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Festival Theatre
May 3 – October 24 |
Opens May 26
Shakespeare

AS YOU LIKE IT


By William Shakespeare

Directed by Chris Abraham

Audience Advisory »

“WE THAT ARE TRUE LOVERS RUN INTO STRANGE CAPERS...” 

The Forest of Arden , reimagined in this production, sees its pastoral calm upended by the arrival of a motley cast of courtiers, fools, dukes and ladies exiled from the pitiless world of court politics and dynastic succession. The latest arrivals: Orlando, banished by his cruel older brother after their father’s death, and Rosalind who, in her attempt to flee an equally cruel uncle, arrives on the scene disguised as a boy. When Orlando and Rosalind fall for one another, the question then becomes, can Orlando recognize the object of his affection through her cunning disguise and Arden’s shaded vales? Beloved for its wit and banter, As You Like It promises classic Shakespearean comedy befitting of modern audiences.


The 2025 Season is supported by Ophelia Lazaridis.


Production Underwriters:

John & Therese Gardner


Production Co-Sponsors:

Martie & Bob Sachs


 


Photo Credit  Sara Farb and Christopher Allen. Photography by Ted Belton.

MEIGHEN FORUM EVENTS

CAST & CREATIVE

CAST

    Portrait of Christopher Allen
    Christopher Allen
    Orlando

    (he/him)

    2025: Orlando in As You Like It, appears in Sense and Sensibility and understudy in Dangerous Liaisons. Second season. Stratford: Cloten in Cymbeline, Lachlan in The Diviners. Selected theatre credits: The Master Plan (Theatre Aquarius, Soulpepper); Rockabye (ARC Stage); The Master Plan (Crow's Theatre); Redbone Coonhound (Tarragon Theatre); A Midsummer Night's Dream (Bard on the Beach); Sweat (Canadian Stage); Antigone…, Selfie (Young People's Theatre); Julius Caesar, The Comedy of Errors (Canadian Stage); The Adonis Project (The Piece of Mine Festival). Film/TV: Star Trek: Discovery (Paramount+/CBS); Coroner, Workin' Moms (CBC); Murdoch Mysteries (CBC Television, Citytv); 13: The Musical (Netflix). Voiceover: Audiobook: No Bootstraps When You're Barefoot. Education: York University Acting Conservatory. Awards: Dora Award winner and nominee. Online: Instagram: @christopherallen.me.

    Portrait of Sara Farb
    Sara Farb
    Rosalind

    Birmingham Conservatory, 2013

    2025: Rosalind in As You Like It, Fanny, Lady Middleton in Sense and Sensibility and Emilie in Dangerous Liaisons. Seventh season. Stratford: Juliet, Anne Frank, Cordelia, Mary in The Last Wife and The Virgin Trial, A Little Night Music, The Lion... Wardrobe, The Merchant of Venice, She Stoops to Conquer, The Beaux' Stratagem, Finally There's Sun, others. Broadway: Delphi in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Elsewhere: Delphi in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Mirvish, Canadian première); The Last Timbit; Medium Alison in Fun Home (Musical Stage/Mirvish, Dora nominee, TTCA winner); Brigid in The Humans (Canadian première at Citadel/Canadian Stage); many productions at Soulpepper, Citadel, Musical Stage Company, Theatre Calgary, Tarragon, Passe Muraille, Segal Centre, YPT and others. Film/TV: Hudson & Rex, Frankie Drake, Departure, Nurses, others. Et cetera: Sara is a musical theatre bookwriter and a playwright. Thank you Chris and Antoni, Tovah and Michele. Hi Josh.

    Portrait of Aaron Krohn
    Aaron Krohn
    Jaques
    2025: Jaques in As You Like It and understudy in Sense and Sensibility. Fourth season. Stratford: Monty Python's Spamalot, The Homecoming, Twelfth Night, and Henry in Henry V. Broadway: The Lehman Trilogy, The Height of the Storm, Summer, Cabaret, Macbeth, The Farnsworth Invention, The Coast of Utopia, Julius Caesar, Henry IV, The Invention of Love. West End: The Lehman Trilogy. Off-Broadway: Coriolanus (Red Bull); Clive (the New Group); The Glass Cage, Echoes of the War (Mint Theater). Regional: Theatre Royal Sydney, ACT, La Jolla Playhouse, Folger Shakespeare Theatre, Westport, Hartford Stage, TUTS, ASF, The Old Globe, and the Alley Theatre. Sam Mendes's The Bridge Project. Film/TV: Fosse/Verdon; I Love You But I Lied; Boardwalk Empire; Law & Order: SVU; Welcome to New York. Training: MFA, The Old Globe Theatre. Check out his band Notes From Underground and their EP, Rock, Pith & Brevity wherever you listen to music. Instagram: @aaronckrohn.
    Portrait of Sean Arbuckle
    Sean Arbuckle
    Duke Frederick

    (he/him)

    2025: Duke Frederick in As You Like It and Ralph's Father in Forgiveness. 23rd season. Stratford (selected): La Cage aux Folles, Richard III, Serving Elizabeth, Guys and Dolls, Julius Caesar, 42nd Street, A Little Night Music, The Neverending Story, Pericles, King John, The Pirates of Penzance, Titus Andronicus, Three Sisters, The Merchant of Venice, Cabaret, Trojan Women, The Tempest, As You Like It, Timon of Athens, The Swanne: Princess Charlotte, Macbeth, London Assurance, Twelfth Night, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Elsewhere (selected): Casey and Diana (Soulpepper); The Immigrant (Harold Green); London Road (Canadian Stage); Othello (Segal Centre); The Winter's Tale (McCarter/Shakespeare Theatre); Phèdre (A.C.T.); A Christmas Carol, The Turn of the Screw (Grand Theatre); The Importance of Being Earnest (Roundabout); Copenhagen (US national tour). Film/TV: 12 Monkeys, Mayday, Murdoch Mysteries, Dark Matter, Reign, Defiance. Training: Juilliard. Awards: Dora Award and nomination, Toronto Theatre Critics' Award.

    Portrait of Seana McKenna
    Seana McKenna
    Duchess Senior

    2025: Duchess Senior in As You Like It, Mrs. Jennings in Sense and Sensibility and Madame de Rosemonde in Dangerous Liaisons. 32nd season. Last year, Ms. McKenna directed Twelfth Night on the Festival stage, mentored directing students at the National Theatre School, did her very first Murdoch Mystery, received the 2024 Stratford Festival Legacy Award, and taught her grandson how to swim underwater. Her previous roles at the Festival include: Juliet, Lady Macbeth, Medea, Richard III, Portia, Paulina, Jaques, Julius Caesar, Katerina, Dolly Levi, Amanda Wingfield, the Marquise de Merteuil, Queen Elizabeth I and Madame Arcati. Elsewhere, she has played Cleopatra (Centaur), Shylock (Shakespeare Company/Hit and Myth Prod.), Hermione (Kansas City Rep), Yaga (Tarragon) and Lear (Groundling Theatre Company). She has three Doras, a Jessie and a Genie award, and is a Member of the Order of Canada. Love and gratitude to the McPotters.

    Portrait of Steve Ross
    Steve Ross
    Touchstone

    2025: Touchstone in As You Like It and Sir John Middleton in Sense and Sensibility. 22nd season. Stratford: La Cage aux Folles, Something Rotten!, Grand Magic, Richard II, Love's Labour's…, Chicago, The Miser, Finally There's Sun, Rocky Horror, Guys and Dolls, Billy Elliot, The Lion, the Witch…, Shakespeare in Love, Hamlet, Alchemist, Crazy for You, Tommy, Grapes of Wrath, Kiss Me, Kate, Cyrano, Mockingbird, The Odyssey, Dream, Julius Caesar, Coriolanus. Elsewhere: 12 Dinners, Life Without, goldfish (Here For Now); Every Brilliant Thing, The Foursome, For the Pleasure… (New Stages); Fleeto, Oh, the Humanity, 4th Graders (Tiny Room); London Road (Dora Award), Indian Ink, Into the Woods, Dream (CanStage); Assassins (Dora Award) (TIFT); Frog and Toad (MTYP); Orson's Shadow (Pilot Group); A New Brain (Musical Stage Company); Shrek, A Christmas Story (Grand); The Producers (Mirvish/Neptune); Seussical, Sylvia (Aquarius); The Three Musketeers (Chicago Shakespeare); Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Citadel), Three Sisters (ATF).

    Portrait of Makambe K. Simamba
    Makambe K. Simamba
    Celia

    (she/her)

    2025: Celia in As You Like It and appears in Sense and Sensibility and Dangerous Liaisons. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Udo in Three Sisters (Soulpepper Theatre/Obsidian Theatre), Slimm in Our Fathers, Sons, Lovers and Little Brothers (b current performing arts/Tarragon Theatre), Faith/Tia in Serving Elizabeth (Thousand Islands Playhouse), Girl in The First Stone (New Harlem Productions). Film/TV: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (CBS), Titans (HBO), True Dating Stories (CBC Gem) and Grand Army (Netflix). Training: University of Lethbridge. Awards: Dora Mavor Moore Awards: Outstanding Production and Outstanding Ensemble for Three Sisters. Outstanding New Play (TYA) and Outstanding Performance (TYA) for Our Fathers, Sons, Lovers and Little Brothers. Online: www.Makambe.com, @artingwithmakambe. Et cetera: Makambe was born in Zambia and raised in the Caribbean. She is also a multiple-award-winning playwright. She would like to dedicate her first Stratford season to her biggest cheerleader and inspiration, her mother, Mwangala.
    Portrait of Celia Aloma
    Celia Aloma
    Understudy

    (she/her) Birmingham Conservatory 2022/2023

    2025: Madame de Tourvel in Dangerous Liaisons, appears in Sense and Sensibility and understudy in As You Like It. Fourth season. Stratford: Rachel Whyte in Get That Hope, Princess of France in Love's Labour's Lost, Richard II, Player Queen in Hamlet and Olabisi in Death and the King's Horseman. Elsewhere: Corinna and seven other characters in Primary Trust, 16 characters in No Child (Arts Club); Ann Atwater in The Best of Enemies, Novelette in 'da Kink in My Hair (Pacific Theatre); Same Difference (Theatre Conspiracy); Catherine in The Numbers Game (Storefront Theatre). Film/TV: American Wasteland, Corrective Measures, Swan Song, Voir, The Baby-Sitters Club, Detour, Song Bird, Scared Lies, Sirens. Radio/Recordings: Aisha in Redbone Coonhound (Arts Club); Mama in Rishi & d Douen (Rumble Theatre and Carousel Theatre). Training: York University. Awards: Peter Donaldson Award recipient, Michael Mawson Award recipient, and B.C. Arts Council Pivot recipient.

    Portrait of Gabriel Antonacci
    Gabriel Antonacci

    Birmingham Conservatory, 2024

    2025: Cooper in Forgiveness, appears in As You Like It and understudy in Dangerous Liaisons. 12th season. Stratford: Peter in Something Rotten!, Gord in The Diviners, Romeo in Play On!, Al in A Chorus Line, Henrik Egerman in A Little Night Music, Rolf Gruber in The Sound of Music, Pinball Lad in Tommy, and appeared in Chicago, King Lear, Rent, Billy Elliot the Musical, The Rocky Horror Show, The Music Man, Guys and Dolls, HMS Pinafore, Fiddler on the Roof and Carousel. Elsewhere: Johnny alternate in Green Day's American Idiot (first US tour); Hank Majewski in Jersey Boys (Dancap); Gilbert in Anne of Green Gables (Charlottetown). Film/TV: Captain von Trapp in The Pacifier. Training: Birmingham Conservatory, Etobicoke School of the Arts. Online: Twitter/Instagram: @GabrielNacci. Et cetera:  Huge thanks to Stratford and Colin McMurray. This season is dedicated to Gabe's Beautiful Wife Robin.

    Portrait of Shane Carty
    Shane Carty

    Birmingham Conservatory, 2003

    2025: Colonel Brandon in Sense and Sensibility and appears in As You Like It. 12th season. Stratford (selected):The Sound of Music, Crazy for You, Man of La Mancha, Love's Labour's Lost, Much Ado About Nothing, The Duchess of Malfi, The Brothers Karamazov, Richard III, Peter Pan, Present Laughter, Measure for Measure, The Threepenny Opera, The Swanne. Elsewhere: Three seasons at the Shaw Festival, including Damn Yankees, Mother DaughterMy Fair Lady, Kabarett, Prince Caspian; Assassins (MTC/TIFT); Onegin (Musical Stage); This Is How It Goes, Frog and Toad, Sweeney Todd (Neptune); Wizard of Oz, Gatsby, Einstein's Gift, Elf (Grand); Christmas Story, Les Misérables (WCT); Treasure Island (TNB); Othello (SLSF) Hockey Mom, Hockey Dad, Hay Fever, The Red Priest (Thousand Islands); Sticks and Stones, The Mikado (NAC); Beauty and the Beast (Citadel/Theatre Calgary); Romeo and Juliet (Resurgence). TV: Anne With An E, Suits, MurdochReign. Training: Queen's University, Birmingham Conservatory.

    Portrait of Andrew Chown
    Andrew Chown
    Oliver

    2025: Oliver in As You Like It and John Willoughby in Sense and Sensibility. Stratford debut.

    Portrait of Ashley Dingwell
    Ashley Dingwell

    Birmingham Conservatory 2025/2026
    2025: Cécile Volanges in Dangerous Liasons, appears in As You Like It and understudy in Sense and Sensibility. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Hedda in Hedda Gabler, May in Bedlam, Des-Neiges in Les Belles Soeurs, Jocasta in Oedipus Rex (Theatre at Grenfell); Titania in Midsummer Night's Dream (Dartmouth Players); Melissa in Out of It, Marie-Louise in No Man's Land (Rising Tide Theatre). Film/TV: Son of a Critch (CBC); This Hour Has 22 Minutes (CBC); Sugar Highs (OUTTV); Surreal Estate (SYFY); Hudson & Rex (CityTV); Sullivan's Crossing (CTV); Astrid and Lilly Save the World (SYFY); Diggstown (CBC); Alaska Triangle (Discovery). Training: Memorial University of Newfoundland, Grenfell Campus, 2023 (BFA); Power of Connection Intensive with Perchance Theatre. Online: @ashleyjdingwell. Et cetera: To Mom, Dad, Grammy, Jordan - I love you, so I keep going.

    Portrait of Thomas Duplessie
    Thomas Duplessie

    Birmingham Conservatory, 2024

    2025: Edward Ferrars, Robert Ferrars in Sense and Sensibility, Azolan in Dangerous Liaisons and appears in As You Like It. Third season. Stratford: Peter in Romeo and Juliet, Martin in London Assurance, Benicio in Twelfth Night, Harry Percy in Richard II, Waiter in Grand Magic and understudy in Love's Labour's Lost. Elsewhere: A Few Good Men, Twelve Angry Men, The Miracle Worker, The Birds and the Bees, Death of a Salesman, Brighton Beach Memoirs (Drayton); The Cider House Rules reading (Talk is Free); Suitcases/Provenance workshop (Canadian Stage). Film/TV: Jump, Darling (opposite Cloris Leachman), Deadbolt, In the Dark, Murdoch Mysteries, Man Seeking Woman, Heroes Reborn, Bitten, Reign. Radio/Recordings: Strange Loops (audiobook). Training: The Randolph College for the Performing Arts. Online: Instagram: @tomsdup.

    Portrait of Jacklyn Francis
    Jacklyn Francis

    2025: Phyllis, Ralph's Mother in Forgiveness, appears in As You Like It and understudy in Dangerous Liaisons. Ninth Season. Stratford: Rosemary (Hamlet-911), Madge Macbeth (1939), Patience Maria (Henry VIII), Stephanie Crawford (To Kill a Mockingbird), Calpurnia (Julius Caesar), Celia (As You Like It) and Caroline Bingley (Pride and Prejudice). Elsewhere: Thousand Islands Playhouse, Citadel Theatre, Blyth Festival, Shakespeare in the Ruff, Canadian Stage, Young People's Theatre, Theatre Northwest, Sudbury Theatre, Royal Manitoba Theatre, Resurgence Theatre, Theatre by the Bay, Brookstone Theatre, Buddies in Bad Times, Thought for Food, Equity Showcase, Toronto Fringe and SummerWorks. Film/TV: Welcome to Derry, Ruby and The Well, The Christmas Spirit (feature film), Re: Possessed Homes (short film), Murdoch Mysteries, Rookie Blue, Flashpoint, Little Mosque on the Prairie, Missing, Train 48, Our Hero, The City, F/X: The Series, Falling Fire. Awards: 2018 Tanya Award in recognition of excellence, and the Jean A. Chalmers Award.

    Portrait of Jesse Gervais
    Jesse Gervais
    Oliver Martext

    Métis Nation of Alberta

    2025: Le Vicomte de Valmont in Dangerous Liaisons, Oliver Martext in As You Like It and Gossip in Sense and Sensibility. Second season. Stratford: The Diviners. Elsewhere: Clue (MTC\Grand Theatre); The Breathing Hole (NAC); Christmas Carol, Jane Eyre, Silver Arrow, Crazy For You, Alice Through the Looking Glass, One Man Two Guvnors (Citadel Theatre); Romeo and Juliet, Love's Labour's Lost, Hamlet, As You Like It, Comedy of Errors, Coriolanus, King Lear, The Taming of the Shrew (Free Will Players); 6.0, 4th Graders (NLT); 10 out of 12, Passion Play, Realistic Joneses (Wild Side Productions); Joy Ride, Black Horse (Caravan Farm Theatre). Film and TV: Tiny Plastic Men Seasons 1-4 (Super Channel); Caution May Contain Nuts Seasons 2-4 (APTN); Blind Ambition, Joe Pickett. Voiceover: Mass Effect 1, 2, 3, Dragon Age: Origins, Anthem, Neverwinter Nights (BIOWARE). Training: BFA University of Alberta. Online: @jesse.gervais, www.jessegervais.com.

    Portrait of Jessica B. Hill
    Jessica B. Hill
    Phoebe

    Birmingham Conservatory, 2014/2015

    2025: Elinor Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility, La Marquise de Merteuil in Dangerous Liaisons and Phoebe in As You Like It. Eighth season. Stratford: Viola (Twelfth Night), Lady Capulet (Romeo and Juliet), Helen (All's Well That Ends Well), Lady Anne (Richard III), Emily Brontë (Brontë: The World Without), Bess (Mother's Daughter). Playwright: The Dark Lady (SIR-SotS/Lunchbox-TSC), Pandora (PTE). Both plays are available online and at the Festival Gift Shop. The Dark Lady is part of Bard on the Beach's 2025 season, and recently had a staged reading at Red Bull Theatre in New York City. Film/TV: Five Days at Memorial, The Boys, Kings of Napa. Voice/Mocap: Star Wars Outlaws. Training: Birmingham Conservatory, McGill University, Dawson College. Awards: SATA for Artistic Excellence - The Dark Lady, Bernard Amyot Teaching Award - NTS, Mary Savidge Award - Stratford Festival. The Dark Lady has won six awards across three provinces, including three Betty Mitchell awards. Online: Instagram: @jessicabhill.

    Portrait of Hiro Kanagawa
    Hiro Kanagawa
    Corin

    (he/him)

    2025: Playwright, and plays Yosuke and Kato in Forgiveness and Corin in As You Like It. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Sam Shikaze in Yellow Fever (Firehall Arts Centre), Boo-Seng in Durango (Theatre Smash/fu-GEN), Serge in Art (Gateway Theatre), Sender in Tear the Curtain! (Arts Club/Electric Company). Film/TV: Over 200 credits including: Shogun, Avatar: The Last AirbenderOrphan: First Kill, Star Trek: Discovery, Kim's Convenience, The Good Doctor, Altered Carbon, The X-Files, Best in Show. Training: MFA - Simon Fraser University, BA - Middlebury College. Writing Awards: Governor General's Literary Award and Jessie Richardson Award - Indian Arm; Betty Mitchell Award and Calgary Theatre Critics' Award - Forgiveness. Acting Awards: UBCP/ACTRA Award - Deeper I Go (Fedora Films); Jessie Richardson Award - A View From the Bridge (Pacific Theatre). Online: www.hirokanagawa.com. Instagram and X: @hirokanagawatv.

    Portrait of Jeff Lillico
    Jeff Lillico
    Le Beau

    (he/him)

    2025: Ralph Maclean in Forgiveness and Le Beau in As You Like It. Third season. Stratford: Shakespeare in Something Rotten!, Bertram in All's Well That Ends Well, Lucentio in The Taming of the Shrew. Most Recently: Dr. Pomatter in Waitress, MTC; Jack in The Importance of Being Earnest, Citadel Theatre; Mack in Fairview, Canadian Stage/Obsidian; Charles Kean in Red Velvet, Crow's Theatre. Elsewhere: Soulpepper (23 productions, including Of Human Bondage and Spoon River at Signature Theatre, Off-Broadway); Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, Chicago Shakespeare Theater; Shaw Festival (5 seasons). Film/TV: Coffey in Netflix's Locke & Key, Fitzpatrick in On the Basis of Sex, Carl Jung on Murdoch Mysteries, Designated Survivor, Hudson & Rex, Nurses, Flashpoint, Copper. Awards: Dora Award for The Light in the Piazza. Five other Dora nominations. Online: Instagram: @jefflillico. Et cetera: Love and gratitude to Kimwun, my family and my agent, Emma.

    Portrait of Michael Man
    Michael Man
    Silvius

    2025: Silvius in As You Like It and Hideo in Forgiveness. Stratford debut. Elsewhere (selected): Four seasons at the Shaw Festival, including title characters in Everybody and Prince Caspian; Village Wooing, Doctor's Dilemma, Victory, Cyrano..., Sherlock...; Handsome Zhang in Snow in Midsummer (Shaw/National Arts Center); Edgar in Lear, Demetrius in Titus Andronicus, Twelfth Night, As You Like It (Canadian Stage/Shakespeare in High Park); Julius Caesar, Much Ado About Nothing (St. Lawrence Shakespeare); Arcite in Two Noble Kinsmen, Lucio in Measure for Measure, Antonio in Duchess of Malfi (Shakespeare Bash'd); Mowgli in The Jungle Book (Magnus); Meet Chloe (Carousel); Christmas Carol (Grand); Hymn of the Weaverbird (找我劇場 ESP-I, Taiwan); Man in 彼岸 (Gateway). Writing: Translation and Adaptation: The Orphan of Chao (Shaw). Film/TV: What We Do in the Shadows (FX). Awards: Dora nominee; Saunderson Award (Shaw). Online: Instagram: @michaelman1n.

    Portrait of Silvae Mercedes
    Silvae Mercedes
    Audrey

    (she/they) Birmingham Conservatory 2025/2026

    2025: Audrey in As You Like It, appears in Dangerous Liaisons and understudy in Forgiveness. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Quartet (Other Hearts/VideoCabaret); Mad Ones (Tangled Art + Disability); Johnny Belinda (Smile Theatre); Lil' Red, Jack and the Beanstalk, Treasure Island, Three Musketeers (Stirling Festival Theatre). Film/TV: Murdoch Mysteries, Good Witch, Call Me Fitz. Training: B.A. Honours English, Creative Writing and Interdisciplinary Sexuality Studies (Concordia University); Musical Theatre (American Musical and Dramatic Academy NYC); Theatre (Interlochen Arts Academy). Online: www.otherhearts.ca. Et cetera: Vae is a Mad performance artist, Dora-nominated designer and poet (Toronto International Festival of Authors New Embassy; The /t3mz/ Review Issue 22). Eternal gratitude to my community and especially to Cake, who constantly remind me that "the thing perhaps is / to eat flowers and not to be afraid."

    Portrait of Evan Mercer
    Evan Mercer

    Birmingham Conservatory, 2024

    2025: Appears in As You Like It, Forgiveness and Dangerous Liaisons. Second season. Stratford: Cymbeline, The Diviners. Elsewhere: Truffaldino in A Servant of Two MastersThe Flying DoctorAs You Like It, Our Eliza (Perchance); John Dodge in Middletown (NTS); Squawk (RCAT); Falling Trees (Poverty Cove); The Beauty Queen of Leenane (TNL); Salt-water Moon (Rising Tide); Almost Baymous (Half Handsome). Film/TV: Son of a Critch (CBC); Hudson and Rex (CityTV); Little Dog (CBC); Frontier (Discovery/Netflix); Riverhead (Riverhead Prod.); Body and Bones (Scattered and Small Inc.). Et cetera: I am grateful and delighted to be returning to the Stratford stage. Thanks to you, the audience, for making what we do possible.

    Portrait of John Ng
    John Ng
    Adam

    2025: Adam in As You Like It and appears in Forgiveness. Stratford debut.

    Portrait of Joe Perry
    Joe Perry

    (he/him) Birmingham Conservatory, 2025/2026

    2025: Deighton, Adams in Forgiveness, appears in As You Like It and Dangerous Liaisons. Stratford debut. Elsewhere (Selected): A Christmas Carol (Theatre Calgary 2015, 2016, 2023, 2024); The Woman In Black, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Extractionist (Vertigo Theatre); Premium Content, Air (Major Matt Mason); Chariots Of Fire (Rosebud Theatre/Grand); Gordon (Theatre Network); This Is War (Punctuate); The Circle (Alberta Theatre Projects); SIA (Downstage Theatre). Film/TV (Selected): The Expanse (Amazon Prime); Black Summer (Netflix); Range Roads, O Brazen Age, The Valley Below (North Country Cinema); Blood Mountain (Nocturnal Productions). Training: BFA acting - University of Alberta, Mount Royal College. Awards: Several Outstanding Performer nominations, including Betty Mitchell Theatre Awards, Calgary Critics Award, Sterling Theatre Awards, and Rosie Film and TV Awards. Online: joewperry.com, @Joewperry. Et cetera: Love to Allison and to his family in Alberta.
    Portrait of Leon Qin
    Leon Qin

    2025: Le Chevalier Danceny in Dangerous Liaisons and appears in As You Like It and Forgiveness. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Jung (Kim's Convenience, Grand Theatre); Marcus (Fatal Charade); Han and others (The Late Wedding); Ferdinand (The Tempest); Malvolio (Twelfth Night); Oberon (A Midsummer Night's Dream); Edwards (Blue Stockings); Sir John Middleton (Sense & Sensibility). Film/TV: Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent; The Food That Built America. Training: NYU. Stella Adler Studio of Acting. Online: leonqin.com, @crimsonqin. Et cetera: To my Mom, Dad, Ryan, Katherine, 爷爷, 奶奶, 公公, 婆婆, my cousins, my entire family, my friends, my mentors, and Iroh. Thank you all for your unyielding support. I love you. 

    Portrait of Olivia Sinclair-Brisbane
    Olivia Sinclair-Brisbane

    Birmingham Conservatory, 2024

    2025: Marianne Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility, appears in As You Like It and understudy in Dangerous Liaisons. Third season. Stratford: Portia in Something Rotten!, The Diviners, Joanne in Rent, Richard II. Elsewhere: Vicky in Chris, Mrs. (Boldly Productions); Gloria in Damn Yankees, White Christmas, The Importance of Being Earnest, Shawground, 1922 in Concert, Charley's Aunt, Duke and the Two Irenes, Song for a Winters Night (Shaw); Home For the Holidays (Theatre Aquarius); Emcee in Cabaret, Finding Black Joy (Grand Theatre); Mamma Mia! (Stage West); Dyanne in Million Dollar Quartet (Capitol Theatre); Sophie in Mamma Mia! (Rainbow Stage). Voiceover: We the Culture (Facebook). Training: Bachelor of Music Theatre Performance, Sheridan College; H.B. Beal Secondary and C.C.H. Online: @oliviasinclairbrisbane. Et cetera: Olivia dedicates this season to her amazing support system, her family both chosen and biological, her friends and mentors. To anyone moving through life with bravery, joy, kindness and deep love.

    Portrait of Nadine Villasin
    Nadine Villasin

    (she/her) Birmingham Conservatory 2025/2026

    2025: Madame de Volanges in Dangerous Liaisons, appears in As You Like It and understudy in Forgiveness. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Polonia in Hamlet (The Shakespeare Co, Hit & Myth), She in Lesson in Forgetting (Pleiades), Phoenix/Empress Dowager in The Forbidden Phoenix (Citadel, YPT), Mimi in Singkil (Fu-Gen), Karen in Gladstone Variations (Convergence). Nadine also co-wrote and performed as Jennifer in Miss Orient(ed) and Lorna/Geline in PEOPLE POWER (Carlos Bulosan Theatre/Teesri Duniya). Training: Birmingham Conservatory 25/26. Awards: Dora Nomination - The Forbidden Phoenix. Online: @beanbabble. Et cetera: Nadine is forever grateful to her first artistic home, Carlos Bulosan Theatre, and would like to give a shout out to all arts organizations for continuing to do the challenging work of keeping theatre, arts and culture alive. She dedicates this season to her loving mom Fely, her babycakes Maxine, and to the holder of her heart, Troy.

    Portrait of Norman Yeung
    Norman Yeung

    (he/him)

    2025: Major-Domo in Dangerous Liaisons and appears in As You Like It and Forgiveness. Third season. Stratford: Rosencrantz (Hamlet), Constable (Death and the King's Horseman). Elsewhere: Rosmersholm (Crow's); The New Canadian Curling Club (Theatre Orangeville/Drayton); Chimerica (Royal MTC/Canadian Stage); The Kite Runner (Theatre Calgary/Citadel); The Canadian (Thousand Islands Playhouse); Fugitives (Theatre Conspiracy); You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (Gateway). Film/TV: Resident Evil: Afterlife, Todd and the Book of Pure Evil, Frankie Drake Mysteries, Murdoch Mysteries, Rookie Blue, King. Playwright: Aging Youth Gang (developed by Crow's and fu-GEN); Eunuch X Pirate (Playwright in Residence at Outside the March); Theory (Tarragon, Mosaic Theater Company of D.C., published by Playwrights Canada Press); Pu-Erh (k'Now Theatre). Training: BFA Acting, UBC; BFA (Honours) Film, TMU. Awards: Johanna Metcalf Performing Arts Prize finalist; Theory: The Voaden Prize, Carol Bolt Award nomination; Pu-Erh: Dora Award nomination, The Voaden Prize finalist. Online: www.normanyeung.com, @NormanYeung.

CREATIVE

    Chris Abraham
    Director

    (he/him)

    2025: Director of As You Like It. 10th season. Stratford: Much Ado About Nothing, Tartuffe, The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Othello, The Matchmaker, The Little Years, For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again. Elsewhere: One Man Two Guvnors, Cyrano de Bergerac (Shaw); Winners & Losers (Soho Rep); Rosmersholm, The Master Plan, Uncle Vanya, Julius Caesar, The Seagull (Crow's Theatre); I, Claudia (Tarragon); Antigone, The Lesson (Soulpepper). Training: National Theatre School of Canada. Awards: Dora Awards for Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, The Little Years, Eternal Hydra; Sterling Award for Frozen (Citadel Theatre); Gemini Award for I, Claudia (CBC/Sienna Films); 2013 Elinor and Lou Siminovitch Prize in Theatre. Online: crowstheatre.com. Et cetera: Chris is Artistic Director of Crow's Theatre. He is past Co-Director of the National Theatre School of Canada Directing Program.

    Julie Fox
    Set and Costume Designer

    2025: Set and costume designer of As You Like It. 15th season. Stratford (selected): Much Ado About Nothing, Love's Labour's Lost, The Miser, Merry Wives of Windsor, Napoli Milionaria!, Tartuffe, School for Scandal, Macbeth, Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Othello, The Little Years. Elsewhere: Great Comet, Fifteen Dogs, Uncle Vanya, Wedding Party, Seagull, Someone Else, Seeds (Crow's Theatre); Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Public Enemy, Cosmonaut (Canadian Stage); One Man, Two Guvnors, Cyrano (Shaw Festival); Arigato, The Maids, Blasted (Buddies in Bad Times); Faust, The Designated Mourner, Cryptogram (Tarragon); Centaur, Electric Company, Why Not Theatre, Soulpepper, Necessary Angel, Theatre Passe Muraille, Segal Centre, MTC, Citadel. Opera: Volcano. Dance: adelheid, Susanna Hood, Chartier Danse. Training: National Theatre School. Awards: Five Dora Awards for set design; Virginia Cooper Award for costume design; META and Sterling Award nominations. Teaching: National Theatre School. 

    Imogen Wilson
    Lighting Designer

    (she/her)

    2025: Lighting designer of As You Like It. Fifth season. Stratford: Assistant lighting designer on Chicago, Serving Elizabeth, I Am William, The Rez Sisters, Midsummer Night's Dream, Billy Elliot, The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Front Page, Long Day's Journey into Night, Brontë: The World Without. Elsewhere: Recent credits include Fifteen Dogs (Mirvish); Rosmersholm, Wights (Crow's Theatre); Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, Ghost! The Musical (Chemainus Theatre); How to Fail as a Popstar World Tour (Canadian Stage). She has assistant lighting designed Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Come From Away (Mirvish); Macbeth, La Bohème, Fidelio, Cunning Little Vixen, Don Giovanni, Don Pasquale, Medea (Canadian Opera Company); Caroline, or Change (Musical Stage Company) and more. Et cetera: Imogen is also a scenic painter, member of ADC 659 and avid sunset canoer. Thank you Mum & Dad.
    Thomas Ryder Payne
    Composer, Sound Designer

    2025: Composer and sound designer of As You Like It and sound designer of Ransacking Troy. 15th season. Stratford: More than 25 productions since 2009. Elsewhere: Designs for Mirvish, BIBT, Soulpepper, Shaw, Canadian Stage, Tarragon, NAC, Blyth Festival, RMTC, Theatre Calgary, GCTC, Nightwood, Modern Times, Aluna, Crow's and many others. Film: Plain View, 7A, Blood Harvest, Hero.Traitor.Patriot, Alegra & Jim, Robert's Circle. Training: Studied composition with James Tenney, Honours BA, York University. Awards: Six Dora Awards for Sound Design and Composition. Et cetera: Started as a songwriter with a four-track tape machine and still endlessly fascinated with the storytelling possibilities of layered sound. Online: thomasryderpayne.bandcamp.com, xeno-canto.org/contributor/NWXCLJYBDK.

    Ron Sexsmith
    Composer

    2025: Composer of As You Like It. Stratford debut. Ron Sexsmith is a three-time Juno Award and one-time Genie Award winning singer songwriter from St. Catharines, Ontario. His extensive 18-album catalog has garnered critical acclaim with a substantive international following. His songs have been covered by Rod Stewart, Michael Bublé, Emmy Lou Harris, Feist, Stevie Nicks, and k.d. lang, to name a few. Ron has performed as a headlining artist at some of the most prestigious venues in the world including Massey Hall, The Royal Albert Hall, Carnegie Hall and The London Palladium. He has penned a novel Deer Life: A Fairy Tale published worldwide by Dundurn. Ron continues to write, record, and tour in North America and internationally. He resides in Stratford, Ontario. More Info: www.ronsexsmith.com.

PLAY SCHEDULE

Take advantage of various special deals to save on tickets!
Sat, May 03
2:00 PM
Wed, May 07
2:00 PM
Sat, May 10
2:00 PM
Wed, May 14
8:00 PM
Sat, May 17
8:00 PM
Thu, May 22
2:00 PM
Sat, May 24
8:00 PM
Mon, May 26
7:30 PM
Fri, May 30
2:00 PM

FESTIVAL THEATRE  
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