious Italian food. In this celebration of Grand Magic and all things Italian, join us for an authentic Italian cena (dinner) with a menu by Maître Fromager (Cheese Master) Afrim Pristine in collaboration with Chef Matthew Sullivan. Professor Teresa Lobalsamo from the University of Toronto will speak about the inspirations and history of Italian gastronomy.

The Forum Dinner Series is curated by Chef Matthew Sullivan with The Food Dudes.

Tickets are $165 and include dinner and drink pairings.

Ticket purchases for all events in the Forum Dinner Series must be made five days prior to the scheduled event.

On Adaptation: Margaret Atwood with Emma Donoghue

Tom Patterson Theatre
Sunday, August 27
10:30 a.m. – noon

From The Handmaid's Tale's breakout success on HBO to Room's awards-laden film version, adapting literary works for both the big and small screen opens them up to new audiences. Acclaimed authors Margaret Atwood and Emma Donoghue sit down to discuss what goes into adapting their work for different mediums and what challenges and opportunities exist in film and television.

Forum Academy: The Process of a Playwright with Keith Barker
 

Lazaridis Hall, Tom Patterson Theatre
Sunday, August 27
2 – 3:30 p.m.

From an idea at the back of your mind to a production on a Stratford stage. Led by Director of the Foerster Bernstein New Play Development Program, Keith Barker, follow the playwright's process from an initial idea, through writing and editing, then bringing it to the stage. Understand how critical elements are added and changed as a story moves toward an audience in a process that is deeply personal to each playwright.

Global Theatre Week and Readers and Writers Week are part of the six themed weeks introduced for the 2023 season of the Stratford Festival's Meighen Forum, each featuring curated performances, celebrated speakers, culinary experiences and timely discussions with artists and experts:

• Pride Week - June 5 to June 11
• 2023 Season Deep Dive - July 3 to July 9
• CBC Ideas Week: The Shock of the New - July 17 to July 23
• Global Theatre Week - August 7 to August 13
• Readers and Writers Week - August 21 to August 27
• Scholars and Experts Week - September 11 to September 17

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