‘Illuminated Text’ brings Shakespeare and the Stratford experience to homes across Canada

Shakespeare was a craftsman. There’s evidence of this in his manuscripts, which are full of ink blots, crossed-out lines and rewrites. Rather than idolize the Bard as an untouchable genius, why not engage with his texts as material objects, works in progress and opportunities for play and experimentation?

That’s the spirit behind “Illuminated Text,” an interactive video experience that offers a deep dive into “Hamlet.” As users click on lines of the play in Alice Mazzilli’s graffiti-inspired calligraphy, Amaka Umeh — who portrayed the play’s title character to acclaim in the Stratford Festival’s 2022 production — talks about the text in terms of rhetoric, imagery, sound and rhythm. Once users work through those four categories they are invited into the “fifth dimension” to interpret a piece of the text themselves.

“Illuminated Text” is part of a new batch of online content on Stratfest@Home, the festival’s subscription streaming service. These materials include filmed versions of productions by Stratford and other theatres, original creations by festival ensemble members and materials for schools and families.

Stratford’s digital work blew up during the pandemic. “My role became huge,” said Genna Dixon, who was originally employed by the festival’s marketing department and now holds the new position of associate director of digital content.

“The first summer we did a festival with all of our pre-filmed stage productions, and then we built Stratfest@Home,” she said. And when Stratford went back to a full season of live programming in 2022, “the digital just kept going.”

The festival’s pre-pandemic online educational offerings included resources for teachers and students, such as filmed versions of Shakespeare productions with the play’s text running alongside them. Use of such material surged during the pandemic, said Lois Adamson, prompting the creation of Classroom Connect, an expanded suite of filmed productions and resources including “Illuminated Text.”

In response to teacher feedback, Classroom Connect includes filmed plays by artists from a wide variety of traditions and backgrounds, including Indigenous storytelling and work by contemporary Black playwrights. By engaging with a variety of productions, students “can have a bit of a more critical standpoint and the ability to make comparisons and judgments,” said Adamson.

This expanded online content is allowing the festival to engage with people from across the country and beyond. “Sometimes students, patrons or families can’t necessarily afford a plane ticket to Ontario. Even a train ride sometimes can be a barrier,” said Dixon. Individual subscriptions to Stratfest@Home are $10 a month, and Classroom Connect subscriptions are $180 for a five-month subscription for up to 180 users. (Tailored subscriptions are possible for school boards and other groups.)

This emphasis on access is music to the ears of Rob Myles, the England-born, Glasgow-based creator of “Illuminated Text.” From a working-class background, Myles has long been “fixated on Shakespeare” but felt outside the culture of the Bard — “It’s a lot of polysyllabic names and double barrels and things of that nature from the old guard of incredibly privileged people,” he said.

During the pandemic, Myles created “The Show Must Go Online,” a Zoom series in which actors performed Shakespeare’s First Folio of plays — 36 in all — over 10 months. Among the 500 actors who participated was Stratford ensemble member Emilio Vieira, who introduced Myles to the festival.

Remarkably, Myles and his collaborators made “Illuminated Text” completely online. He has not yet set foot in Stratford, though he hopes too soon, calling it his new “spiritual home.”

Myles described his work as “raiding the treasure house of tradition.” The values of “Illuminated Text,” he said, are “underlined more by citizenship and participation than by passive absorption or cultural imperialism.”

The emphasis is on “the practical, how it was made … we need to put all of the best tools and the most detailed knowledge in front of people and let them find what resonates and what works for them and let them take ownership of it in their own way,” said Myles.

For more about Stratfest@Home and Classroom Connect, visit StratfordFestival.ca or call 800-567-1600.

Karen Fricker is a Toronto-based theatre reviewer. Follow her on twitter @KarenFricker2