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Shaw Festival

Mary Antonini as Reno Sweeney with the cast of Anything Goes (Shaw Festival, 2025). Photo by David Cooper. iPhoto caption: Mary Antonini as Reno Sweeney with the cast of 'Anything Goes' (Shaw Festival, 2025). Photo by David Cooper.

REVIEW: Shaw Festival’s Anything Goes is a fizzy, old-school tonic

As the script pivots between romance and farce, director-choreographer Kimberley Rampersad rides the stylistic waves, creating a production that’s sometimes grounded, sometimes cartoonish.

By Liam Donovan / May 22, 2025
Kelly Wong as Aslan and Élodie Gillett as the White Witch with the cast of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Photo by David Cooper. iPhoto caption: Kelly Wong as Aslan and Élodie Gillett as the White Witch with the cast of 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.' Photo by David Cooper.

REVIEW: Shaw Festival’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe needs a louder roar

Sometimes, theatre transports you to a fantastic new world. Other times, you get a wardrobe full of coats.

By Emily R. Zarevich / May 15, 2025
Miriam Fernandes as the Storyteller, with Anaka Maharaj-Sandhu as Arjuna and Neil D'Souza as Krishna in Why Not Theatre’s Mahabharata (Shaw Festival, 2023). Photo by David Cooper. Set design by Lorenzo Savoini, costumes design by Gillian Gallow, lighting design by Kevin Lamotte, projections design by Hana S. Kim. iPhoto caption: Miriam Fernandes as the Storyteller, with Anaka Maharaj-Sandhu as Arjuna and Neil D'Souza as Krishna in Why Not Theatre’s Mahabharata (Shaw Festival, 2023). Photo by David Cooper. Set design by Lorenzo Savoini, costume design by Gillian Gallow, lighting design by Kevin Lamotte, projection design by Hana S. Kim.

For the creators of Why Not Theatre’s Mahabharata, nothing is more contemporary than an ancient epic

“I’ve been [telling] the company to embrace time as a collaborator,” says director Ravi Jain ahead of the show’s April run at Canadian Stage.

By Nathaniel Hanula-James / Mar 18, 2025
shaw festival iPhoto caption: Production still from The Secret Garden by Michael Cooper; production still from One Man, Two Guvnors by David Cooper.

Shaw Festival review: A fabulous physical comedy and moody garden show off the festival’s extremes

If all is fair in this world, One Man, Two Guvnors will be a smash for the Shaw Festival. The Secret Garden is a more mixed affair, but Gabriella Sundar Singh shines in the title role.

By Aisling Murphy / Jul 1, 2024