Where: Stratford, Ontario, Canada
When: July 22-23, 2017
With: Dave
Now that we're living in Michigan, it is unbelievable how close Canada is (25 minutes south to the border!) So we really need to start focusing our attention to our northern neighbor and start traveling there. And by going for the low-hanging fruit, we decided to knock off the book item closest to us: the Stratford Festival.
The Stratford Festival takes place in a town called, not surprisingly, Stratford. When this small town was founded in the early 1800s, it was named after the birthplace and home of England's famous playwright, William Shakespeare. Even the river that runs through it was named after the river that runs through its English twin, the Avon, so that the town could officially be a Stratford upon Avon (the English version is formally known as Stratford-upon-Avon, whereas this is just Stratford, with the Avon river running through it).
In 1952, the town decided to take its connection to the bard one step further and establish the Stratford Festival. Every year, from April to October, several Shakespearean plays are performed, in addition to other theatrical productions. While there are several theaters that host the various productions throughout the season, the most famous is the Festival Theater. It has earned the title of the largest theater of its kind in North America.
Despite being in the fairly populated province of Ontario, Stratford was a drive among the cornfields to reach. It was so beautiful, but it was all farmland once we crossed the border up by Lake Huron. The drive in total was about three hours, but as soon as we were in Canada (after about an hour), the area was so remote that signs for Stratford starting cropping up immediately, despite still being two hours away.
When we reached the town of Stratford, we were surprised to see how tiny it was. It had one main high street, but aside from that, the condensed buildings of its center petered out pretty quickly into farmland. We were staying at a little bed and breakfast, and after parking the car, we realized we could quickly tackle the whole city on foot.
We arrived Saturday morning, and with nothing to do until showtime at 8pm, we started to explore. We started with lunch at a Stratford staple, the Revival House. Formally a church, this stunning building was converted into a restaurant. We actually ate upstairs in the old priest quarters, but the views down onto the nave, where they were setting up for a party, were beautiful.
When: July 22-23, 2017
With: Dave
Now that we're living in Michigan, it is unbelievable how close Canada is (25 minutes south to the border!) So we really need to start focusing our attention to our northern neighbor and start traveling there. And by going for the low-hanging fruit, we decided to knock off the book item closest to us: the Stratford Festival.
The Stratford Festival takes place in a town called, not surprisingly, Stratford. When this small town was founded in the early 1800s, it was named after the birthplace and home of England's famous playwright, William Shakespeare. Even the river that runs through it was named after the river that runs through its English twin, the Avon, so that the town could officially be a Stratford upon Avon (the English version is formally known as Stratford-upon-Avon, whereas this is just Stratford, with the Avon river running through it).
In 1952, the town decided to take its connection to the bard one step further and establish the Stratford Festival. Every year, from April to October, several Shakespearean plays are performed, in addition to other theatrical productions. While there are several theaters that host the various productions throughout the season, the most famous is the Festival Theater. It has earned the title of the largest theater of its kind in North America.
Despite being in the fairly populated province of Ontario, Stratford was a drive among the cornfields to reach. It was so beautiful, but it was all farmland once we crossed the border up by Lake Huron. The drive in total was about three hours, but as soon as we were in Canada (after about an hour), the area was so remote that signs for Stratford starting cropping up immediately, despite still being two hours away.
When we reached the town of Stratford, we were surprised to see how tiny it was. It had one main high street, but aside from that, the condensed buildings of its center petered out pretty quickly into farmland. We were staying at a little bed and breakfast, and after parking the car, we realized we could quickly tackle the whole city on foot.
We arrived Saturday morning, and with nothing to do until showtime at 8pm, we started to explore. We started with lunch at a Stratford staple, the Revival House. Formally a church, this stunning building was converted into a restaurant. We actually ate upstairs in the old priest quarters, but the views down onto the nave, where they were setting up for a party, were beautiful.
After lunch, we took a stroll down to the Avon to wander the Shakespearean Gardens. I was up to the task of determining how this stacked up against the real thing in England (see Stratford-upon-Avon). At first, it looked fairly small, with just some pathways and patches of grass.
The views to the river were lovely though.
Ahh this is feeling more like it. This feels Shakespearean.
And then I found the flowers in the garden. My favorite thing to photograph!
First, the lilies!
Then whatever these things are.
I love these flowers, but they never really photograph well.
A bust of the bard in his gardens.
Down to the Avon River for some various bridge shots.
And then a walk along the river. While the gardens weren't massive, we were already surprised they were bigger than we expected.
I was obsessed with this view.
Stroll back off the little island.
Final end of the park. Again, not massive, but bigger than expected at first glance.
The town itself was very British and cute. Horsedrawn carriages, tons of boutiques, and very pretty.
And a couple of breweries. Which was fun. Couldn't get a clear photo of this flight of beers from Black Swan Brewing Company.
Stratford City Hall.
After our day of exploring, it was time to head up the river to the theater. The walk was absolutely stunning, on a quiet pathway along the river. It only took about fifteen minutes, and was so much nicer than walking through town.
The Festival Theater, largest repertory theater in North America.
In the lobby of the theater was a 4 piece band playing royal procession-esque music to set the tone and give people warning the show was going to begin soon. We were sat up on the second level, with front row seats onto the stage that jutted out into the center. The scenery was simple, but beautiful.
The play we saw was The Twelfth Night, a comedy by Shakespeare. It was fantastic. I'm very glad I read the summary of the story beforehand, as there were quite a few plot lines and names flung about in the midst of Shakespearean words. However, the acting was so fantastic, it was easy to follow and relate to the characters. When the drunk men acted drunk, it was completely believable. And the "fool" in the show, the character Feste, had a hauntingly beautiful singing voice and made music to sing to by rubbing a stick around the glass bowls on stage to make that sound glass makes when you rub a finger around the rim. It was amazing.
We had such a lovely night here, and I can't believe this is so close. While I feel like we covered the town of Stratford, I would easily go back to see more of the shows in the future. Amazing night at the theater.
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