By Keith Tomasek, April 3, 2025

The Stratford Festival released its annual report Tuesday, revealing a modest decline in attendance for the 2024 season, welcoming 430,000 patrons, down slightly from the 443,000 who attended in 2023.

By comparison, a decade ago, the Festival reported that 2014 attendance hit 462,000 — a high-water mark buoyed in part by a landmark production of “King Lear,” directed by artistic director Antoni Cimolino. That staging became one of the best-selling Shakespearean offerings in the Festival’s history.

That year the Festival announced a surplus of $795,000 for the season that ended in October 2014.

This year’s report includes news of a deficit.

Executive director Anita Gaffney said the dip in 2024 attendance underscores the ongoing challenges faced by theatres still navigating a slow recovery from the pandemic.

Gaffney said in a press release, “We attracted 430,000 people, a tremendous accomplishment at a challenging time in theatrical history.

“The challenge of winning back audiences has been felt around the globe, and we know it is a challenge we must surmount.”

Ambitions were high for the 2024 season, as the Festival continued its post-2020 recovery. However, earned revenue of $39.3 million was 3% below the 2024 figure. Despite cutting expenses by 4%, the 2024 season ended with a deficit of $1.1 million, as attendance fell short of expectations.

Artistic director Antoni Cimolino said “We are careful to ensure that everything we do has a positive impact on stage and for audiences.

“Even at this time, when finances are tight, we deeply understand the importance of developing the talent – and the theatregoers – who will ensure the Festival’s success as we look to our 100th anniversary and beyond.”

Talent development initiatives included eight promising young actors participating in the Birmingham Conservatory, and six mid-career directors developing their talents through the Langham Directors Workshop.

As far as developing audiences go there’s good news!

Sales to school groups were up 14%, attracted by productions of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” and “Twelfth Night,” as well as “Wendy and Peter Pan,” adapted by Ella Hickson, and, of course, “Something Rotten!,” which appealed to students’ knowledge of both Shakespeare and musicals.

In total, roughly 40,000 students from 500 schools attended performances. The nascent digital education program Classroom Connect provides Stratford Festival experiences for schools and students unable to attend in person or those wishing to supplement their visits with additional plays. Approximately 45,000 students worldwide and 40 universities, colleges and high schools are now making use of this offering.

The Festival’s subscription streaming service, continued strong with content streamed more than 46,000 times by viewers in 90 countries. The 2024 production of “Cymbeline” moved from stage to streaming, as did the 2023 production of “Wedding Band.”

New original content created included the musical series “Never Doubt I Love,” the award-winning short film “The Understudy,” and the second season of “The Everyday Forum Podcast.”

The 2025 season gets underway soon, with the first performance of “Annie” on April 19. The season also features “As You Like It,” “Sense and Sensibility,” Dangerous Liaisons,” “Macbeth,” “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” “Anne of Green Gables,” “The Winter’s Tale,” “Forgiveness,” “Ransacking Troy” and “The Art of War.”

Come back to this website in June to find all the reviews!