Unlike many other streaming options available to view, the Stratford Festival is making each production available for three weeks. To access the films, just click on the link in the first paragraph.

The Stratford Festival has grouped three plays into four different themes.

Trilogy #1: Social Order and Leadership

The Stratford Shakespeare Film Festival began last week with King Lear starring Colm Feore. King Lear began April 23rd and will be available through May 14th.

André Sills stars as Coriolanus, a Roman General who, after a significant victory, proves to be an immature and boastful man who has no empathy towards the lower class. Robert LePage directed this production. Coriolanus will be available April 30th to May 21st.

That Scottish play, aka Macbeth, will be available May 7th to May 28th. Ian Lake stars as the title character. Krystin Pellerin stars as Lady MacBeth. Michael Blake is MacDuff and Scott Wentworth is Banquo. Shelagh O’Brien directed the film of the play directed by Antonio Cimolino.

Trilogy #2: Isolation

The second trilogy is called Isolation. It begins on May 14th with The Tempest, which will be available through June 4th. Timon of Athens will run May 21st to June 11th. Love’s Labour’s Lost concludes this trilogy May 28th to June 18th.

Trilogy #3: Minds Pushed to the Edge

The third trilogy is called Minds Pushed to the Edge. Hamlet will launch on June 4th and run through June 25th. King John is next starting June 11th and available through June 2nd. Pericles closes out this trilogy June 18th to July 9th.

Trilogy #4: Relationships

The final trilogy is named Relationships and features three very different views of relationships. The historical drama Antony and Cleopatra starts June 25th and will be available through July 16th. Romeo and Juliet, the ultimate tragedy, will be available July 2nd to July 23rd. This trilogy, and the entire film festival, concludes with the comedy The Taming of the Shrew from July 9th to July 30th.

As each trilogy gets started, we will update you with cast and additional details.

In the meantime all you Anglophiles and Shakespeare fans, you have much to look forward to with the Stratford Shakespeare Film Festival.

Main Photo: Ian Lake with members of the company of Macbeth (Photo by David Hou)

All photos courtesy of the Stratford Festival

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King Lear – Stratford Festival Website – Now – May 14th

Canada’s Stratford Festival is considered one of the finest theatre festivals in the world. In 2014 they began filming their productions of William Shakespeare’s plays. For the first time, they are making these films available for free viewing.

Launching the series is production of King Lear starring Colm Feore as Lear with Maev Beaty as Goneril, Sara Farb as Codelia, Liisa Repo-Martell as Regan and Stephen Oumiette as The Fool. Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino helmed the production.

Each film will be available for three weeks with a new title being released every Friday. Next week we will have full details of all the titles available for viewing and when they begin streaming.

Metropolitan Opera At-Home Gala – Met Opera Website – April 25th 1 PM EDT/10 AM PDT

This is a star-studded event of opera’s finest singers performing live from their homes all around the world. Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin (who will also play piano) and General Manager Peter Gelb host this event. Amongst the scheduled participants are Jonas Kaufmann, Anna Netrebko, Renée Fleming and Bryn Terfel. For our full preview go here.

Gabrielle Stravelli & Pat O’Leary Facebook Live Concert – Facebook – April 25th – 7 PM EDT/4 PM PDT

If you love the great American songbook, jazz and great singing, you should take time to hear Gabrielle Stravelli who will be performing with bassist Pat O’Leary on Saturday from their home.

The duo will play standards, originals, and some wonderful lesser-known songs. If you want to make requests for a specific song, you can do so on her Facebook page (the same link as in the event’s title.)

Cyprus Avenue – BritWeek at Home – April 25th – 10 PM EDT/7 PM PDT

BritWeek, an annual celebration of all things British, is usually held in venues across Los Angeles. This year, they’ve moved evertyhing online for Britweek at Home. Amongst their finest offerings is this film of the Royal Court Theatre and Abbey Theatre production of David Ireland’s play Cyprus Avenue.

Stephen Rea (V for Vendetta, The Butcher Boy) stars as a Belfast Loyalist. In the midst of a psychotic episode he somehow confuses his five-week old granddaughter for former Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams. Fearing that his cultural heritage is under attack, he has no choice by to act.

Cyprus Avenue was directed by Vicky Featherstone and this film combines footage shot in Belfast with a filmed live performance of the play. The production received rave reviews and multiple awards.

There is a warning on the theatre’s website about the play’s content advising: Cyprus Avenue contains strong language, discussion of sectarian themes and scenes of extreme violence that some viewers may find disturbing.

Salsa Class with Debbie Allen – Debbie Allen’s Instagram Account – April 26th – 4 EDT/1 PM PDT

Want to get some exercise while staying safer at home? You can join Debbie Allen for a live salsa class online at her Instagram account (@therealdebbieallen) for an hour of fun, dance and exercise.

This will be a live-stream event. If you’ve ever wanted to take a dance class, but were afraid of looking clumsy, no worries about that here. The only ones who will know how good or bad are you are the people with whom you live.

Take Me To the World: A Sondheim 90th Birthday Celebration – Broadway.com and their YouTube Page – April 26th 8 PM EDT/5 PM PDT

You can read a full description of this event here on our website. Simply put, over 40 of the biggest names in Broadway and film will perform songs by Stephen Sondheim. The participants include Meryl Streep, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ben Platt, Bernadette Peters, Patti LuPone and so many more join host and producer Raúl Esparza.

BalletBoyz: Deluxe – BritWeek at Home – April 26th 10 PM EDT/7 PM PDT

Founded by Michael Nunn and William Trevit (principal dancers with The Royal Ballet) in 1999, BalletBoyz is an all-male dance company. They specialize in new work by collaborating with contemporary choreographers and using new music.

Misty Copeland of the American Ballet Theatre will introduce the online world premiere of Deluxe which proved quite popular when the company toured with the program.

LA Master Chorale performs Brahms’ Requiem – April 26th – 10 PM EDT/7PM PDT

Regular Los Angeles Master Chorale performances took place at 7 PM on Sundays. To honor that tradition and to acknowledge the sheltering at home guidelines, they are releasing recordings from previous concerts. A new concert will be available every Sunday.

This weekend’s concert comes from a 2018 performance of The Brahms Requiem. The concert opens with David Lang’s where you go, a re-writing of the composer’s favorite memory from the Book of Ruth. The Master Chorale gave the West Coast premiere of Lang’s work.

Ein deutsches Requiem by Brahms is considered one of the great requiems. To perform this work requires a full orchestra, 100 singers plus soloists. Jeanine De Bique – soprano and Justin Hopkins – bass baritone were the soloists for this concert.

We have a preview of the introduction to this concert to share with you.

Each recording remains available for a week after it is first posted online.

These are our selections as your Best Bets at Home: April 24th – April 26th.

Photo of Colm Feore by Don Dixon, Digital Artist: Krista Dodson/Courtesy of the Stratford Festival

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