Among the highlights of the season will be Brian Bedford starring as Shylock in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, directed by Cimolino; Bedford directing Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit; Brian Dennehy in the role of Talbot in Friedrich Schiller's Mary Stuart, also directed by Cimolino; Dennehy portraying Pozzo in Jennifer Tarver's production of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot; and Martha Henry starring as the Prof in John Murrell's Taking Shakespeare, directed by Diana Leblanc.

Additional productions include Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet , directed by Tim Carroll; the Jerry Bock-Sheldon Harnick-Joseph Stein musical Fiddler on the Roof, directed and choreographed by Donna Feore; The Three Musketeers, by Peter Raby as adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, directed by Miles Potter; The Who's Tommy, by Pete Townshend and Des McAnuff based on the album Tommy by The Who and directed by McAnuff; Shakespeare's Othello, directed by Chris Abraham; Shakespeare's Measure for Measure, directed by Martha Henry; and the world premiere of Judith Thompson's The Thrill, a Stratford Shakespeare Festival commission, directed by Dean Gabourie.

For more information, visit www.stratfordshakespearefestival.com.