May 22, 2026… Jealousy, ambition and manipulation collide in a gripping new production of Othello at the Stratford Festival. Under the direction of Haysam Kadri, Shakespeare’s devastating tragedy arrives on the Tom Patterson stage in a production charged with urgency, passion and emotional intensity. Led by Evan Buliung as the manipulative Iago, Krystin Pellerin as Desdemona and André Sills as Othello, this electrifying staging draws audiences into a world where desire and suspicion entwine and where love becomes vulnerable to the corrosive power of deceit.
At the centre of Shakespeare’s classic tragedy is Othello, a celebrated military leader whose profound love for his wife, Desdemona, is slowly poisoned by the manipulative schemes of the embittered Iago. As insinuations take root and trust begins to fracture, certainty gives way to paranoia, setting in motion one of the most heartbreaking downfalls in dramatic literature. Through its searing exploration of race, power, vulnerability and perception, Othello remains one of Shakespeare’s most psychologically penetrating and hauntingly resonant plays.
For Kadri, the enduring power of Othello lies in the subtle and terrifying way tragedy takes hold. “What makes the play so powerful is how small moments grow into tragedy. A word here, a pause there, a subtle idea planted, and what is true becomes unclear,” says Kadri. In this riveting production, those quiet fractures gather devastating momentum, revealing how easily fear and doubt can distort reality and unravel lives.
Othello features Jordin Hall as Cassio, Jessica B. Hill as Emilia and Rylan Wilkie as Roderigo, with Sarah Dodd, Thomas Duplessie, Vivien Endicott-Douglas as Bianca, 郝邦宇 Steven Hao, Michael Louis Johnson, Josh Johnston, Cyrus Lane as Montano, Tarique Lewis, Angel Lo, Devin MacKinnon, Mike Nadajewski as Gratiano, Anthony Palermo, Irene Poole as Lodovica, Chick Reid as Brabantia and Michael Spencer-Davis as the Duke of Venice.
Kadri is joined by Set Designer Brian Dudkiewicz, Costume Designer Gillian Gallow, Lighting Designer Siobhán Sleath and Composer and Sound Designer Thomas Ryder Payne.
Othello officially opens on June 19, 2026 and runs until September 27, 2026 at the Tom Patterson Theatre. Tickets are available at stratfordfestival.ca or by calling 1.800.567.1600.
The 2026 season also features The Tempest, Waiting for Godot, Guys and Dolls, Something Rotten!, Death of a Salesman, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Hobbit, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Tao of the World and The King James Bible Play. For more information, visit stratfordfestival.ca.
The 2026 Season is supported by Ophelia Lazaridis.
Support for the 2026 season at the Tom Patterson Theatre: BMO.
Proud 2026 Season Partners: BMO, Canada Life and RBC Royal Bank.
Production Underwriter: The Westaway Charitable Foundation.
CAST (in alphabetical order)
Evan Buliung Iago
Sarah Dodd Ensemble
Thomas Duplessie Ensemble
Vivien Endicott-Douglas Bianca
Jordin Hall Cassio
郝邦宇 Steven Hao Ensemble
Jessica B. Hill Emilia
Michael Louis Johnson Ensemble
Josh Johnston Ensemble
Cyrus Lane Montano
Tarique Lewis Ensemble
Angel Lo Ensemble
Devin MacKinnon Ensemble
Mike Nadajewski Gratiano
Anthony Palermo Ensemble
Krystin Pellerin Desdemona
Irene Poole Lodovica
Chick Reid Brabantia
André Sills Othello
Michael Spencer-Davis Duke of Venice
Rylan Wilkie Roderigo
ARTISTIC CREDITS
Director Haysam Kadri
Set Designer Brian Dudkiewicz
Costume Designer Gillian Gallow
Lighting Designer Siobhán Sleath
Composer and Sound Designer Thomas Ryder Payne
Fight and Intimacy Director Anita Nittoly
Assistant Director Irene Poole
Assistant Director Alexandra Rizkallah
Assistant Set and Costume Designer Pen Tsin
Assistant Lighting Designer Emily Trepanier
Associate Fight Director David Chinchilla
Stage Manager Melissa Rood
Assistant Stage Manager Ricardo Alvarado
Assistant Stage Manager Angela Marshall
Assistant Stage Manager Corinne Richards
Production Stage Manager Bruno Gonsalves
Production Assistant Luis Zaldivar
Technical Director Robbin Cheesman
