For the fifth year, the Guelph Public Library is producing a Shakespeare Lecture Series.
Each lecture in the series, which was developed in partnership with the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, will be based on one of Shakespeare’s plays being performed this coming season at the festival.
“It’s a joint effort with the Stratford Festival Theatre,” said Steve Kraft, CEO of the Guelph Public Library, who noted that the series, which kicked off last week, attracts both theatre and Shakespeare enthusiasts.
Kraft, who took over as the CEO of the library in 2014, said each speaker was chosen and scheduled by the festival theatre.
The first lecture was on one of Shakespeare’s most well loved plays, Macbeth, and was presented by Andrew Bretz last Thursday.
Guelph is one of the smaller communities the theatre has partnered with. With nearly 45 people in attendance, the first lecture was considered a success by both the library and Stratford Festival Theatre, said Kraft.
“There is a lot of interaction and questions during the lecture,” he said. “Best of all, it’s free.”
The second lecture in the series will be presented tonight by U of G professor Mark Fortier. Entitled Breath of Kings: Rebellion, the lecture is the first of a two-part series.
On March 17, U of G professor Paul Mulholland will deliver a lecture on the play, As You Like It.
For the final lecture on March 24, Ann Wilson will present the second in the two-part series, Breath of Kings: Redemption. Wilson is the Associate Dean of Arts and Social Sciences.
The Stratford Shakespeare Lecture Series is held every Thursday in March, from 7-9 p.m. at the Guelph Public Library’s Main Branch, Downtown Guelph.
To find out more about the Stratford Festival, click here.
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