3 Best Performing Arts Venues in Side Trips from Toronto, Ontario

Niagara-on-the-Lake remained a sleepy town until 1962, when local lawyer Brian Doherty organized eight weekend performances of two George Bernard Shaw plays, Don Juan in Hell and Candida. The next year he helped found the festival, whose mission is to perform the works of Shaw and his contemporaries, including Noël Coward, Bertolt Brecht, J. M. Barrie, J. M. Synge, and Anton Chekhov. Now, the festival has expanded to close to a dozen plays, running from April to October, including some contemporary plays by Canadian playwrights and one or two musicals. All are staged in one of four theaters within a few blocks of one another. The handsome Festival Theatre, the largest of the three, stands on Queen's Parade near Wellington Street and houses the box office. The Court House Theatre, on Queen Street between King and Regent Streets, served as the town's municipal offices until 1969 and is a national historic site. At the corner of Queen and Victoria Streets, the Royal George Theatre was originally built as a vaudeville house in 1915. The Studio Theatre, the smallest of the four, hosts mostly contemporary performances. The festival is one of the biggest events in the summer. Regular-price tickets cost C$32 to C$135, but discounts abound.

One of the two largest classical repertory companies in the world—England's Royal Shakespeare Company is the other—the Festival presents not only Shakespeare plays, but also works by other dramatists (including new plays) and popular musicals and musical revues in its four theaters.

The 1,800-seat Festival Theatre ( 55 Queen St.), with its hexagonal wooden thrust stage and permanent wooden stage set, is the largest and the oldest of the theaters—in its first incarnation in 1953 it was just a stage under a tent. The 1,100-seat Avon Theatre ( 99 Downie St.) has a traditional proscenium stage, while the Tom Patterson Theatre ( 111 Lakeside Dr.) has a long, runway-style thrust stage and 600 seats. The petite Studio Theatre ( 34 George St. E), with only 260 seats, is the go-to space for experimental and new works. It has a modern appearance and a hexagonal thrust stage.

Throughout the season, 12 to 16 productions are mounted, always with at least a couple of family-friendly productions. At the height of the festival in July and August you may be able to choose from among eight performances. The festival also offers numerous concerts, workshops, tours, lectures, and talks, such as Meet the Festival, where the public can ask questions of actors and artists. The festival has both matinees and evening performances (and many visitors do see two plays per day).

For five weeks in July and August, Stratford Summer Music brings musicians—from elegant string quartets to folky bluegrass bands—to indoor and outdoor venues around town. Outdoor performances, like those sounding from a barge on the Avon River, are free. Series may include Friday night cabarets at Revival House and classical music lunches. Some performances sell out, so get tickets in advance.