Our Story
The St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival is the premier outdoor summer theatre festival in Eastern Ontario.
Nestled along the scenic St. Lawrence River, we present world-class professional productions in our riverside outdoor amphitheatre, located in picturesque Prescott, Ontario.
Our repertoire includes Shakespearean classics, innovative new interpretations, musical celebrations, and original works, catering to audiences of all ages.
Experience incredible performances with a magical night under the stars!
history:
Today
With no other professional outdoor theatre in the St.Lawrence Seaway area, the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival fulfils a key role in the artistic life of the region. The unique riverside setting combined with the high quality of the performances has resulted in a 600% increase in attendance over the first twelve years.
2023
In December 2023, Julia Nish-Lapidus and James Wallis were named the new Co-Artistic Directors of the company, bringing new energy to foster growth, building an exciting future for the Festival.
2017
2014
SLSF had the distinction of being the only Canadian Theatre to present Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre’s international touring production of Hamlet.
At the end of 2014, Ian Farthing handed over the Artistic Directorship to Rona Waddington.Innovations introduced by Rona included recruiting a team of local volunteers to plays crowds and soldiers in productions of Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra, facilitating work on a scale that had not yet been seen at the Festival, and a series of “Community Productions”, in which post-season productions were directed by Rona, as fundraisers for the Festival, that exclusively featured local amateur actors.
2005
2003
2002
