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Audience Advisory: This episode contains explicit and coarse language. Listener discretion is advised. In this lively conversation, award-winning comedian Gavin Crawford sits down with two of Canada's most celebrated comedic voices: grande dame of Canadian comedy Martha Chaves and comedian and drag queen Tom Hearn. Together, they discuss the highlights and challenges of working as queer comedi...

Kathleen Gallagher, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and Distinguished Professor at the University of Toronto, and Karen Gilodo, Associate Artistic Director at Young People’s Theatre, engage in a conversation moderated by Lois Adamson, Director of Education at the Stratford Festival. They discuss the urgent need to prioritize arts education and the lasting benefits of arts-based learning fo...

In this episode, join internationally acclaimed physician andauthor Dr. Jen Gunter in conversation with Festival artist Maev Beaty for a frank and empowering discussion about women’s health and bodies. Known as “Twitter’s resident gynecologist” and “the Internet’s OB/GYN,” the Winnipeg-born author of The Menopause Manifesto, The Vagina Bible and Blood: The Science, Medicine, and Mythology of Menst...

In this episode, join world-renowned voice coach and author Patsy Rodenburg in conversation with the Stratford Festival’s former Head of Voice, Janine Pearson, as they explore Rodenburg’s groundbreaking work on women’s empowerment through voice. Drawing on her influential books The Right to Speak, Speaking Shakespeare and The Second Circle, as well as her latest work The Woman’s Voice, Rodenburg d...

In this episode, former associate artistic director at Artists Repertory Theatre Jon Kretzu; emeritus research scientist and former resident bear biologist with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Dr. Martyn Obbard; and this season’s Leontes Graham Abbey, as moderator, explore Shakespeare’s famous stage direction, “Exit, pursued by a bear.” Together they consider what bears would have meant...

In this episode, join renowned Shakespeare scholar, general editor of The Norton Shakespeare and Harvard University Professor Stephen Greenblatt in conversation with Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino, commemorating Greenblatt’s new book, Second Chances: Shakespeare and Freud . Together, they discuss how “Shakespeare was the supreme virtuoso of the second chance and Freud was its supreme interprete...

In this episode, join screenwriter, director and translator of  Dangerous Liaisons , Sir Christopher Hampton; Harvard University literature professor Deidre Lynch; and Canadian author Amal El-Mohtar, as they explore the history of letter writing and its influence on literature and society. From the rise of technology that reshaped personal connections to the development of the epistolary novel, th...

In this episode, join playwright and actor in  Forgiveness  Hiro Kanagawa, Editor of the  Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia  Dr. Anne Nothof and Canadian Studies scholar Peter Hodgins as they examine Canadian cultural identity and explore questions such as, 'How do we define Canadian theatre and art? How exactly does our cultural mosaic influence this definition?'   Together, they examine the interpla...

In this episode, join playwright Erin Shields, Nehiyaw storyteller Trina Moyan, and University of Toronto professor Adriana Brook as they explore storytelling as a transformative force across time. From the origins of Greek epic poetry and its roots in oral tradition to its transition to the written page, the panel reflects on how stories like Homer’s  Iliad  and  Odyssey  continue to shape cultur...

What happens when the spotlight suddenly shifts, and someone must step in at a moment’s notice? In this episode, stage manager Maxwell T. Wilson ( Dirty Rotten Scoundrels ), swing and co-dance captain Anthony MacPherson, and assistant director/casting associate Aaron Jan ( The Winter’s Tale ) join moderator Monique Lund ( Annie ) for a candid discussion about the essential but often unsung work of...

How does sound shape the way we experience a story on stage? In this episode, sound designer Debashis Sinha ( Anne of Green Gables ) and composer/sound designer Verne Good ( Twelfth Night , 2024) join Associate Forum Coordinator James Hyett for an illuminating conversation about the artistry behind theatre’s sonic world. From the delicate serenity of birdsong to the jarring pulse of a jackhammer,...

Why are audiences so captivated by characters who blur (or outright cross) the moral line? In this episode, theatre critic Chris Jones is joined by veteran Festival actors Tom McCamus and Jonathan Goad for a thought-provoking conversation about what makes a compelling villain. Drawing on their roles in Macbeth and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels , they explore ego, desire, and the enduring appeal of the m...

We kick off the 2025 season of the Everyday Forum Podcast with a lively chat with cultural commentator Stephen Marche. He talks with the Festival's Artistic Director, Antoni Cimolino, and André Sills, actor and assistant director of Macbeth, about reimagining Shakespeare’s plays for the stage. EPISODE TRANSCRIPT   Support for The Meighen Forum is generously provided by Kelly & Michael Meig...

The Body Politic was Canada's primary queer periodical from 1971 to 1987. It amplified the lives of queer people and helped galvanize the gay and lesbian liberation movement. Join Raegan Swanson, Executive Director of The ArQuives, Nicholas Hrynyk of Thompson Rivers University and Tim McCaskell, writer, activist and collective member of The Body Politic as they delve into the history of queer news...

In this conversation moderated by actor Khadijah Roberts-Abdullah with Assistant Professor of University of Toronto and Director of the Southeast Asian Seminar Series at the Asian Institute, Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, Elizabeth Wijaya, Co-Executive Director of Artistic Freedom Initiative, Ashley Tucker, and playwright Achiro Olwoch, the history and modern-day realities of cen...

Co-authors Douglas Sanderson (Amo Binashii) and Andrew Stobo Sniderman discuss their acclaimed book, Valley of the Birdtail: An Indian Reserve, a White Town, and the Road to Reconciliation. In this conversation moderated by Dr. Lee Myers, the authors dive deeper into how two communities became separate and unequal—and what it means for the rest of us. EPISODE TRANSCRIPT Support for The Meighen For...

The "Golden Age" of children's literature (roughly 1850s-1910s) marked a period of innovation and creativity in children's books, giving rise to many enduring classics that continue to captivate and inspire generations of readers. In this conversation moderated by director, teacher, and actor Allen MacInnis, acclaimed children's author Kenneth Oppel (Silverwing) and expert in young people 's texts...

Ecodrama is a new approach to telling stories about the climate crisis through live performance. It invites theatre companies to choose sustainable and decarbonizing pathways of production and provides a public forum for thinking about how to live through calamities with collective resilience and hope. Learn more about ecodrama with Canadian playwright Colleen Murphy, Shakespeare professor Randall...

The work of Shakespeare is known across the globe, exploring universal experiences, lending itself to culturally specific adaptations, and being used as an instrument of imperialism. Join Rodrigo Beilfuss, Artistic Director of Shakespeare in the Ruins, and PJ Prudat, Co-Artistic Director of Shakespeare in the Ruff, with moderator Jessica B. Hill as they discuss the meaning of Shakespeare worldwide...

What are theatres doing to welcome audiences (and artists) who have barriers to participating in performance arts? Join Stratford Festival’s former Accessibility Coordinator Kayla Besse, Disability Dramaturgy scholar Dr. Jessica Watkin and Theatre Passe Muraille Artistic Director Marjorie Chan in a panel discussion moderated by Maev Beaty, discussing how theatres have been making their work and th...

From Harcourt's "foppishness" to Zaza's sequins, men's fashion throughout history has been a source of oppression and an avenue for liberation. Join La Cage aux Folles costume designer David Boechler and London Assurance costume designer Francesca Callow, along with Nishi Bassi, curator and manager of exhibitions at the Bata Shoe Museum, as they discuss the history of men's fashion and societal ex...

Multifaceted drag performer, model and dancer Lemon makes her Meighen Forum debut in this intimate and up-close conversation with actor and director Thom Allison. Lemon talks about her amazing journey from her hometown of Pickering, Ontario, to becoming the break-out star of both Canada’s Drag Race and RuPaul’s Drag Race UK vs the World. EPISODE TRANSCRIPT Support for The Meighen Forum is generous...

In this beautiful story of family, identity and acceptance, join Kinley and her parents, Colin Mochrie and Deb McGrath, as they discuss with moderator Rebecca Northan what it means to be a supportive family, from Kinley’s coming out journey to dealing with uninformed relatives and transphobic trolls. EPISODE TRANSCRIPT Support for The Meighen Forum is generously provided by Kelly & Michael Mei...