Every theatre has its story. Few have lived as many lives as the Royal George. In this special documentary episode, we celebrate the life of a building that became the beating heart of the Shaw Festival. From its beginnings as a vaudeville house in 1915 to its transformation into one of Canada’s most beloved theatres, the George has witnessed a lifetime of stories. As it prepares for its next chapter, we celebrate not just the building, but the people who made it come alive. Written ...

How do you keep a holiday classic feeling brand new? Director Kate Hennig and choreographer Allison Plamondon join us to talk about reimagining Irving Berlin's White Christmas for today’s audiences, while honouring the timeless music, movement, and nostalgia that define it. They share what collaboration looks like behind the scenes, how storytelling through dance brings emotional truth to familiar songs, and what it means to return to a production with a deeper sense of joy and purpose. Ka...

How do you bring yourself to an iconic role? In this episode, actors Michael Therriault and Graeme Somerville reflect on A Christmas Carol, one of the Shaw Festival’s most beloved traditions. They talk about what it means to step into Scrooge’s shoes, the rhythms of a show that blends puppetry, song, and transformation, and the balance between ritual and reinvention. Along the way, they share backstage stories, onstage discoveries, and why this classic tale still stirs something new every ye...

What happens when the star of the show is someone who’s never rehearsed a line? In this episode, director-performer Rebecca Northan and actor Kristopher Bowman take us inside Murder-on-the-Lake, a one-of-a-kind theatrical experiment at the Shaw Festival. Each performance of this improvised murder mystery features a different audience member in a central role, supported by a cast of quick-thinking actors who shape the story in real time. Rebecca shares how her background in improv helped shap...

What does it mean to rehearse with care, rigour, and trust? Director Kimberley Rampersad and actor Virgilia Griffith join us for a deep and moving conversation about Blues for an Alabama Sky at the Shaw Festival, from its political weight to its lyrical beauty. They talk about how Pearl Cleage’s 1995 play resonates today, how costumes and choreography influence character, and how actors and directors find each other through shared values and ambition. It's a conversation about legacy, joy, a...

How do you honour two of the greatest voices in jazz history? Ella & Louis creators and performers Alana Bridgewater and Jeremiah Sparks join us to talk about the personal stories, musical research, and collaborative energy behind their new show at the Shaw Festival. From scatting origins to Oscar Peterson’s early recordings, this episode covers the legacy of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, and what it means to bring their joy, humour, and political weight into a contemporary perfor...

What does a career in the theatre look like across generations? In this episode, we bring together Shaw Festival veteran Sharry Flett and rising star Taran Kim to talk about their work on May I Have the Pleasure?, a new dance-theatre piece that plays with memory, music, and the social rituals that shape us. From first gigs and unexpected inspirations to the rehearsal dynamics that build real trust, this episode explores how performance evolves over a lifetime. With candid reflections, surpri...

What does it mean to pursue the self, and what does it cost? In this episode, playwright Will Eno and director Tim Carroll talk about Gnit, Eno’s wild and thoughtful reimagining of Ibsen’s Peer Gynt, now on stage at the Shaw Festival. From existential longing to awkward small talk, they explore what makes this modern fable so strangely human, and why Gnit’s detours and dead ends speak to something universal. They also reflect on their creative collaboration, the role of failure in art, and t...

What does real suspense feel like on stage? In this episode, actors Sochi Fried and Bruce Horak dive into their roles in Wait Until Dark at the Shaw Festival, a play full of menace, vulnerability, and razor-sharp tension. They talk about trust, sensory awareness, and the risks of staging a thriller in a real space, in real time. From soundscapes and silence to darkness and danger, they figure out what it takes to make audiences hold their breath. Sochi Fried is an actor whose stage work inc...

What happens when you blend tabletop role-playing games with the works of George Bernard Shaw and C.S. Lewis? In this episode, Travis Seetoo and Cosette Derome join us to talk about The Roll of Shaw: Through the Wardrobe, a unique live show at the Shaw Festival where fantasy storytelling meets improvisation, audience participation, and the deep winter of Narnia. From drawing monsters to running sound cues on vintage projectors, Cosette and Travis share how they bring audience ideas to life in...

How do you take a cabaret of French songs and transform it into a fully staged, immersive experience inside a Spiegeltent? In this episode, Jay Turvey and Matt Alfano reflect on the creation of La Vie en Rose at the Shaw Festival, a collaboration rooted in movement, music, and memory. Drawing on everything from Edith Piaf to Gene Kelly, from historical Parisian dance to physical theatre, the show reimagines a night in Paris as an intimate theatrical event. And we’re also joined by Eponine Lee...

How do you bring a 1905 play into the present without losing its punch? In this episode, director Peter Hinton-Davis and designer Gillian Gallow share their creative process behind Major Barbara at the Shaw Festival, from deep research and instinctive design to the urgent questions that make Shaw’s satire feel startlingly relevant in 2025. Together, they explore what it means to approach a George Bernard Shaw play as living, political theatre that challenges audiences not just to watch, but t...

Real-life partners Marla McLean and Graeme Somerville talk about co-creating and co-starring in Dear Liar, a play based on the 40-year correspondence between George Bernard Shaw and Mrs. Patrick Campbell. They reflect on building a show together, discovering the complexities of this real-life relationship, and how letters can come alive on stage. From their rehearsal room to their home life, this is a thoughtful and generous look into their partnership, both on and off the stage. Marla McLe...

What happens when a beloved British farce collides with a pair of seasoned performers who love to push each other to the edge of laughter? In this episode, actors Mike Nadajewski and Julia Course talk about bringing Tons of Money to life, corpsing on stage, and the art of comedic timing. They share stories from their early days at Shaw, how trust builds between scene partners, and what it means to stay present and spontaneous night after night. Mike Nadajewski is in his 9th season at the Sh...

Step through the wardrobe with director Selma Dimitrijevic and designer Judith Bowden as they reflect on their collaboration for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. They discuss first meetings and fast trust to the everyday bravery it takes to build Narnia from scratch. They talk about what it means to arrive in a rehearsal room without a roadmap, how design can hold memory, and why vulnerability might be the most important creative tool of all. Selma Dimitrijevic is a director and playwr...

What happens when you revisit a 1930s musical with a 21st-century sensibility? In our series premiere, associate artistic director Kimberley Rampersad and music director Paul Sportelli talk about the artistic choices, personal histories, and deep trust that shape Anything Goes at the Shaw Festival. From a game-changing audition to a day that actors say is better than Christmas, this conversation covers decades of theatre-making, and what it means to collaborate with care. Kimberley Rampersad ...

Let’s Get This Shaw on the Road — a brand-new podcast from North America’s premiere repertory theatre company. Join Alexis Milligan and Kelly Wong as they take you behind the scenes of the Shaw Festival’s latest season through candid, insightful conversations with some of Canada’s top theatre artists. New episodes every Thursday, starting May 22. Hosted by Alexis Milligan Produced by Kelly Wong Original Music by Travis Seetoo Tickets to all of our shows are available now at https://shawfes...