The Stratford Festival's 64th season official gets underway today.
The festival begins with a gala opening of Macbeth with Ian Lake in the title role.
The Stratford Police Pipes and Drums Band and the Stratford Cadet Colour Guard will kick off the evening at 6:30, followed by red carpet arrivals at 6:45pm.
This year's theme is After the Victory.
The 2016 season includes about 200 events at the Stratford Festival Forum, featuring intellectuals , artists and cultural figures.
They include: James Shapiro, Shakespeare scholar and author of The Year of Lear; historian Margaret MacMillan; Harold Hongju Koh, legal advisor for the U.S. Department of State under Barack Obama; Tony-winning actress Donna McKechnie, who originated the role of Cassie in A Chorus Line; New York Post columnist Michael Riedel, author of the award-winning Broadway history Razzle Dazzle; defence lawyer Dennis Edney, who represented Omar Khadr; award-winning journalist and CBC foreign correspondent Nahlah Ayed; Retired Lieutenant-General, Senator and celebrated humanitarian Romeo Dallaire; award-winning author Jane Urquhart; criminal lawyer Donald Bayne, who recently represented Senator Mike Duffy; leading Indigenous author, poet and critic Lee Maracle; author Monia Mazigh, wife of Maher Arar; and Andrew Downes, director of mental health for the Canadian Armed Forces.
Five other openings also take place this week: A Chorus Line, All My Sons, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, As you Like it, and Shakespeare in Love.
· A Chorus Line, directed and choreographed by Donna Feore, featuring Dayna Tietzen and Juan Chioran.
· All My Sons, directed by Martha Henry, featuring Joseph Ziegler and Lucy Peacock
· The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, directed by Tim Carroll, featuring Sara Farb, Ruby Joy, André Morin and Gareth Potter.
· As You Like It, directed by Jillian Keiley, featuring Petrina Bromley, Cyrus Lane and Seana McKenna.
· Shakespeare in Love, directed by Declan Donnellan, featuring Luke Humphrey and Shannon Taylor.
Other productions set to open June 21 and 22nd include, "A Little Night Music," "Breath of Kings, Rebellion, and " Breath of Kings, Redemption."
In August, some of the productions include The Hypochondriac, Bunny, and John Gabriel Borkman.