The Shaw wishes to acknowledge and honour the land upon which we gather as the historic and traditional territory of First Nations peoples. In particular, we recognize and thank the Neutral Nation, the Mississauga and the Haudenosaunee for their stewardship of these lands over millennia.
In 1962, in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, lawyer and playwright Brian Doherty parlayed his love for the work of Irish playwright Bernard Shaw into a summer theatre festival, producing eight performances of Don Juan in Hell and Candida in the Court House auditorium. In this singular act of passion for theatre and culture, the Shaw Festival was born.
Today, with 10 or more productions each year performed in three theatres for an audience of more than 250,000, the Shaw Festival has grown to become a major Canadian cultural icon, a gem in this country’s rich cultural heritage. Inspired by the wit and passion of Bernard Shaw, the Shaw Festival is a contemporary theatre that features a smart, provocative, potent and diverse mix of plays from the past and present, performed by our celebrated repertory theatre Ensemble. The result is theatre that is challenging, surprising, often funny and always entertaining. These plays are lovingly and artfully brought to the stage each year by a talented team of actors, directors, and designers, showcasing the incredible tapestry of talent that this country contributes to the world.
Helmed by Artistic Director Tim Carroll (TC), The Shaw’s 63rd Season runs from April 6 to December 21.
Shaw 2025 is going to be delightful, delicious and de-lovely. Cole Porter’s great musical Anything Goes will tap dance onto the Festival stage this season. Playing alongside it will be the family classic The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and the heart-pounding thriller Wait Until Dark.
The Royal George Theatre’s final season starts off with the hilarious farce – Tons of Money – and it will see the return of Shaw favourite Major Barbara. The original and skillfully crafted Murder-on-the-Lake selects a new audience detective every show.
In the Jackie Maxwell Studio Theatre audiences will continue to see remarkable and unique plays: Gnit by Middletown playwright Will Eno and the exhilarating drama Blues for an Alabama Sky. In it’s third season on the Shaw grounds, you can visit the magical Spiegeltent for concerts, events and Dear Liar a special work featuring letters written by Bernard Shaw and the great actress and muse Stella Tanner!
Finally, our joyous holiday season caps off the year with the return of audience favourite Irving Berlin’s A White Christmas and the final production to ever grace the Royal George Theatre stage – Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol.
Recipient of Trip Advisor’s “Certificate of Excellence”, the Shaw Festival is … the perfect intermission from life.
Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), the acclaimed dramatist, critic and social reformer, was born in Dublin where he grew up in an atmosphere of genteel poverty.
The Shaw Festival, home to Two-Way Theatre, is a place where people who are curious about the world gather to share the unique experience of live theatre.
