Stratford Festival explores 'Eureka' moments in 2015 season
Flashes of discovery – "Eureka!" moments, so to speak – are at the heart of Stratford Festival's 2015 season, as explored through 13 Shakespearean plays, modern productions and musicals. Artistic director Antoni Cimolino points out examples in three of the festival's productions.
Festival runs until Oct. 18, features Hamlet, The Diary of Anne Frank and Taming of the Shrew
Flashes of discovery – "Eureka!" moments, so to speak – are at the heart of Stratford Festival's 2015 season, as explored through 13 Shakespearean plays, modern productions and musicals.
The theme came came to artistic director Antoni Cimolino in a sort of "eureka" moment of his own.
The theme came came to artistic director Antoni Cimolino in a sort of "eureka" moment of his own.
"First I was thinking about scientific discovery; how does science change the world we live in? What is the power of knowledge and how does it relate to wisdom?," he said in an interview.
"And as I kept thinking about that question I became drawn to issues about personal self discovery. What happens when you find out something about ourselves that we didn't quite know, or about ourselves in relation to other people?"
Cimolino explains that each of the 13 shows explore the topic independently, but audience members can discover new connections as individual plays are compared and contrasted through the festival, which got underway last week and runs until October 18 in Stratford.
"The plays can be seen one in relation to another, and they can speak to one another, they can amplify each other. Or they can contradict each other, give another point of view. And by having an over-riding theme — something that examines all aspects of an interesting question — we, in my view, have a much more interesting Stratford Festival season," said Cimolino.
In the audio below, Cimolino points out specific Eureka moments and discoveries, in three of the season's productions: Hamlet, The Diary of Anne Frank and Taming of the Shrew.
"The plays can be seen one in relation to another, and they can speak to one another, they can amplify each other. Or they can contradict each other, give another point of view. And by having an over-riding theme — something that examines all aspects of an interesting question — we, in my view, have a much more interesting Stratford Festival season," said Cimolino.
In the audio below, Cimolino points out specific Eureka moments and discoveries, in three of the season's productions: Hamlet, The Diary of Anne Frank and Taming of the Shrew.