What happens when the star of the show is someone who’s never rehearsed a line? In this episode, director-performer Rebecca Northan and actor Kristopher Bowman take us inside Murder-on-the-Lake, a one-of-a-kind theatrical experiment at the Shaw Festival. Each performance of this improvised murder mystery features a different audience member in a central role, supported by a cast of quick-thinking actors who shape the story in real time.

Rebecca shares how her background in improv helped shape the show’s spontaneous, responsive structure, while Bowman reflects on the vulnerability and excitement of performing in a world where anything might happen. It’s a conversation about trust, craft, and the joy of letting go of the script.

Rebecca Northan is an award-winning director and improviser whose hit show Blind Date has toured Canada, the UK, and the US, including an off-Broadway run. At Shaw, she’s been seen in The Game of Love and Chance and The Apple Cart, and created the hit shows Goblin: Macbeth and Undercover.

Kristopher Bowman is an actor and improviser known for roles in Witness for the Prosecution, Desire Under the Elms, and The Devil’s Disciple. A member of Shaw’s ensemble since 2017, this season appears in both Wait Until Dark and Murder-on-the-Lake.

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 does it mean to rehearse with care, rigour, and trust? Director Kimberley Rampersad and actor Virgilia Griffith join us for a deep and moving conversation about Blues for an Alabama Sky at the Shaw Festival, from its political weight to its lyrical beauty.

They talk about how Pearl Cleage’s 1995 play resonates today, how costumes and choreography influence character, and how actors and directors find each other through shared values and ambition. It's a conversation about legacy, joy, and the sacredness of the rehearsal room.

We are also joined by Jeff Irving who tells us all about Shaw Cricket!

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.

Virgilia Griffith is making her Shaw Festival debut in Blues for an Alabama Sky and Murder on the Lake. An acclaimed performer, she won a Dora Award for Harlem Duet and has appeared with Obsidian, Soulpepper, Canadian Stage, and the Stratford Festival.

Jeff Irving is a longtime Shaw performer known for his versatility in roles in Sweeney Todd to Cyrano de Bergerac. He’s appeared in Prince Caspian, White Christmas, and The Light in the Piazza, among many others. Offstage, he’s worked across the country and appeared on screen in Fargo, When Hope Calls, and Murdoch Mysteries.

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 honour two of the greatest voices in jazz history? Ella & Louis creators and performers Alana Bridgewater and Jeremiah Sparks join us to talk about the personal stories, musical research, and collaborative energy behind their new show at the Shaw Festival.

From scatting origins to Oscar Peterson’s early recordings, this episode covers the legacy of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, and what it means to bring their joy, humour, and political weight into a contemporary performance. We also hear about how Alana ended up touring with Corey Hart.

Alana Bridgewater is a powerhouse performer and vocalist who has appeared across Canada in roles from Ma Rainey to Wiletta Mayer in Trouble in Mind. At Shaw, she’s known for My Fair Lady, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and Amen Corner.

Jeremiah Sparks is a beloved Shaw Festival ensemble member and music director of The Shaw’s Gospel Choir. A celebrated actor and musician, he’s played Louis Armstrong in Satchmo Suite and Mufasa in The Lion King, with a deep legacy rooted in Nova Scotia’s gospel and jazz traditions.

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 does a career in the theatre look like across generations? In this episode, we bring together Shaw Festival veteran Sharry Flett and rising star Taran Kim to talk about their work on May I Have the Pleasure?, a new dance-theatre piece that plays with memory, music, and the social rituals that shape us.

From first gigs and unexpected inspirations to the rehearsal dynamics that build real trust, this episode explores how performance evolves over a lifetime. With candid reflections, surprising overlaps, and a lot of laughter, Sharry and Taran share what keeps them curious and creative.

Sharry Flett is in her 33rd season at the Shaw Festival, where she has performed iconic roles in everything from My Fair Lady to The Clearing. She has worked at major theatres across Canada and taught at institutions including NTS, George Brown, and Queen’s.

Taran Kim is in his second season at the Shaw Festival, appearing in Anything Goes and May I Have the Pleasure?. He’s worked across Canada as a performer, assistant director, and choreographer, with credits ranging from Rock of Ages to CBC Kids’ Gangnam Project.

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 does it mean to pursue the self, and what does it cost? In this episode, playwright Will Eno and director Tim Carroll talk about Gnit, Eno’s wild and thoughtful reimagining of Ibsen’s Peer Gynt, now on stage at the Shaw Festival.

From existential longing to awkward small talk, they explore what makes this modern fable so strangely human, and why Gnit’s detours and dead ends speak to something universal. They also reflect on their creative collaboration, the role of failure in art, and the serious joy of making theatre without preciousness.

We’re also joined by executive director Tim Jennings, who shares how the Shaw’s All Together Now campaign aims to foster real human connection through live performance, both now and for generations to come.

Will Eno is a playwright and Residency Five Fellow at the Signature Theatre in New York. His work includes The Realistic Joneses (Broadway), Middletown, The Open House, and Thom Pain (based on nothing), a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. His plays have been produced across the U.S. and internationally.

Tim Carroll is in his ninth season as artistic director of the Shaw Festival. His directing work includes My Fair Lady, Saint Joan, The Magician’s Nephew, and Victory, as well as acclaimed productions for Shakespeare’s Globe, the Royal Shakespeare Company, and Broadway.

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 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