In this episode, join playwright Erin Shields, Nehiyaw storyteller Trina Moyan, and University of Toronto professor Adriana Brook as they explore storytelling as a transformative force across time. From the origins of Greek epic poetry and its roots in oral tradition to its transition to the written page, the panel reflects on how stories like Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey continue to shape culture today. Discover how ancient narratives and modern adaptations such as Shields’ Ransacking Troy reveal the enduring human impulse to share stories as a way of understanding the world.

Support for The Meighen Forum is generously provided by Kelly & Michael Meighen and the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation.

Note: Transcript coming soon.

What happens when the spotlight suddenly shifts, and someone must step in at a moment’s notice? In this episode, stage manager Maxwell T. Wilson (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), swing and co-dance captain Anthony MacPherson, and assistant director/casting associate Aaron Jan (The Winter’s Tale) join moderator Monique Lund (Annie) for a candid discussion about the essential but often unsung work of understudies and swings. From the discipline it takes to track multiple roles to the courage required to perform with little warning, they share behind-the-scenes stories that reveal why these artists are true guardians of “the show must go on.”
Support for The Meighen Forum is generously provided by Kelly & Michael Meighen and the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation.

How does sound shape the way we experience a story on stage? In this episode, sound designer Debashis Sinha (Anne of Green Gables) and composer/sound designer Verne Good (Twelfth Night, 2024) join Associate Forum Coordinator James Hyett for an illuminating conversation about the artistry behind theatre’s sonic world. From the delicate serenity of birdsong to the jarring pulse of a jackhammer, they reveal how music, effects, and ambient sound work together to deepen character, set tone, and transport audiences.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Support for The Meighen Forum is generously provided by Kelly & Michael Meighen and the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation.

Why are audiences so captivated by characters who blur (or outright cross) the moral line? In this episode, theatre critic Chris Jones is joined by veteran Festival actors Tom McCamus and Jonathan Goad for a thought-provoking conversation about what makes a compelling villain. Drawing on their roles in Macbeth and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, they explore ego, desire, and the enduring appeal of the morally compromised.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels has been extended to November 23. Don’t miss this “Critic’s Pick” from The Globe and Mail, where cheering for the bad guys has never been so fun.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Support for The Meighen Forum is generously provided by Kelly & Michael Meighen and the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation.

We kick off the 2025 season of the Everyday Forum Podcast with a lively chat with cultural commentator Stephen Marche. He talks with the Festival's Artistic Director, Antoni Cimolino, and André Sills, actor and assistant director of Macbeth, about reimagining Shakespeare’s plays for the stage.

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Support for The Meighen Forum is generously provided by Kelly & Michael Meighen and the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation.

The Body Politic was Canada's primary queer periodical from 1971 to 1987. It amplified the lives of queer people and helped galvanize the gay and lesbian liberation movement. Join Raegan Swanson, Executive Director of The ArQuives, Nicholas Hrynyk of Thompson Rivers University and Tim McCaskell, writer, activist and collective member of The Body Politic as they delve into the history of queer news in Canada.

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Support for The Meighen Forum is generously provided by Kelly & Michael Meighen and the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation.

In this conversation moderated by actor Khadijah Roberts-Abdullah with Assistant Professor of University of Toronto and Director of the Southeast Asian Seminar Series at the Asian Institute, Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, Elizabeth Wijaya, Co-Executive Director of Artistic Freedom Initiative, Ashley Tucker, and playwright Achiro Olwoch, the history and modern-day realities of censorship are examined, along with the reasons art is censored and the ways artists resist being silenced.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Support for The Meighen Forum is generously provided by Kelly & Michael Meighen and the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation.

Co-authors Douglas Sanderson (Amo Binashii) and Andrew Stobo Sniderman discuss their acclaimed book, Valley of the Birdtail: An Indian Reserve, a White Town, and the Road to Reconciliation. In this conversation moderated by Dr. Lee Myers, the authors dive deeper into how two communities became separate and unequal—and what it means for the rest of us.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Support for The Meighen Forum is generously provided by Kelly & Michael Meighen and the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation.

The "Golden Age" of children's literature (roughly 1850s-1910s) marked a period of innovation and creativity in children's books, giving rise to many enduring classics that continue to captivate and inspire generations of readers. In this conversation moderated by director, teacher, and actor Allen MacInnis, acclaimed children's author Kenneth Oppel (Silverwing) and expert in young people 's texts and cultures, Professor Mavis Reimer from the University of Winnipeg will discuss the pivotal role writers like J.M. Barrie (author of Peter Pan) and his counterparts played in shaping the way we think about and create literature for young readers.

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Support for The Meighen Forum is generously provided by Kelly & Michael Meighen and the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation.

Ecodrama is a new approach to telling stories about the climate crisis through live performance. It invites theatre companies to choose sustainable and decarbonizing pathways of production and provides a public forum for thinking about how to live through calamities with collective resilience and hope. Learn more about ecodrama with Canadian playwright Colleen Murphy, Shakespeare professor Randall Martin and Elizabeth Freestone from the University of Birmingham.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Support for The Meighen Forum is generously provided by Kelly & Michael Meighen and the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation.