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Stratford Festival Reveals 2026 Season as Antoni Cimolino’s Farewell

Featuring fan-favorite remounts, fresh musical interpretations and two world premieres framed by a Tempest-inspired theme, the season precedes September’s announcement of Cimolino’s successor

Overview

  • Antoni Cimolino will cap his 14-year tenure by directing The Tempest in the 1,800-seat Festival Theatre as part of the April 20–Nov. 1, 2026 lineup.
  • The program reunites audiences with Donna Feore’s hit Something Rotten! and introduces a new staging of Guys and Dolls under Feore’s direction and choreography.
  • Two world-premiere plays—Jovanni Sy’s The Tao of the World and Charlotte Corbeil-Coleman’s The King James Bible Play—will debut in the Tom Patterson and Studio theatres.
  • The festival has secured guardianship of Stratford’s Normal School through the end of 2026, preserving vital rehearsal and office facilities.
  • Casting plans are being revised following actor Michael Blake’s July death, and the board has pledged to unveil Cimolino’s successor in September 2025.