Stratford Takes A Giant Step – Backward
When the Stratford Festival began in 1953, it was helmed by a Brit, the legendary Tyrone Guthrie. The Festival continued to turn to the mother country for leadership for many years thereafter. Since Richard Monette became Artistic Director in 1994 the Festival has been solidly in Canadian hands.
Now, at a time when Canada faces an existential threat from the other side of the Poutine Curtain, when a renewed effort is being made to reaffirm Canada’s unique national identity, and cries of “Buy Canadian!” ring out across the land, the board of the Stratford Festival has once again reached across the pond to name Jonathan Church as its new Artistic Director.
In keeping with my unbroken record of making lousy predictions, I was fully expecting the mantle to be passed to a woman. I mean, isn’t it about f***ing time? Better yet, a woman of colour. There were a number of likely prospects.
Instead, the board, in its wisdom, has chosen yet another white man. From England.
In its publicity and during a livestreamed “town hall” to introduce Church, much was made of Church’s Canadian bona fides. I would submit that Church is Canadian much as I am Irish. We both owe our dual citizenship to descent, his mother, my grandmother. So he’s sorta “trans.” He was born in England, born English, but he “identifies” as Canadian.
Snarkiness aside, there are many solid reasons behind the board’s choice, many of them based on hard-nosed bottom line concerns.
Church was artistic director of the Chichester Festival for many years. Chichester has a thrust stage much like the Stratford Festival’s and I have come to appreciate that the Festival stage presents major challenges for a director.
Perhaps more impressive to the search committee is the fact that Church is credited for breathing new life into Chichester, doubling its audience and spearheading a £22 million refurbishing of the place. During the livestream, Antoni Cimolino referred to a need to refurbish the ageing Festival Theatre.
In recent years, Church has turned his attention to commercial productions with some success. I saw his Singin’ in the Rain when it came to Toronto and was less than impressed. But that’s a small sample, so I will reserve judgement.
During the town hall, Church spoke of his Johnny-come-lately love of musical theatre. Please, God, please don’t let him muck about with Donna Feore’s pre-eminence in that department!
Church has been quoted as saying he’d like to see Stratford’s productions mounted in Toronto and abroad. That’s a worthy goal but a two-edged sword. When Des McAnuff was artistic director his jukebox musicals decamped to Broadway along with Brian Bedford’s lackluster Importance of Being Earnest while worthier productions didn’t.
Church has also floated the idea of tweaking the repertory model so “international stars” can be lured to Stratford for short runs, a prospect that doesn’t excite me at all. I keep coming back to Stratford because the actors I see here are so far superior to most of the ones I was seeing on Broadway. Again, Buy Canadian!
Rather than seeking out international stars, Church’s time might be better spent familiarizing himself with the work being done at Shaw, Blyth, Here For Now, and even at Drayton and the Foster Festival. I dream of being able to see Doris and Ivy in the Home with Seana McKenna, Lucy Peacock, and Tom Rooney, directed by Jackie Maxwell!
Needless to say, and despite my curmudgeonly carping, I wish Church and the Stratford Festival all the success in the world. He lasted just one season at the Sydney Theatre Company in Australia; let’s hope Stratford exerts more of a pull.
One thing that was not addressed during the livestream was what the future holds for Cimolino. 2026 will be his last season with the Festival and when he abjures his rough magic and departs the Festival stage what a falling off will be there!
[image: jctproduction.com]
