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Announcing our 2024 Season:


This Rough Magic

Welcome back to the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival. We have been privileged to present exciting, joyous, and accessible classics on the banks of the St. Lawrence for over 20 years. Our 22nd season will continue this tradition of excellence, with stirring plays, rousing spectacle, and remarkable experiences. Join us for a magical night under the stars and some world-class performances.
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The Tempest
by William Shakespeare
Directed by James Wallis
July 13 to August 10

There will be a Pay What You Can Preview Performance on July 12th, tickets available at the door only.

This imaginative play will illuminate the amphitheatre each night, where the natural background of the St. Lawrence River will bring to life the dream-like world of this Shakespearean romance. Incorporating music, puppetry, and beautiful text, this piece tells the story of loss, land, memory, revenge, and forgiveness.
She Stoops to Conquer
by Oliver Goldsmith
Directed by Julia Nish-Lapidus
July 17 to August 10

 

There will be a Pay What You Can Preview Performance on July 16th, tickets available at the door only.

 

This lovable farce is the quintessential version of 18th Century “laughing comedy,” where society's eccentricities are the butt of the joke. This genuinely funny play is a crowd pleaser about lust, status, love, marriage, and mistaken identity, and is one of the most famous English comedies in the canon.

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Play On!
A Shakespeare Inspired Mixtape
created by Robert Markus, Julia Nish-Lapidus, & James Wallis
 
Originally commissioned by the Stratford Festival
August 13-17

A witty, entertaining, cabaret of pop music and Shakespearean text, bringing together a wide-range of songs from a variety of eras and genres, including The Beatles, Taylor Swift, Elton John, Prince, and more. This special one-week-only production, originally created for its sold-out run at the Stratford Festival, will excite every night with rhythm, joy, and poetry. A celebratory end to the season, with music for all ages.

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Cast & Crew
Meet our new Co-Artistic Directors, Julia Nish-Lapidus and James Wallis

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CAST & CREATIVE

Introducing our Cast and Crew for 2024

View Here

 
Plan your visit

PLANNING YOUR VISIT

& OTHER FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS


PURCHASE
YOUR TICKETS

BUY TICKETS

GET YOUR 
FLEX PASSES

BUY PASSES

Purchase a 2 of 3 show Flex Subscription Pass and save 10% or get a 3 show subscription pass and save 15%.

GIVE THE GIFT OF OUTDOOR THEATRE

GIFT CERTIFICATE

Gift certificates can be used towards paying for tickets.

Some 
tips
for 
timers
first
  • Parts of the theatre are steep, and the terraces are grass-covered, so we advise visitors to wear sensible footwear.

  • Saturday afternoon performances can be very hot, we suggest you wear a hat for comfort and bring an umbrella for shade or in case of a shower. 

 

  • We don't like to turn anyone away from our shows, but some visitors are less welcome than others! We have a mosquito trap placed in the amphitheatre, which makes a big difference, but if you are particularly sensitive to mosquitoes, you might want to bring some insect repellant with you, just in case.

HOW TO GET THERE?

The Town of Prescott is located on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River in southeastern Ontario. We are within easy access to many of the region's cities, points of interests, attractions and special activities. We are right across the river from New York State.

BY CAR:

Highway 401 and Highway 2 pass through the town while Highway 416, also known as the Veterans Memorial Highway, borders the community. 

Parking is available at the bottom of Centre Street, opposite The Red George Pub; on Water Street at the junction of Edward Street; on the east side of town near the fort. 

BY TRAIN:

Via Rail trains from Ottawa, Montreal & Toronto to Brockville and then taxi (20 min ride) to Prescott.

FROM THE STATES:

Follow NY-3 W, NY-56 N and NY-68 W to NY-37 E/NY-812 N in St. Lawrence County, take Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge into Canada and then take County Rd 2 heading west to Prescott, Canada

BY AIR:

Fly to Ottawa International Airport - then 1-hr  drive to Prescott. From the US, you can also fly to Ogdensburg,  International Airport in New York State.

YOU HAVE ARRIVED!

If you have to pick up your tickets - go to the box office window by the Marina. 

 

If you have your tickets already printed or on your phone - line up at your nearest entrance to your seats.  Ushers will then scan your tickets.

Join the Director’s Club!

 

 

 

A club for monthly donors, offering unprecedented access to the Festival and artists, including special Director's Club-only events throughout the year.

 

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All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts. 

 WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, AS YOU LIKE IT.

HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT US?

The St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival is always looking for friendly, reliable, outgoing volunteers to assist our team in various areas. We are extremely grateful to our volunteers for their time and commitment.

 

Volunteers play an important role for our Festival and we have many roles for you to choose from.

  • Backstage

    • Set building

    • Painting

    • Sewing

    • Prop building/finding

  • Usher​

  • Box Office Cashier​

  • Customer Service Rep

WHY BECOME A VOLUNTEER?

  • Meet new people

  • Learn new skills

  • Enrich retirement

  • See some of your favourite artists or meet new ones

  • Be a proud member of a great team and know that you are enhancing your community

  • It's fun, we promise!

TO APPLY:

If you're interested in becoming one of our volunteers, please sign up here with the following information:

 

  • Your full name

  • Email address

  • A phone number we can reach you by

  • Which position you are interested in

  • Other information

    • Tell us about yourself

    • Special skills/interests, etc.

Support

GRATEFUL THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS

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GET IN
TOUCH
WITH US

Thanks for reaching out, we will be in touch soon!

MEET OUR TEAM

The Festival is led by a dedicated Board of Directors.​​

Board positions are renewable 2-year terms.

BOARD MEMBERS

Jo-Anne Beckstead (Chair)

Leanne Burton

Deanna Clark

Laurie Kirkby (Treasurer)

Sandra Lawn

Philip Pace

Susan Vallom

JULIA NISH-LAPIDUS

JAMES WALLIS

Co-Artistic Directors

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INGRID BJORNSON

General Manager

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SHARON FLOOD

Props & Wardrobe Supervisor

Contact

OUR STORY

The St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival seeks to achieve the highest possible standards of artistic excellence by producing professional productions in magnificent natural surroundings while encouraging the greatest possible level of community involvement. It aspires to provide a creative summer home for artists with a passion for the classics and the talent to speak to audiences in such a way that their quality of life is enriched and their understanding of the human condition enhanced.

2002

The Company began to take shape in 2002 after Deborah Smith of South Mountain brought a small, self-produced, touring production of Romeo & Juliet to the area.

2003

The community was charmed by the idea of having live theatre in its midst and it was agreed that the Company could utilize the outdoor amphitheatre for a full production of The Tempest in the summer of 2003 and thus the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival was born.

2005

Ian Farthing was appointed as the Festival's Artistic Director. He oversaw the expansion of the theatre's activities to a season of two mainstage Shakespeare productions, a full Sunday Series of events and an education program.

2014

SLSF had the distinction of being the only Canadian Theatre to present Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre’s international touring production of Hamlet.

At the end of 2014, Ian Farthing handed over the Artistic Directorship to Rona Waddington.Innovations introduced by Rona included recruiting a team of local volunteers to plays crowds and soldiers in productions of Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra, facilitating work on a scale that had not yet been seen at the Festival, and a series of “Community Productions”, in which post-season productions were directed by Rona, as fundraisers for the Festival, that exclusively featured local amateur actors.

2017

In November 2017, Richard Sheridan Willis became Artistic Director, taking the company into its next phase of development and growth.

2023

In December 2023, Julia Nish-Lapidus and James Wallis were named the new Co-Artistic Directors of the company, bringing new energy to foster growth, building an exciting future for the Festival.

With no other professional outdoor theatre in the St.Lawrence Seaway area, the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival fulfils a key role in the artistic life of the region. The unique riverside setting combined with the high quality of the performances has resulted in a 600% increase in attendance over the first twelve years.

2024
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