Stratford/CMEDIA: Two of 2023’s most popular shows, Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing and Frances Koncan’s satire Women of the Fur Trade are now available for worldwide streaming on Stratfest@Home from the comfort of your home.
Directed for the stage by Chris Abraham with additional text provided by Erin Shields, Much Ado About Nothing follows sparring partners Beatrice and Benedick, played by power duo Maev Beaty and Graham Abbey, as they fall into their friends’ mischievous matchmaking scheme raising significant questions about the dynamics of marriage and authority.
Captured live on the Festival Theatre stage by Melbar Entertainment Group, Much Ado About Nothing was directed for the screen by Barry Avrich, and produced by Susan Edwards, Mark Selby and Barry Avrich
This cast also features Michael Blake as Don John, Austin Eckert as Claudio, Allison Edwards-Crewe as Hero, Patrick McManus as Leonato, Anthony Santiago as Antonio, and André Sills as Don Pedro with Anousha Alamian, Akosua Amo-Adem, Richard Comeau, Déjah Dixon-Green, Jakob Ehman, Ijeoma Emesowum, Andrew Iles, David W. Keeley, John Kirkpatrick, Kevin Kruchkywich, Josue Laboucane, Cyrus Lane, Devin MacKinnon, Jonathan Mason, Jameela McNeil, George Meanwell, Danté Prince, Glynis Ranney, Jamillah Ross, Jonathan Rowsell, Stephan Szczesniak, Jennifer Villaverde, Gordon Patrick White, Rylan Wilkie and Micah Woods.
Set in “eighteen hundreds, Frances Koncan’s Women of the Fur Trade is a satire full of laughter showcasing a new take on the Canadian fur trade.
Directed by Yvette Nolan, the story brings together three women on the Banks of a Reddish River in Treaty One Territory where they devote their time to debating different views on life, love and the hottest man of their time, Louis Riel.
Incorporating 21st-century slang in this film, viewers look inside their fort with Koncan’s writing transitions perspectives from the male gaze onto women’s power in the past and present.
Women of the Fur Trade features Jenna-Lee Hyde as Cecilia, Kathleen MacLean as Marie-Angelique and Joelle Peters as Eugenia, with Keith Barker as Louis Riel and Nathan Howe as Thomas Scott.
This creative team includes Set Designer Samantha McCue, Costume Designer Jeff Chief, Lighting Designer Michelle Ramsay and Composer and Sound Designer Debashis Sinha.
Much Ado About Nothing and Women of the Fur Trade are now available on Stratfest@Home, the Festival’s subscription streaming services
