The Festival Theatre is the main venue of the Stratford Festival in Stratford, Ontario, seating 2,192 and featuring one of the most celebrated thrust stages in the world. The theatre's origins trace to 1953, when Stratford-born journalist Tom Patterson conceived a Shakespeare festival for his hometown. With the support of legendary British director Tyrone Guthrie and theatrical designer Tanya Moiseiwitsch, a revolutionary thrust stage was created and housed under a giant canvas tent in the parklands by the Avon River. The first production of Richard III opened on July 13, 1953. After four successful seasons under canvas, the tent was dismantled in August 1956 and construction began on a permanent theatre designed by architect Robert Fairfield. The circular building, 200 feet in diameter, features a distinctive crenellated roof paying tribute to the festival's canvas origins and a 220-degree audience arc with a 20-foot cantilevered balcony. The permanent theatre opened for the 1957 season and won the Massey Gold Medal for Architecture in 1958. A major 1997 renovation by KPMB Architects re-imagined the thrust stage and added expanded lobbies, gardens, and a public plaza. The Stratford Festival has grown to become the largest classical repertory theatre in North America, drawing audiences of more than 400,000 annually with a season running from April to November across four unique theatres. The Festival Theatre remains the artistic heart of the operation, hosting Shakespeare, contemporary drama, and musicals on the iconic thrust stage that places the audience on three sides of the action.

Type: Theater / Concert Hall

Address: 55 Queen Street, Stratford, ON, Canada

Website: https://www.stratfordfestival.ca/

Capacity: 1826

Opening Date: 01/01/1957