Shaw Festival shows to see this summer

From a riotous British farce to a new revival of a classic musical to a world premiere adaptation of an ancient Chinese drama, there’s no shortage of offerings at this year’s Shaw Festival. The repertory theatre company in Niagara-on-the-Lake is mounting 10 mainstage productions this season, which runs through December. Here’s a comprehensive guide to all the shows that have already opened and those soon to debut.
After a year of significant financial losses, it’s no surprise the Shaw Festival is betting big on “My Fair Lady.” The classic Lerner and Loewe musical, which charts the unlikely relationship between a lowly Cockney flower seller and an uptight English professor, became one of Broadway’s most popular shows when it premiered in 1956. This new revival — the festival first mounted the show in 2011 — stars Kristi Frank and Shaw veteran Tom Rooney as the lead couple, and is directed by Kimberley Rampersad and Tim Carroll. Until Dec. 22 at the Festival Theatre. 
Richard Bean’s screwball comedy, based on the 1746 Italian play “The Servant of Two Masters,” has all the hallmarks of a classic British farce. Mistaken identities? Check. Delirious door slamming? Check. Lowbrow humour? Double (maybe triple?) check. The Shaw Festival’s new production of the 2011 play, which won raves in the West End and on Broadway, is directed by Crow’s Theatre artistic director Chris Abraham and features Peter Fernandes as the bumbling butler who burns the midnight oil for two demanding employers. Until Oct. 13 at the Festival Theatre. 
Marcus Gardley’s loose adaptation of “The House of Bernarda Alba” transposes the action to 1813 New Orleans, on the eve of the Louisiana Purchase. The impending acquisition of the French territory threatens to be life-altering for the free Black women in the Albans family, who could soon be living under America’s racial laws. Sizzling with rich characters and unexpected twists, this domestic drama is intimately staged in-the-round by Philip Akin, whose cast includes Monica Parks as the family matriarch and Sophia Walker as a slave. Until Oct. 12 at the Jackie Maxwell Studio Theatre. 
This world premiere adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s 1911 novel is billed as “a play with songs,” juxtaposing the drama with more than a dozen pre-existing tunes, many traditional English ditties. Written by Jay Turvey and Paul Sportelli, the story follows a misanthropic young girl whose discovery of a mysterious paradise on her uncle’s estate changes her outlook on life and that of those around her. Directed by Turvey, the Shaw Festival’s production stars Gabriella Sundar Singh as Mary Lennox and Gryphyn Karimloo as her cousin Colin. Until Oct. 13 at the Royal George Theatre. 
The Shaw Festival’s lunchtime, one-act production this season is “The Orphan of Chao,” a world premiere adaptation of an ancient Chinese drama. In just 50 minutes of bracing theatre, this generation-spanning piece tells the story of a young orphan who avenges the deaths of her ancestors at the hands of a cunning imperial general. Playwright Michael Man and director Courtney Ch’ng Lancaster draw upon various theatrical styles, from traditional Chinese opera to Brechtian techniques. Until Oct. 5 at the Royal George Theatre.
“Witness for the Prosecution,” adapted from Agatha Christie’s 1925 short story, is a riveting courtroom thriller that bears all the hallmarks of her classic murder mysteries. This whodunnit unfolds following the death of a wealthy, older woman. The prime suspect is Leonard Vole, her charming and handsome younger lover. But did he really commit the crime? Director Alistair Newton’s new production offers a tongue-in-cheek interpretation of the drama and stars Niagara-on-the-Lake favourites Marla McLean and Fiona Byrne. Until Oct. 13 at the Royal George Theatre. 
The lone production in this year’s Shaw Festival lineup that’s actually written by its eponymous Irish playwright is “Candida,” his 1894 comedy that concerns a woman tangled in a complicated love triangle. Like many other Shavian works, the play questions Victorian-era traditions and ideals (in this case, notions of marriage and gender roles). This production, directed by Severn Thompson, stars Sochi Fried in the title role, opposite Johnathan Sousa and Sanjay Talwar. Runs until Oct. 11 at the Royal George Theatre. 
This new play by Reginald Candy is the third drama at the Shaw Festival in six years to feature the iconic characters of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Damien Atkins, Ric Reid and Claire Jullien return to star as Sherlock Holmes, Dr. John Watson and Mrs. Hudson, respectively. Loosely based on “The Final Problem,” which Doyle intended to be the final short story in his Sherlock Holmes series, the play follows its titular sleuth after he stumbles upon more than a dozen human hearts, ripped from their corpses and scattered across London. Runs until Oct. 13 at the Festival Theatre. 
Based on the classical Chinese tragedy “The Injustice to Dou E That Moved Heaven and Earth,” this drama tells the story of a young widow who places a curse on her town after she’s framed and executed for murder. Playwright Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig transposes the action to a contemporary setting, and draws parallels between the societal injustices depicted in the original tale and those in the real world today. Directed by Nina Lee Aquino, this production stars Courtney Ch’ng Lancaster as Dou Yi. Runs until Oct. 5 at the Jackie Maxwell Studio Theatre.