The Stratford Festival by black car, in one paragraph
Stratford by black car is 150 kilometres and two hours — the 401 to Kitchener and Highway 7/8 west through New Hamburg and Shakespeare, or the 401 to Woodstock and Highway 59 north — for the Stratford Festival's season (April to October; the Festival Theatre on the Avon, the Avon Theatre downtown, the Tom Patterson on the river, the Studio; twelve productions in repertory; the 2 p.m. matinee and the 8 p.m. evening): the 11 a.m. departure, the 1 p.m. lunch, the matinee, the swans and the river walk at 5, dinner at the Prune, the Bruce, Pazzo or Mercer Hall at 6:30, and the midnight door — or the evening show and a night at the Bruce Hotel, the Parlour Inn or a B&B on the multi-day hire; the Festival Theatre's drop at the Queen Street doors, the two-show day, the St. Jacobs add-on on the way home, the Sprinter for a theatre party of eight, and the rate against the Festival's own Toronto bus (cheaper for one; the car for two or more and for the day that is yours). The London article is fifty minutes south-west and the Kitchener-Waterloo article forty-five east.
Stratford is the trade's most civilised day trip: a small town of thirty thousand on a river with swans, four theatres and a repertory company that is North America's largest classical one, restaurants that the Toronto critics review, and a two-hour drive that the Festival's bus does at its own hours and the black car does at yours — so that the matinee is preceded by the lunch you chose and followed by the dinner you booked, and the drive home in the dark is the second act's argument continued in the back seat. This guide covers the routes, the Festival's season and its theatres, the day's shape, the theatres' drops, the restaurants, the hotels for the overnight, the river and the town, the two-show day, the shoulder season, the vehicle, the add-ons, the winter, the rate against the bus, and a worked matinee day.
The routes
The Kitchener route: the 401 west to Kitchener's Highway 8 exit (the Kitchener-Waterloo article's seventy-five minutes), the 7/8 (the Conestoga Parkway's south end and the Highway 7/8 west) through New Hamburg (the Nith River and the Waterloo Mennonite country), Shakespeare (the antique shops — a ten-minute stop) and into Stratford's Ontario Street — 150 kilometres, an hour and fifty minutes, the two-lane 7/8's forty minutes the scenic part. The Woodstock route: the 401 to Woodstock's Highway 59 exit (the London article's 401), the 59 north through Tavistock to Stratford's south end — the same time, the alternative when the 7/8 is slow (the summer Sunday's return) or the St. Jacobs add-on is not wanted. The rush hour article's 401 westbound at 11 a.m. is clear and the 407 to Milton is for the Friday evening show's 4 p.m. departure.
The Festival's season and its theatres
The Stratford Festival runs from mid-April (the previews) to late October (the closing) — a dozen productions in repertory (the Shakespeare, the musicals, the classics, the new plays) across four theatres, each play running through the season with performances two to five times a week, so that a two-show day is a matinee at one theatre and an evening at another. The Festival Theatre (the 1,800-seat thrust stage of 1957 on the Avon's north bank at Queen Street — the flagship, the musicals and the big Shakespeare; the lawn and the river for the pre-show; the Festival's site for the schedule). The Avon Theatre (the 1,000-seat proscenium downtown on Downie Street — the musicals and the comedies; the downtown's restaurants at the door). The Tom Patterson Theatre (the 2020 glass building on Lakeside Drive by the river — the 600-seat thrust for the classics and the new; the architecture is the show before the show). The Studio Theatre (the 260-seat black box behind the Avon — the new plays). The matinees are at 2 p.m., the evenings at 8 (7:30 on some), and the Festival's box office, the ticket prices and the season's schedule are on its site; the theatre district article covers Toronto's theatres and the Shaw Festival is Niagara's version.
The day's shape
The matinee day: the 11 a.m. departure (the 10:30 from the west end), the 1 p.m. lunch in Stratford (below), the 1:45 drop at the theatre, the 2 p.m. curtain (two and a half to three hours with the intermission), the 5 p.m. walk — the swans and the Avon's Lakeside Drive to the Tom Patterson and back, the Shakespearean Gardens, the downtown's Ontario Street shops — the 6:30 dinner, the 8:30 departure, the 10:30 door (or the 8 p.m. evening show and the midnight door). The evening day: the 4 p.m. departure, the 6 p.m. dinner, the 8 p.m. curtain, the 11 p.m. departure, the 1 a.m. door — or the hotel. The two-show day: the 10 a.m. departure, the noon lunch, the 2 p.m. matinee at the Festival Theatre, the 5:30 dinner, the 8 p.m. evening at the Avon or the Tom Patterson, the 11 p.m. departure, the 1 a.m. door — the theatre-lover's marathon on the hourly or the flat Stratford day rate. The overnight: the evening show, the hotel, the Sunday brunch and the St. Jacobs or the London add-on on the way home — the multi-day hire article's weekend or the Saturday drop and the Sunday pickup.
The theatres' drops
The Festival Theatre: the Queen Street approach to the front doors (the drop at the doors' lay-by fifteen minutes before the curtain; the chauffeur to the Queen Street lot or the Lakeside Drive's parking), the pickup at the same doors on the curtain-down (the theatre district article's running-time habit — the chauffeur knows the show's length and is at the door), the lawn's pre-show for a passenger who arrives at 1:30. The Avon: the Downie Street doors downtown (the drop on Downie, the chauffeur on the side streets; the downtown's restaurants a two-minute walk). The Tom Patterson: the Lakeside Drive doors by the river (the drop at the entrance's circle). The Studio: the George Street doors behind the Avon. The Festival's own accessibility (the wheelchair seating and the drop-offs at every theatre — the accessible service article's vehicle to the door).
The restaurants
The Festival made Stratford a restaurant town — the Prune (the 1977 institution on Ontario Street, the tasting menu, the pre-theatre prix fixe — the fine dining article's standard), the Bruce Hotel's restaurant (the Bruce's dining room on Parkview Drive — the hotel and the table), Pazzo Taverna and Pizzeria (Ontario Street — the downstairs pizza and the upstairs taverna), Mercer Hall (the Ontario Street restaurant and inn), the Red Rabbit (the worker-owned room on Wellington), the Common (Erie Street), the Parlour (the Parlour Inn's restaurant on Ontario), Bijou, the Keystone Alley, Fellini's, Revival House (the converted church on Brunswick — the dinner before the Avon), the Boar's Head pub, the Stratford Chefs School's student-run dinners (the fall and the winter — the school that trained half the town's kitchens), and the Stratford Chocolate Trail (the pass to the town's chocolatiers and bakeries — the afternoon's walk); the pre-theatre prix fixe at 5:30 for a 7:30 or 8 curtain is the town's rhythm, the reservations for a Saturday in July are made in May, and dispatch books them on request.
The hotels for the overnight
The Bruce Hotel (the 2013 boutique hotel on Parkview Drive by the Festival Theatre — the town's grand address, the restaurant, the spa, the porte-cochère), the Foster's Inn (Downie Street — the downtown inn and its restaurant), the Parlour Inn (Ontario Street), the Arden Park Hotel (Ontario Street — the larger hotel), the Mercer Hall Inn, the Stratford Hotel, the Swan Motel, and the B&Bs (the Victorian houses on the tree streets — the Festival's accommodation bureau lists a hundred) — the anniversary and date night article's long weekend and the multi-day hire article's terms with the chauffeur at a Stratford motel.
The river and the town
The Avon River and Lake Victoria (the dammed river's lake in the town's centre — the swans (the Festival's and the town's famous flock, released each April in the Swan Parade), the paddleboats, the Lakeside Drive's walk from the Festival Theatre past the Tom Patterson to the dam and the Shakespearean Gardens' roses at the old Dufton mill), the downtown (Ontario Street's shops and the Market Square, the Perth County Court House, the city hall's 1899 turrets), the Gallery Stratford, the Stratford Perth Museum, the Stratford Summer Music (the July–August concerts in the churches and on the river's barge), the Stratford Farmers' Market (Saturday mornings at the fairgrounds), and the Justin Bieber map (the Stratford Tourism office's self-guided tour of the hometown's landmarks — the chauffeur knows the stops and mentions them only if asked, which the privacy and discretion article would approve).
The two-show day, the shoulder season and the group
The two-show day is the Festival's own recommendation for the visitor from a distance — the matinee and the evening at two theatres with the dinner between — and the black car makes it a day trip (the hourly's fifteen hours or the flat day rate) where the bus makes it an overnight. The shoulder season — the April and May previews and the September and October closing weeks — has the quieter town, the easier reservations, the fall colours article's Perth County on the 7/8 in October, and the same repertory; the summer's Saturdays are the season's crowds and the hotels' peak. The group — the theatre party of eight from a Toronto book club or a company's client evening (the corporate car service page's hospitality) — takes the Sprinter with the fine dining article's private room at the Prune, and the limo bus article's mini-coach for the twenty-four; the wedding venues article's Stratford weddings are at the Bruce and the Festival's grounds.
The add-ons
St. Jacobs (forty-five minutes north-east — the St. Jacobs and Elora article's Saturday market on the way home from a Saturday matinee, or the Thursday market before a Thursday evening), Shakespeare (the village's antiques on the 7/8 — a stop each way), St. Marys (twenty minutes south-west — the stone town on the Thames, the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, the quarry swimming hole), London (fifty minutes south-west — the London article), Kitchener-Waterloo (forty-five minutes east — the Kitchener-Waterloo article's Oktoberfest on the Thanksgiving weekend coincides with the Festival's last weeks), and Bayfield and Goderich on Lake Huron (an hour west — the sunset the Festival's actors drive to on their nights off).
The winter
The Festival is dark from November to mid-April (the season's announcement in the fall, the tickets on sale in the winter, the members' presales), and Stratford's winter is the Lights On festival (the downtown's December lights), the Chefs School's dinners, the Bruce's fireplace, the Stratford Winterfest (February) and the town at its quietest — the winter driving article's 401 and the 7/8's Perth County snow (the London article's belt reaches Stratford) for the passenger who goes for the town without the theatre.
The vehicle and the rate against the bus
The S-Class or the executive sedan for the couple's matinee (the two hours each way in the reclining seat with the programme), the Escalade for the four friends, the Sprinter for the theatre party of eight; the fleet's flat Stratford rate (the engine shows it — the one-way with the return leg built in), the flat Stratford day rate or the hourly for the matinee day (eleven to twelve hours with the wait), the two-show day (fifteen), the multi-day hire article's overnight, the gratuity guide; the Festival's Toronto bus (the Stratford Direct — the Festival's own coach from downtown Toronto on performance days, a fixed departure and return around the matinee and the evening, at a fare a fraction of the car's) is the solo theatre-goer's excellent option and the reason the trade does not compete for the single passenger; the car is for two or more (the arithmetic closes at three), for the day whose lunch, dinner, second show and departure are yours, for the accessible passenger, for the group, and for the overnight with the add-on; the long-distance article's logic at the short end and the how much does a black car cost article's worked day.
A worked matinee day
A Rosedale couple, a Wednesday in late July, the 2 p.m. Twelfth Night at the Festival Theatre and the 8 p.m. musical at the Avon — the two-show day — an S-Class on the flat Stratford day rate. 10:15 a.m.: the Rosedale pickup; 10:30 the DVP to the 401 west (clear at 10:30); 11:45 the Kitchener exit and the 7/8; 12:15 Shakespeare — ten minutes at the antiques; 12:40 Stratford; 12:45 the Prune's pre-theatre lunch (booked in May; the chauffeur on Ontario Street); 1:45 the Festival Theatre's Queen Street doors — the lawn, the swans, the programme; 2:00 the curtain (the chauffeur's a day in the life article reset in the Queen Street lot, a walk to the dam, the thermos); 4:50 the doors — the couple to the Lakeside Drive walk to the Tom Patterson and the Shakespearean Gardens (the chauffeur follows to the gardens' lot); 6:00 Revival House on Brunswick — the dinner before the Avon (booked); 7:40 the Avon's Downie Street doors; 8:00 the curtain (the chauffeur on the side street; the defensive driving article's rest); 10:45 the doors; 11:00 the 7/8 east in the dark, the 401 at Kitchener by 11:40, the couple's second-act argument about the musical continued to Milton and asleep by the airport; 12:50 a.m. the Rosedale door. Fourteen and a half hours on the day rate, two shows, two of the town's best tables, and a couple who had taken the Festival's bus for years and discovered what the day could be.
Stratford quick reference
| Element | Detail |
|---|---|
| Routes | 401 → Kitchener's Hwy 8 → the 7/8 west via New Hamburg and Shakespeare (150 km, 1 h 50; the scenic two-lane); or 401 → Woodstock's Hwy 59 north (the same time; the alternative) |
| Season | Mid-April–late October; 12 productions in repertory; matinees 2 p.m., evenings 8 (7:30 some); the Festival Theatre (1,800, the Avon's bank), the Avon (1,000, downtown), the Tom Patterson (600, the river), the Studio (260) |
| The day | Matinee: 11 out → 1 lunch → 2 curtain → 5 the river → 6:30 dinner → 8:30 depart → 10:30 door; evening: 4 out → 6 dinner → 8 curtain → 1 a.m. door; two-show: 10 out → 1 a.m. door (15 h); or the overnight |
| Drops | Festival Theatre: the Queen St doors' lay-by, 15 min before; Avon: Downie St; Tom Patterson: Lakeside Dr; Studio: George St; the chauffeur at the door on the curtain-down |
| Restaurants | The Prune; the Bruce; Pazzo; Mercer Hall; the Red Rabbit; the Common; the Parlour; Revival House; Bijou; the Chefs School's dinners; the Chocolate Trail — the 5:30 pre-theatre prix fixe; book a July Saturday in May |
| Hotels | The Bruce; Foster's Inn; the Parlour Inn; the Arden Park; Mercer Hall Inn; the B&Bs via the Festival's bureau |
| The town | The Avon and Lake Victoria; the swans (the April parade); the Lakeside Drive walk; the Shakespearean Gardens; Ontario St; Gallery Stratford; Summer Music; the Saturday market |
| Add-ons | St. Jacobs 45 min NE; Shakespeare's antiques; St. Marys 20 min SW; London 50 min; K-W 45 min E; Bayfield / Goderich 1 h W |
| Winter | The Festival dark Nov–mid-Apr; Lights On (Dec); Winterfest (Feb); the Chefs School; the 7/8's Perth County snow |
| Vehicle / rate | Sedan (the couple); Escalade (four); Sprinter (a party of 8); the flat Stratford rate; the day rate (11–12 h) or the two-show day (15 h); the multi-day; vs the Festival's Toronto bus — cheaper for one; the car for two or more and the day that is yours |
Booking the day
The engine shows the Stratford rate and the day rate; the hourly chauffeur page books the two-show day; the multi-day hire article the overnight; dispatch books the Prune and the Bruce on request. Buy the tickets in the winter presale and book a July Saturday's car in May.
