Several September events scheduled for Stratford Festival’s Meighen Forum

Several events are scheduled for the Stratford Festival’s Meighen Forum this month, including a look into King Lear with Paul Gross, Conversations with Adam Gopnik, Scholars and Experts Week, a culinary adventure with art and food hstorian Janet Dawson and Encountering Ukraine: Readings in Solidarity .

As part of the Peer Into the Playbill series, Playing King Lear on Sept. 7 is providing an opportunity for audiences to hear Gross talk about what it’s like to be inside the mind of the king, one of Shakespeare’s most discussed and debated characters among scholars .

Gross will be joined in an intimate conversation by veteran company member Seana McKenna, who played King Lear in a 2018 production for Groundling Theater Company. Their chat will be moderated by this season’s Goneril, Shannon Taylor.

As part of the Celebrated Speakers series, September features award-winning writer and essayist Adam Gopnik in conversation with some of today’s most inspiring and insightful thinkers. The Real Wrinkle in Time on Sept. 8 includes a discussion with the award-winning theoretical physicist and cosmology expert, Prof. Lee Smolin, about quantum theories, the concept of time and everything in between.

Scholars and Experts Week at the Meighen Forum from Sept. 15 to Sept. 17 will explore the 2023 playbill alongside a selection of scholars and experts, each of whom brings special insight and experience to the conversation. Celebrating The 400th anniversary of the First Folio on Sept. 15 will bring together Emma Smith, University of Oxford’s professor of Shakespeare Studies and one of the world’s foremost experts on the Folio, with artist and scholar Dean Gabourie as they discuss the origins of one of the great wonders of the literary world.

The Meighen Forum Dinner Series presents a gravity-defying, mind-boggling gastronomical adventure: Franken-Dine Molecular Gastronomy. This meal features art and food historian Janet Dawson, who will discuss Mary Shelley’s inspirations and the artistry of food while reflecting on the world of Frankenstein Revived. The culinary adventure will be curated and prepared by chef Matthew Sullivan, culinary director of The Food Dudes, and will take place Sept. 16 in the Paul D. Fleck Marquee at the Festival Theatre.

From Sept. 22 to Sept. 24, the Meighen Forum will host Encountering Ukraine: Readings in Solidarity. Join Ukrainian-Canadian artist and activist Andrew Kushnir for readings of plays in translation, which represent some of the best of Ukraine’s theater and showcase how artists help define and defend the culture of a people. One of the featured works is Cassandra: A Dramatic Poem by Lesya Ukrainka, translated by Nina Murray, which will be read at Lazaridis Hall in the Tom Patterson Theater Sept. 22.

Ukrainka spotlights the Trojan War and offers a play about fighting for the truth. Series curator Andrew Kushnir will lead a dialogue with guests on how Ukraine has been historically impacted by cultural imperialism in Stepping Out of the Shadow: Ukraine Known on its Own Terms on Sept. 23.

The Meighen Forum also includes favorites such as Lobby Talks, Monday Night Music, workshops and tours, which continue through September.

For a complete list of events, visit stratfordfestival.ca.