The Shaw Festival’s Innovative Programming: A Departure from Tradition

The Evolution of the Shaw Festival’s Programming

For an impressive 35 years, the Shaw Festival adhered to a singular guiding principle in its programming: every play selected had to be written during the lifetime of the renowned playwright George Bernard Shaw. This may sound restrictive, but the reality is quite the opposite. Shaw was born in 1856, a time when Abraham Lincoln was still practicing law in Illinois, and he passed away shortly after the debut of Charles Schulz’s iconic “Peanuts” comic strip in 1950.

However, this season marks a departure from tradition, as two of the festival’s nine productions venture well beyond Shaw’s era. Both “The Orphan of Chao” and “Snow in Midsummer” are adaptations of two of the most celebrated works from the Yuan dynasty of classical Chinese theater, which lasted from 1279 to 1368.

Artistic Vision

Tim Carroll, the Shaw Festival’s artistic director, expressed his enthusiasm for this unique pairing, stating, “To twin ‘Orphan’ with ‘Snow’ gives our audience the chance to witness two distinctly different interpretations of legendary narratives. Each piece, in its own right, allows the historical to collide with the contemporary.”

A Family Affair in Direction and Performance

At the heart of this innovative programming is Nina Lee Aquino, one of the most influential figures in the Canadian theater scene. The festival not only invited Aquino to direct “Snow” — which marks her debut at the Shaw Festival — but also cast her husband, Richard Lee, an accomplished actor and fight director, along with their 17-year-old daughter, Eponine Lee, in both productions.

The director Nina Lee Aquino, flanked by her husband, Richard Lee, and their daughter, Eponine, brings a personal touch to the festival, highlighting the interconnectedness of family and art in a vibrant theatrical experience.