In addition to attending the myriad of shows at the Shaw Festival, many patrons enjoy expanding their experience at Shaw by attending some of the additional events that happen each season, and that includes the Speakers Series known as Beyond the Stage.
The series got underway this weekend with The War to End All Wars?: Commemorating World War One, featuring acclaimed historian Margaret MacMillan. MacMillan is the author of Paris 1919 and was in Niagara-on-the-Lake on Saturday morning to give an intimate talk at the Royal George Theatre about her latest book, The War that Ended Peace: The Road to 1914.
Unfortunately the author will not be presenting her discussion again on Sunday, but there are two events scheduled on Sunday you might still want to attend. In the Studio Theatre Sunday morning at 11 there will be a reading of The Accrington Pals, Peter Whelan's play set during the First World War and based on real-life events.
In the afternoon, the Studio Theatre will play host to a conversation with actor and director Paul Gross, perhaps best known for the popular television series Due South several years ago, but also widely respected as a writer. His World War One film Passchendaele will be the topic of discussion Sunday afternoon at 3 pm.
Tickets should still be available for the Sunday events, priced at $ 25 for the speaker event and $ 20 for the reading. You can book your tickets online at www.shawfest.com or by calling the box office at 905-468-2172 or toll free, 1-800-511-SHAW.
On the subject of the Speakers Series, there are two other events planned for later in the season at Shaw. On September 13th, the Festival Theatre will play host to Thought for Food at 11 am. The panel discussion will focus on providing a better understanding of the farm-to-table movement, moderated by culinary writer Lucy Waverman. The panel will include Linda Crago of Tree and Twig Heirloom Vegetable Farm; Bill Redelmeier of Southbrook Vineyards; and Stephen Treadwell of Treadwell Farm to Table Cuisine, now based in Niagara-on-the-Lake. The event will be presented in association with the Niagara Wine Festival, which of course will be in full swing by then.
On October 4th, the Festival Theatre plays host to At the Heart of the Matter with author Lawrence Hill at 11 am. Hill, author of the provocative and best-selling novel The Book of Negroes, will be giving a lecture about his most recent work, Blood: The Stuff of Life. The non-fiction book is a meditation on blood as an historical and contemporary marker of identity, belonging, gender, race, class, citizenship, athletic superiority and nationhood. Many of these themes show up in Shaw productions over the years, of course.
There will also be a Q&A and book signing following the lecture, incidentally, on October 4th.
Again, tickets are available through the Shaw box office for the September and October Speakers Series events.
By and large, the Shaw Festival is having a banner season so far, and the two productions I have had the pleasure of seeing so far have been great: The Charity that Began at Home at the Court House Theatre and When We Are Married at the Royal George Theatre. In August, we head to the Festival Theatre for what clearly appears to be the hit of the season, Bernard Shaw's The Philanderer.
If you have not been in awhile or worse still, have never been, you owe it to yourself to attend a performance this season at Shaw. They do indeed produce world-class theatre with an ensemble cast that is second to none anywhere.
So, do you need any other reasons to get out this summer and enjoy some great live theatre?
July 19th, 2014.
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