ROMEO AND JULIET - Stratford Festival

Tybalt ..................................Timothy D. Stickney
Paris ....................................Steven Sutcliffe
Old Capulet .........................Brian Tree
SELECTED ARTISTIC PERSONNEL
Gareth Potter has been at the Festival for the past four seasons, playing such roles as
Edgar in King Lear, Gratiano in The Merchant of Venice, Pierrot in Don Juan and
Malcolm in Macbeth. Gareth is a graduate of the Birmingham Conservatory for Classical
Theatre and the National Theatre School of Canada.
Nikki M. James is a graduate of the prestigious Tisch School of the Arts at New York
University. She appeared most recently as Dorothy in Des McAnuff’s remount of The
Wiz at the La Jolla Playhouse in La Jolla, California. This is Nikki’s first appearance at
the Festival. She will also appear as Cleopatra in this season’s production of Shaw’s
Caesar and Cleopatra.
RUNNING TIME
Estimated running time: three hours with one interval.
PRODUCTION SPONSORS
Production sponsor: Sun Life Financial
Production support generously provided by John and Barbara Schubert
The appearances of Gareth Potter, Nikki M. James and Peter Donaldson in Romeo and
Juliet are generously supported by the Birmingham family.
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (1564-1616)
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
Born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564, William Shakespeare was the eldest son of John
Shakespeare, a glover, and Mary Arden, the daughter of a wealthy farmer. The exact date
of his birth is unknown, but baptismal records point to it being the same as that of his
death, April 23.
He probably attended what is now the Edward VI Grammar School, where he would have
studied Latin literature. At 18, he married a farmer’s daughter, Anne Hathaway, with
whom he had three children: Susanna, born in 1583, and two years later, twins Hamnet
(who died in childhood) and Judith.
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