Stratford Festival Reviews

"Ben Carlson is a superb Leontes, and Yanna McIntosh an extraordinary Hermione...Fortunately, the drama here is like a runaway train, and the audience feels all the terror and dismay of the passengers...And then we get to the “pastoral-comical” part..."

"Marti Maraden imbues this physical and emotional hurly-burly with absolute transparency. Here is a rare opportunity to catch the play turned to dazzling account."

Portman credits Carlson with getting the show off to a strong start "he achieves some searing moments....Maraden certainly captures the play's often elusive texture and beautifully explores the vital themes - time's passage, a madness of the soul, personal betrayal, remorse"

"Maraden plays it by the book. No radical interpretations are imposed on the play. Similarly, there are no outrageous sets or outlandish costumes that draw attention to themselves to the play’s detriment...The production’s greatest strength is its strong ensemble acting, which is as it should be."

" [it's] like a Shakespearean double feature – a seemingly irreversible tragic cross between Othello and King Lear, followed by a pastoral comedy that brings (most of) the dead back to life." 3/4 Stars

Maraden strips the play down to its rawest emotions and relies on the strength of her cast to carry the work...Maraden and designer John Pennoyer use smart visual cues to bridge tragic Sicilia (greys and formal dress) and Romantic Bohemia (colourful and loose).

"Maraden puts complete faith in the playwright and in her players...that faith yields an ending that is both heartfelt and deeply moving...designer John Pennoyer’s colourful palette [creates] effects that are sometimes witty, sometimes elegant and sometimes breathtaking." 4/5 Stars

Seana McKenna "anchors the evening, with her righteous anger near its beginning and her recuperative love at its end...a real joy is to see the usually tiresome rogue, Autolycus, turned into pure comic gold by Tom Rooney. 3.5/4 Stars

Quick review: "Tom Rooney is brilliantly witty as cutpurse Autolycus, our immoral guide to the second half. As Paulina, Seana McKenna once again proves herself an expert at twisting the knife while telling of off-stage deaths...Carlson and McIntosh deliver the moving performances we’d hoped for." 3/4 Stars