What does real suspense feel like on stage? In this episode, actors Sochi Fried and Bruce Horak dive into their roles in Wait Until Dark at the Shaw Festival, a play full of menace, vulnerability, and razor-sharp tension.

They talk about trust, sensory awareness, and the risks of staging a thriller in a real space, in real time. From soundscapes and silence to darkness and danger, they figure out what it takes to make audiences hold their breath.

Sochi Fried is an actor whose stage work includes Candida, The Apple Cart, and The Game of Love and Chance, and Wights, and she has appeared on screen in Star Trek: Discovery, Transplant, and Murderbot.

Bruce Horak is an actor, writer, and visual artist whose stage credits range from Blind Date and Goblin: Macbeth to A Christmas Carol, Richard III and his acclaimed solo show Assassinating Thomson. His screen work includes Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

Tickets to all of our shows are available now at shawfest.com.

Hosted by Alexis Milligan
Produced by Kelly Wong
Original Music by Travis Seetoo

We want to hear from you! Drop us a line at podcast@shawfest.com

What happens when you blend tabletop role-playing games with the works of George Bernard Shaw and C.S. Lewis? In this episode, Travis Seetoo and Cosette Derome join us to talk about The Roll of Shaw: Through the Wardrobe, a unique live show at the Shaw Festival where fantasy storytelling meets improvisation, audience participation, and the deep winter of Narnia.

From drawing monsters to running sound cues on vintage projectors, Cosette and Travis share how they bring audience ideas to life in real time—and why they believe everyone belongs in the world of the play.

Travis Seetoo is in his twelfth season at the Shaw Festival. He’s appeared in over 30 productions, from Brigadoon and The Magician’s Nephew to Snow in Midsummer, and has created original music for Shaw Variety Show and this podcast.

Cosette Derome is in her second season at the Shaw Festival, where she has appeared in Snow in Midsummer and The Shaw Variety Show. Her stage work spans theatres across Canada, including the NAC, the Foster Festival, and Theatre Gargantua.

Tickets to all of our shows are available now at shawfest.com.

Hosted by Alexis Milligan
Produced by Kelly Wong
Original Music by Travis Seetoo

We want to hear from you! Drop us a line at podcast@shawfest.com

How do you take a cabaret of French songs and transform it into a fully staged, immersive experience inside a Spiegeltent? In this episode, Jay Turvey and Matt Alfano reflect on the creation of La Vie en Rose at the Shaw Festival, a collaboration rooted in movement, music, and memory. Drawing on everything from Edith Piaf to Gene Kelly, from historical Parisian dance to physical theatre, the show reimagines a night in Paris as an intimate theatrical event.

And we’re also joined by Eponine Lee to talk about crafting music for the Troubadors, and how the unlikely pairing of No Doubt and Eliza Doolittle helped inspire the vibe.

Jay Turvey is an award-winning actor and director. His directing credits at Shaw include The Secret Garden, Gypsy, and The Light in the Piazza, and he and his partner Paul Sportelli have co-written several original musicals including Maria Severa and Tristan.

Matt Alfano has appeared with the Stratford Festival, Drayton Entertainment, Mirvish Productions, and on Broadway in Jesus Christ Superstar. Credits at the Shaw Festival include One Man, Two Guvnors, Anything Goes, White Christmas, and Gypsy.

Eponine Lee is an actor, musician, and songwriter. Her Shaw credits include Wait Until Dark, Troubadors, The Orphan of Chao and Snow in Midsummer, as well as performances with the Stratford Festival, Soulpepper and many others. You can find her latest single here.

Tickets to all of our shows are available now at shawfest.com.

Hosted by Alexis Milligan
Produced by Kelly Wong
Original Music by Travis Seetoo

We want to hear from you! Drop us a line at podcast@shawfest.com

How do you bring a 1905 play into the present without losing its punch? In this episode, director Peter Hinton-Davis and designer Gillian Gallow share their creative process behind Major Barbara at the Shaw Festival, from deep research and instinctive design to the urgent questions that make Shaw’s satire feel startlingly relevant in 2025.

Together, they explore what it means to approach a George Bernard Shaw play as living, political theatre that challenges audiences not just to watch, but to reflect.

Peter Hinton-Davis is an award-winning director and dramaturg who has led productions across Canada, including The Shadow of a Doubt, Sex, An Octoroon, and Cabaret at the Shaw Festival. He served as Artistic Director of English Theatre at the National Arts Centre from 2005 to 2012, and was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2009.

Gillian Gallow is a Siminovitch Prize–winning designer whose work at the Shaw Festival includes An Octoroon, The Devil’s Disciple, The Importance of Being Earnest, and The Shadow of a Doubt. She has designed for major companies including the Canadian Opera Company, Stratford Festival, Soulpepper, and Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre.

Tickets to all of our shows are available now at shawfest.com.

Hosted by Alexis Milligan
Produced by Kelly Wong
Original Music by Travis Seetoo

We want to hear from you! Drop us a line at podcast@shawfest.com

Real-life partners Marla McLean and Graeme Somerville talk about co-creating and co-starring in Dear Liar, a play based on the 40-year correspondence between George Bernard Shaw and Mrs. Patrick Campbell. They reflect on building a show together, discovering the complexities of this real-life relationship, and how letters can come alive on stage.

From their rehearsal room to their home life, this is a thoughtful and generous look into their partnership, both on and off the stage.

Marla McLean has spent 19 seasons as part of the Shaw Festival ensemble, performing in over 30 productions such as Witness for the Prosecution and Playboy of the Western World. Her work across Canada has earned critical acclaim, including a Merritt Award for The Miracle Worker. She also teaches acting and classical text at the National Theatre School.

Graeme Somerville brings over two decades of Shaw Festival experience, with standout performances in Saint Joan, The Devil’s Disciple, and Henry V. His work has been recognized with a Dora Award, and he has appeared on stages across the country including Canadian Stage and the National Arts Centre. He is also a mentor and educator at the National Theatre School.

Tickets to all of our shows are available now at shawfest.com.

Hosted by Alexis Milligan
Produced by Kelly Wong
Original Music by Travis Seetoo

We want to hear from you! Drop us a line at podcast@shawfest.com

What happens when a beloved British farce collides with a pair of seasoned performers who love to push each other to the edge of laughter? In this episode, actors Mike Nadajewski and Julia Course talk about bringing Tons of Money to life, corpsing on stage, and the art of comedic timing.

They share stories from their early days at Shaw, how trust builds between scene partners, and what it means to stay present and spontaneous night after night.

Mike Nadajewski is in his 9th season at the Shaw Festival, with credits including On the Razzle, Damn Yankees, and The President. He has performed across Canada and internationally, including eight seasons at the Stratford Festival and on Broadway in Jesus Christ Superstar. His screen credits include Murdoch Mysteries, The Understudy, and Stratfest@HOME.

Julia Course is in her 15th season at the Shaw Festival, where her roles have spanned Gaslight, Sex, The Glass Menagerie, and Baroness and the Pig. She has also performed with Theatre Animal, Nightwood Theatre, the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, and Canadian Stage. A graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada, she holds an MA from the University of Guelph.

Tickets to all of our shows are available now at shawfest.com.

Hosted by Alexis Milligan
Produced by Kelly Wong
Original Music by Travis Seetoo

We want to hear from you! Drop us a line at podcast@shawfest.com

Step through the wardrobe with director Selma Dimitrijevic and designer Judith Bowden as they reflect on their collaboration for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. They discuss first meetings and fast trust to the everyday bravery it takes to build Narnia from scratch.

They talk about what it means to arrive in a rehearsal room without a roadmap, how design can hold memory, and why vulnerability might be the most important creative tool of all.

Selma Dimitrijevic is a director and playwright originally from Croatia. She has directed Mother, Daughter and Baroness and the Pig at the Shaw Festival, and internationally helmed The Last Ship, Sting’s musical which toured across multiple countries. She is also a Creative Director with 59 Studio, currently designing audience experiences in Macau, Dubai, and London.

Judith Bowden is a set and costume designer who has worked extensively across Canada and the UK. At the Shaw Festival, her work has shaped productions ranging from Sweeney Todd to The Secret Garden, White Christmas, Gaslight, and The Apple Cart. Her credits also include the Royal Shakespeare Company, Arena Stage, the Stratford Festival, and numerous regional theatres nationwide.

Tickets to all of our shows are available now at shawfest.com.

Hosted by Alexis Milligan
Produced by Kelly Wong
Original Music by Travis Seetoo

We want to hear from you! Drop us a line at podcast@shawfest.com

What happens when you revisit a 1930s musical with a 21st-century sensibility? In our series premiere, associate artistic director Kimberley Rampersad and music director Paul Sportelli talk about the artistic choices, personal histories, and deep trust that shape Anything Goes at the Shaw Festival.

From a game-changing audition to a day that actors say is better than Christmas, this conversation covers decades of theatre-making, and what it means to collaborate with care.

Kimberley Rampersad is the Associate Artistic Director of the Shaw Festival and an award-winning director and choreographer whose work spans Shaw, Stratford, and stages across Canada. Last fall, she made her UK debut directing and choreographing The Red Shoes for the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Paul Sportelli is in his 27th season as Music Director at the Shaw Festival, where he has led productions including Grand Hotel, Sweeney Todd, and Floyd Collins. A composer, arranger, and award-winning music director, he has worked extensively across Canada and the U.S., including Broadway, Arena Stage, and Koerner Hall.

Tickets to all of our shows are available now at shawfest.com.

Hosted by Alexis Milligan
Produced by Kelly Wong
Original Music by Travis Seetoo

We want to hear from you! Drop us a line at podcast@shawfest.com