MUST READ: Abbeys team up for dreamy production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream
For Graham Abbey, directing ‘Dream’ at the Stratford Festival comes with added meaning this year: it’s his first time directing Shakespeare at Stratford, and his daughter Vivienne is in the cast
1 / 2 Vivienne and Graham Abbey are teaming up for the 2026 Stratford Festival production of A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Tom Patterson Theatre.
ExpandAs with most things, this collaboration began with a conversation.
A would-be actress hoping she can convince the director for a chance, a part in a William Shakespeare play on the line. Vivienne Abbey had spent her life watching dad Graham go to work for the world-renowned Stratford Festival, and she had wondered what it would be like to have that chance.
She got her chance, but it wasn’t Graham that made the call to cast Vivienne in this year’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream: the decision came from casting director Ari Weinberg to put Vivienne in the role of Rose Petal. It was an opportunity that neither father nor daughter were sure would ever come.
“We’ve been talking about (me acting) for a long time and I’ve seen my dad doing productions for years,” Vivienne said. “I just kept on asking him, ‘can I please be in this one?’, and he always told me that it would come eventually. And this year, it did.”
Graham and his wife, Michelle Giroux, were wary of bringing their daughter into the acting life but they made sure she was grounded before signing off – and being the director for this production gave him some measure of helping make the experience for Vivienne a bit more normal.
“I was determined to make the changeling child, who’s normally a boy, a girl simply because I think there tends to be lots of opportunities for young men in Shakespeare but not a lot for young women,” he said. “Viv had done the audition and it was Ari that saw her. I had some chats with him about casting and he mentioned her, so Michelle and I chatted about it. It’s a big commitment for her, having to be at every show and rehearsals. But she loves it and it’s opened up a new world for her.”
Landing her first role was one thing, but earning a spot in one of Shakespeare’s best-known works is something that could be intimidating to a young actress. Having gone through growing pains as a young actor himself, Graham said he was Viv’s age when he did his first season at Stratford. Being just 11 years old, Vivienne said this is a life-changing opportunity she’s wrapping her arms around.
“I think this is something I could pursue as I get older, and I can learn from this – it can be a new skill that can grow with me,” she said. “I get to learn from all these experienced actors, so I’m a little bit weary with all the new information coming into my head right now but I can turn that into new skills as I get older. And having both mom and dad at home to answer my questions is great because they understand Shakespeare and can help me understand it better.”
Graham admits that he felt a little nervous when it became real that he’d be directing his daughter, but not because she couldn’t handle it in his eyes. Having gone down that road himself, he knew what kind of sacrifices would be waiting for his daughter in making the choice to chase this particular dream.
“I was a kid and did theatre, but then I went away from it for a very long time – I went and studied politics and didn’t have anything to do with theatre,” he said. “I never studied it in school and I came back to Shakespeare because it was what I had been immersed in as a kid so there was no fear on my part. Viv’s very artistic in many ways, so there’s no doubt I thought she’d enjoy and succeed at this. But she’s at that age where it’s a big commitment and you give up a lot to do it; you don’t go to camp, you don’t play sports because this is what you have to do. But she’s leaned in and she really, really loves it.”
The skills that Vivienne talked about were ones Graham echoed, saying that being part of the company imparts the importance of managing your time, attention to detail and being open to learning from those around you. In some ways, it’s giving her a chance to be on a team … just minus the jersey on her back.
“I think theatre is a team sport and I played team sports my whole life, so there’s real power in that for life learning,” he said. “There are obviously bigger parts in the play, but her part is key as part of the whole team. Among those skills is getting the confidence of going in front of people – I was much more nervous than Viv has been. She did the first preview and I thought, ‘gosh, do I tell her there’s going to be 700 people out there watching?’. But she was pretty cool with it.”
Graham admitted that seeing Vivienne on stage gave him a case of the ‘Irish feels’ that came with a few tears, and that experience came with a different set of emotions for her.
“That first preview was a really cool show and all the actors were great, and it felt good to be able to do all the things my dad helped me with,” she said.
Coming to A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Vivienne included in the cast gave Graham a chance at reflection on what the play means in terms of families as well as parents and children. That it was his first time directing a Shakespearean play at Stratford over the course of his 29-year run in his home town was something else that contributed to making it just a wee bit more special.
“There was a lot of emotion tied up in this production for me, and then the echo of seeing my daughter at the same age I was when I started here … that’s a lot, but I’m really proud of her,” Graham said. “I joke that actors have notes and questions, and she would have a lot of questions but they were good ones. She’d ask about the meaning of lines and why she’s moving here and there. I would roll my eyes because I’d be like, ‘oh, my daughter has another question,’ but she’s shown a real curiosity about it all.”
With the upcoming season giving Vivienne an introduction to an actor’s life, the question of teaming up with dad again for another season came up. The confidence is there when Viv answers the question.
“Maybe way down the road we could pick another show and do it together – that would be a lot of fun,” she said.
Dad agrees.
“It’s been extraordinary for me with a lot of things all rolled into one,” he said. “But the opportunity to do this play with my daughter is pretty special, so I often think that if this is my retiring move, I’ve done something pretty special that I’ll remember for a long time. And maybe one day Viv will get the chance to direct me.”
Curtain opens on Stratford Festival's 74th season this week-May 25th-30th 2026
Shakespeare's The Tempest opens the season Monday evening May 25
The Tempest will open the 74th season of the Stratford Festival on May 25.
NEWS RELEASE
STRATFORD FESTIVAL
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The Stratford Festival’s 74th season launches officially next week with the opening of the first seven of 2026’s 12 productions.
The excitement gets underway on Monday, May 25, with the opening of Shakespeare’s The Tempest at the Festival Theatre. The performance begins at 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday evening sees the opening of the musical Guys and Dolls at the Festival Theatre. On Wednesday the Tom Patterson Theatre officially opens for the season with A Midsummer Night’s Dream, followed by Thursday’s official season opening of the Avon Theatre with Death of a Salesman. The musical Something Rotten! opens at the Festival Theatre on Friday. Closing out opening week on Saturday is a matinee of The Hobbit at the Avon Theatre, followed by an evening performance of Waiting for Godot at the Festival Theatre.
Five more shows will open later in the season: The Importance of Being Earnest, Othello, The Tao of the World, The King James Bible Play and Saturday, Sunday, Monday.
Monday, May 25
7.30 p.m. The Tempest
Festival Theatre, 55 Queen St.
Run time: 2:33
Red carpet timing:
6 p.m. — red carpet begins
6:05 p.m. — interview with Antoni Cimolino
6:20 p.m. — interview with Donna Feore
6:30 p.m. — Stratford Police Pipes and Drums parade to the Festival Theatre
6:40 p.m. — interview with Dan Chameroy
6:50 p.m. — shooting craps and champagne popping with musical ensemble
10:30 p.m. — after party in the Festival Theatre lobby
Tuesday, May 26
8 p.m. Guys and Dolls
Festival Theatre, 55 Queen St.
Run time 2:35
Wednesday, May 27
8 p.m. A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Tom Patterson Theatre, 111 Lakeside Dr.
Run time: 2:53
Thursday, May 28
8 p.m. Death of a Salesman
Avon Theatre, 99 Downie St.
Run time: 2:57
Friday, May 29
8 p.m. Something Rotten!
Festival Theatre, 55 Queen St.
Run time: 2:44
Saturday, May 30
2 p.m. The Hobbit
Avon Theatre, 99 Downie St.
Run time 2:15
Saturday May 30
8 p.m. Waiting for Godot
Festival Theatre, 55 Queen St.
Run time: 2:32
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Stratford’s Guys and Dolls is a sure thing
Donna Feore's high-kicking musical production is a reminder that theatre is allowed to be pure fun — and that Stratford's men can really dance
1 / 2 Mark Uhre, Jennifer Rider-Shaw, Dan Chameroy and Olivia Sinclair-Brisbane. (Stratford Festival 2026 Photo: Dariane Sanche)
If Stratford's musical season in 2025 was all about a dozen talented kids and a dog, 2026 is all about men.That's according to the audience at last night's opening of Guys and Dolls. While the male dancers' chests heaved following the famously athletic number ‘The Crapshooter's Dance,’ the audience got to its feet to shower these titans on toes with audible love.
The guys take centre stage
From the show’s first moments, leading men Dan Chameroy as Sky Masterson, Mark Uhre as Nathan Detroit, and Steve Ross as Nicely-Nicely Johnson set the tone. Never a dull moment when any one of these three are on stage. Their rich voices and bold style are impossible not to love, and Ross’ show stopping delivery of the iconic tune ‘Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ The Boat’ brought the house down.
But the male cast goes much deeper than that. No fewer than 20 men – I couldn’t get an accurate count – take part in ‘The Crapshooter's Dance,’ performing sky-high acrobatics that had the audience gripping their armrests, wondering if one might fly an inch too far. But the guys nailed every single landing.
Dan Chameroy as Sky Masterson (centre) with members of the company, Guys and Dolls. (Stratford Festival 2026 Photo: David Hou). Submitted Photo
Last year I was marvelling at how Donna Feore's cast of children could sing and dance their way through Annie with such skill and joy. This year, I'm marvelling at men who do it in three-piece suits and brogues. Witnessing this much talent working together on the Stratford stage feels like a once-in-a-lifetime event.
So yes, the guys take up a lot of space in this 2026 production. What does that mean for the women? Clearly, it has the effect of asking the dolls to step it up a notch – they have to show up on a stage just moments after dozens of men were doing feats of Olympic-level dance.
The dolls deliver
And they do. The women in this production stand out spectacularly. Jennifer Rider-Shaw's Miss Adelaide is a force to be reckoned with – both by her betrothed sinner Nathan Detroit, as well as by the audience. Her brassy voice and comedic timing fill every inch of the Festival Theatre with energy.
As the star of the Hot Box Club's all-women cabaret, Miss Adelaide leads her troupe of dancers through a down-on-the-farm number that answers a question nobody knew they had: Can a woman dancing in a chicken costume look sexy? Turns out, yes. Cockadoodle-doo, ladies.
From left: Eric Abel, Bethany Kovarik as Carmen, Josh Doig, Jordan Mah and Zachary Williams, Guys and Dolls. (Stratford Festival 2026 Photo: Ann Baggley). Submitted Photo
Olivia Sinclair-Brisbane brings the perfect counterweight as Sarah Brown, the pious Save-a-Soul missionary who falls for high-roller Sky Masterson. Her solos ‘If I Were a Bell’ and ‘I'll Know’ are among the production's most beautiful moments — pure voice and feeling. Together, Rider-Shaw and Sinclair-Brisbane give this show its beauty and heart.
But if there are stars in this production, they are collective ones. The ensemble is the jackpot of Guys and Dolls, and director and choreographer Feore has built numbers of genuine spectacle. The sheer size of the cast on the Festival Theatre stage is intoxicating, bodies filling every inch, moving in precise formations that somehow never slip out of place. I can't name one without naming them all.
Costume designer Dana Osborne and set designer Michael Gianfrancesco put you squarely on a 1950s New York City street and keep you there. Mid-century masculinity — slim-cut suits with bold stripes, topped with fedoras — fills one side of the equation. On the other, the women's cinched waists, full skirts, and fabulous feathers.
The visual world is period-perfect without feeling like a museum piece. Neon signs pulse above clothing shops and nightclubs. The colour palette runs from deep orange and purple to brown, and blue. Rich and saturated. Stripes and feathers. It’s a city coming alive after years of wartime austerity.
And the music! Franklin Brasz leads a live pit orchestra through Frank Loesser's big-band score, and the sounds alone are worth the price of a ticket. At times I found myself looking up, wishing the pit were visible. When Brasz took to the stage for the show’s final number, baton in hand, the audience's response made clear that Stratford’s musicians are as beloved as anyone in the cast.
A city coming alive
Guys and Dolls has been a sure thing since it opened on Broadway in 1950. Adapted from the short stories of Damon Runyon — who spent the 1920s and ‘30s chronicling the gamblers, hustlers, and showgirls of Prohibition-era New York — it’s a rare musical that refuses to feel dated.
The humour is sharp without being cruel or sexist. And some of the iconic songs, like ‘Luck Be a Lady’ and ‘A Bushel and a Peck,’ have embedded themselves so deeply into contemporary culture that even audiences who have never seen this show will find themselves humming along.
In a moment where we spend considerable energy debating masculinity — what it is, and what to do with it — Guys and Dolls offers an answer that feels right for this moment. Here are men who can sing, dance, make you laugh, and land a backflip in a three-piece suit.
Feore has built a production that celebrates what men bring to the stage, without apology or irony. Theatre is allowed to be pure fun, and at Stratford, the men make sure of it.