Artistic Director and director of this season’s The Tempest, Antoni Cimolino sits down with Shakespeare scholar and dramaturge Stephen Marche, who literally wrote the book on How Shakespeare Changed Everything. The conversation unfolds naturally as the pair explore Shakespeare’s enduring influence on our lives, recounting their time together analyzing The Tempest over a famous local dessert.

This event was recorded live on June 20, 2026 as part of the Meighen Forum at the Stratford Festival.

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

Listen to past episodes for free on StratFest@Home

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Award-winning choreographer Stephanie Graham hosts a conversation with Greg Alcock, Director of Physiotherapy at Fowler Kennedy Sport Medicine Clinic, performing arts physiotherapist Tim Buckley and veteran dancer Jason Sermonia. Together, they explore the athleticism of dance, comparing the discipline, conditioning and performance demands of professional dancers and athletes. Discover the physical skill, dedication and resilience required to perform atthe highest level, both on the stage and in sport.

his event was recorded live on July 12, 2026 as part of the Meighen Forum at the Stratford Festival.

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

Enjoy one month for free, visit ⁠⁠stratfestathome.ca⁠⁠ and enter code FREEMONTH

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Design coordinator Lindsay Forde joins members of the Stratford Festival’s wardrobe team to explore the artistry behind costume-making. Together, they discuss the creative process, craftmanship and collaboration that transform fabric and imagination into the magical costumers seen on thestage.

This event was recorded live on July 11, 2026 as part of the Meighen Forum at the Stratford Festival.

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

Enjoy one month for free, visit ⁠stratfestathome.ca⁠ and enter code FREEMONTH

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

In this intimate conversation, the panel celebrates the remarkable legacy of award‑winning actor and former Stratford Festival company member Graham Greene, who died last year, and whose work has shaped the landscapes of both theatre and film. Guests share candid stories, heartfelt tributes and critical reflections on Greene’s contributions as a theatre artist. Artistic Director of Young People’s Theatre, Herbie Barnes; accomplished playwright and director Yvette Nolan; Severn Thompson, Associate Artistic Director of the Blyth Festival; and artist and educator Eli Ham come together in this moving conversation.

This event was recorded live on June 20, 2026 as part of the Meighen Forum at the Stratford Festival.

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

Enjoy one month for free, visit stratfestathome.ca and enter code FREEMONTH

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Audience Advisory: This episode contains explicit and coarse language. Listener discretion is advised.

In this lively conversation, award-winning comedian Gavin Crawford sits down with two of Canada's most celebrated comedic voices: grande dame of Canadian comedy Martha Chaves and comedian and drag queen Tom Hearn. Together, they discuss the highlights and challenges of working as queer comedians in a traditionally straight comedy world.

This event was recorded live on June 13, 2026 as part of the Meighen Forum at the Stratford Festival.

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

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Kathleen Gallagher, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and Distinguished Professor at the University of Toronto, and Karen Gilodo, Associate Artistic Director at Young People’s Theatre, engage in a conversation moderated by Lois Adamson, Director of Education at the Stratford Festival. They discuss the urgent need to prioritize arts education and the lasting benefits of arts-based learning for students and communities.

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

In this episode, join internationally acclaimed physician andauthor Dr. Jen Gunter in conversation with Festival artist Maev Beaty for a frank and empowering discussion about women’s health and bodies. Known as “Twitter’s resident gynecologist” and “the Internet’s OB/GYN,” the Winnipeg-born author of The Menopause Manifesto, The Vagina Bible and Blood: The Science, Medicine, and Mythology of Menstruation brings her signature candour and science-based insights to the Forum for a conversation about reclaiming women’s health from stigma andmisinformation.

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

In this episode, join world-renowned voice coach and author Patsy Rodenburg in conversation with the Stratford Festival’s former Head of Voice, Janine Pearson, as they explore Rodenburg’s groundbreaking work on women’s empowerment through voice. Drawing on her influential books The Right to Speak, Speaking Shakespeare and The Second Circle, as well as her latest work The Woman’s Voice, Rodenburg discusses how women can reclaim their voices and define the art of accessing the power within to speak with authenticity and authority.Support for The Meighen Forum is generously provided by Kelly & Michael Meighen and the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation.

In this episode, former associate artistic director at Artists Repertory Theatre Jon Kretzu; emeritus research scientist and former resident bear biologist with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Dr. Martyn Obbard; and this season’s Leontes Graham Abbey, as moderator, explore Shakespeare’s famous stage direction, “Exit, pursued by a bear.” Together they consider what bears would have meant to Elizabethan audiences at a time when the animals were extinct in Britain and much of Europe, and discuss the broader context of animal metaphors throughout Shakespeare’s plays.
Support for The Meighen Forum is generously provided by Kelly & Michael Meighen and the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation.

In this episode, join renowned Shakespeare scholar, general editor of The Norton Shakespeare and Harvard University Professor Stephen Greenblatt in conversation with Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino, commemorating Greenblatt’s new book, Second Chances: Shakespeare and Freud. Together, they discuss how “Shakespeare was the supreme virtuoso of the second chance and Freud was its supreme interpreter.”

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