Stratford Festival 2025/The Winter’s Tale by William Shakespeare, directed by Antoni Cimolino, Tom Patterson Theatre, closes Sept. 27.
From left: André Sills as Polixenes, Sara Topham as Hermione and Graham Abbey as Leontes, The Winter’s Tale. Photo: Ted Belton.
Antoni Cimolino’s swan song as artistic director at Stratford is nothing short of a triumph. His production of The Winter’s Tale is breathtakingly beautiful, emotionally rich, and infused with the kind of classical grandeur that reminds us why we come to Stratford in the first place.
The setting is ancient Sicily as Shakespeare intended, rendered in elegant minimalism by Douglas Paraschuk’s set design with the stage framed with delicate lace hangings. Francesca Callow has draped the women in exquisitely delicate Grecian gowns, the men in rugged warrior attire or tunics.
From the opening scene, Graham Abbey’s Leontes is a storm of jealousy—so raw and immediate that one wonders if he’s overplaying the part. But as the tragedy unfolds, it becomes clear that this is exactly what the role demands. Leontes is convinced of his wife’s infidelity with his good friend Polixenes, King of Bohemia (André Sills) and Abbey’s performance of searing intensity is the outward manifestation of an irrational mind in full flight.
The radiant Sara Topham is luminous as Hermione—gentle, gracious, and entirely undeserving of the king’s mad accusations. Her dignified bearing only sharpens the injustice. Yanna McIntosh, as Paulina, is a blazing force of fury and righteousness. She rages against Leontes with unflinching moral clarity. Her defence of Hermione is one of McIntosh’s most commanding performances in years. For his part, Sills’ Polixenes both seethes with anger and shows restraint at the same time which is no mean feat.
The baby Perdita is cast out to die, but instead grows up in rustic Bohemia, in a world awash with music, dance, and earthly joy. The contrast is striking, and Francesca Callow’s costumes highlight it beautifully. Where Sicily is regal and composed, Bohemian village life is wild and bursting with colour.
Marissa Orjalo’s Perdita and Austin Eckert’s Florizel are delightful together, bringing youthful spark to the second half. Tom McCamus makes a crusty and lovable old shepherd, while Geraint Wyn Davies shines in the comic role of Autolycus, the schemer with a grin. There’s levity, yes, but it never undercuts the emotional stakes.
Michael Walton’s lighting design is quietly stunning, and Wayne Kelso’s music flows seamlessly, elevating transitions without overwhelming them. Every design element works in harmony to support the story’s emotional arc.
In lesser hands, the shift from tragedy to redemption in The Winter’s Tale can feel abrupt but Cimolino makes it feel inevitable. When the miracle happens—when hate becomes humility, when grief gives way to grace—it lands with genuine feeling.
If this truly is Cimolino’s farewell to Shakespeare at Stratford, he leaves on a wave of glory. This Winter’s Taleis not just a production—it’s a benediction.
(And if I could add a note of extreme pettiness: much of this cast is also in the dreadful monotone Macbeth. Here at least the old geezers in leather jackets from the motorcycle gangs get to act.)