I hope you’re ready for a proper great time.
At SIR we believe that Joy is vital to navigating a persistently volatile world, a “distracted globe” – as Bill once wrote. This season promises a restorative time in nature, as your ears are tickled by beautiful, transformative language; and your senses are reawakened to serenity and wonder!
Our choices for the upcoming season embrace the theme of transformation. These plays celebrate our ability to adapt, to embrace magic and storytelling, and to ultimately change, as individuals and communities. My fellow (but much more famous) South American, the revolutionary Che Guevara once said: “let the world change you, and then you can change the world”. I love this quote because it implies a surrender – a leap of faith. In other words: magic. It is an invitation for us to be open and to stay curious about the possibilities and surprises of life.
For the first time since 1995, A Midsummer Night’s Dream will return to the Ruins and deliver that much-needed jolt of magic you’ve been craving. Playing in repertory alongside Dream, we will once again celebrate a new Canadian play: Iago Speaks, by Saskatoon’s incredible Daniel Macdonald. This cheeky and highly intelligent sequel to Othello isn’t afraid to ask the big existential questions that haunt us – and it does so with a spectacular sense of humour and charm.
Join us at the Ruins this summer to have your expectations both shattered and met! Be surprised, puzzled, delighted and ultimately…
Be transformed.
Rodrigo Beilfuss, Artistic Director
SIR’s 2024 season embraces the theme of transformation with two electrifying plays that celebrate our ability to adapt, to surrender to magic and storytelling, and to ultimately change – as individuals and communities.
This ‘digital newsletter’ is your invitation to become intimately acquainted with this season through audio interviews, web chats, playlists & more.
Iago Speaks: Making a Canadian Shakespeare
Playwright Daniel Macdonald and Rodrigo discuss the making of Iago Speaks and how Shakespeare continues to inspire new works.
“O THAT I WERE A MAN!”
Dr. Chochinov follows up on her Community Classroom workshop with this piece exploring the evolution of gender roles and representation in Shakespeare’s plays. (Coming very soon!)
IT’S A KIND OF MAGIC: A PLAYLIST FOR MUSIC LOVERS
From the mind of audiophile, and General Manager, Sara Malabar comes a playlist inspired by marriage, passion, heartbreak, jealousy, love spells, immortality, forests and MAGIC. From Motown’s back catalogue, to hidden folk gems, to classic rock, modern indie and new wave – this playlist is for the serious music lover. (Featuring, Queen, Queen & more Queen thanks to Rodrigo Beilfuss.)
The Director’s Chat
An intimate, audio conversation between Director, Rodrigo Beilfuss & Stratford’s Jessica B. Hill on Dream, Iago Speaks and all things Shakespeare.
Board Chair, Joanne Zuk, in 1994 as a high school Shakespeare nerd and now. (As an adult Shakespeare nerd.)
Reflections of an O.G. patron
When I close my eyes, I can go back in time to that Saturday night in 1994. My mom and I (pictured above) had come to the St. Norbert Ruins to see Romeo and Juliet: the quintessential teen drama. I was over the moon with the kind of excitement only a 15 year old bookworm could truly understand.
We arrived early and settled in, our knees tucked under our chins as we sat on little squares of carpet. Shoulder to shoulder with other patrons, we sat patiently in the shadow of the timeless stone wall, waiting for the show to begin.
Angry shouting broke out in the distance. As it came closer, my heart started pounding. Suddenly we were surrounded by a gang of leather-clad sword-wielding punks. It was the Capulets and the Montagues – and we were in the middle of the fight. As the play began, the Ruins wrapped us all in a blanket of magic, complete with a soundtrack of birdsong and a moon that seemed to appear as if on cue.
I remember being astonished at how the Ruins themselves were part of the play. The façade was Juliet’s balcony. The warring families clambered over the walls. And the promenade experience meant that we were transported to new stages every time an actor, in character, announced, that we were to retrieve our squares of carpet and move to a new location.
I was blown away by the director’s interpretation of the play. When Gene Pyrz rolled in on a motorcycle, all my beliefs about how classical theatre should be presented went out the window. Looking back, I think this is one of my favourite aspects of SIR. You know you’re going to see a great performance. You know it’s going to be Shakespeare or Shakespeare-adjacent (speaking of, I can’t wait for Iago Speaks this summer!). And you know it’s going to be totally different than anything you could have imagined. That’s the magic of SIR.
As an O.G. patron, I couldn’t be more proud to be the Chair of your Shakespeare company as we celebrate our 30th season this summer. Thankfully I’m no longer that 15 year old nerd swooning over the cute actors. And happily, I no longer have to sit with my knees tucked beneath my chin on the cool limestone ground (seriously; kudos to the sponsors, team, and Board that made those chairs a reality). But I know that when I take my seat and the play begins, once again, I will be impossibly lost in the magic of art. I hope you’ll join me.
Joanne Zuk, Board Chair