American and Canadian Branch to Speak at Stratford Festival

susan troxell
Susan Troxell

Susan Troxell, chair of the Richard III Society’s American Branch and Sheilah O’Connor of the Canadian Branch, have been invited to participate in the July 7th Meighen Forum panel talk, titled a “Richard III: Discovered & Uncovered”. This relates to the Stratford Festival’s 2022 production of Shakespeare’s Richard III, starring Colm Feore in the leading role. Also participating in the panel will be Professor Randall Martin formerly from the University of New Brunswick and Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino to discuss the enigmatic king and the various influences Shakespeare combined to create one of his most memorable characters.  Susan will talk about the Looking for Richard Project’s amazing work in leading the 2012 discovery of the king’s remains, and Sheilah will talk about the real Richard III, in what will hopefully give audience members a better understanding of the historical man, rather than the fictional one.

sheilah o'connor
Sheilah O’Connor

The Theatre Times says that the Meighen Forum, formerly known as the Stratford Forum, “was created by Stratford Festival Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino in 2013. Its mission is to illuminate the audience’s experience of a performance by going above and beyond to provide willing audiences with knowledge that will hopefully encourage further exploration of a play or topic. Post-show discussions are still a cornerstone aspect of the Forum, but they are accompanied by other learning opportunities, including discussions that feature knowledgeable speakers and/or panels digging into a particular topic, readings of new work, workshops open to the public, and much, much more.”

The Stratford Festival is one of Canada’s premier artistic festivals.  Founded in 1952, the Festival primarily performs works by Shakespeare, but also presents a wide range of classic and contemporary plays.

Members are warmly welcomed to attend the talk which begins at 10 am on July 7th, in Stratford, Ontario, Canada.  For more details and for tickets, please click here.