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Northern Illinois University

Liberal Arts & Sciences External Programming





Northern Illinois University College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and Department of English announce
Stratford Shakespeare Festival
Monday, June 9 - Friday, June 13, 2008, Straford, Ontario, Canada

 The 2008 Program

As Canada’s world-renowned Festival returns to its Shakespearean roots under new artistic leadership, join us for highlights of its 56th season, including Love’s Labour’s Lost, Romeo and Juliet, and Hamlet. We will enjoy Euripides’ The Trojan Women and Cabaret, the optional play for this year’s Stratford Shakespeare Festival experience. Gareth Potter and Nikki M. James will play Romeo and Juliet, and Ben Carlson will star in Hamlet.

Romeo and Juliet, Scene 2: Capulet’s Garden, by Charles Edward Delort (1841-1985).

Hamlet as portrayed by Colm Feore at the 1991 Stratford Festival.


Since 1987, NIU's Department of English has offered study trips to the Stratford Festival. This year, the University brings you another experience conducted by an NIU professor whose special expertise makes this program extraordinarily rewarding.

A week prior to the festival, NIU offers "The Dress Rehearsal" to acquaint you with the historical, literary, and theatrical aspects of the plays you will be seeing. During your stay in Stratford, the faculty member is available to answer questions and provide commentary on the productions.

This trip includes three days of exceptional performances at Stratford’s historic Festival Theatre, Avon Theater, and more intimate Tom Patterson Theater. To make your travel experience even more rewarding and pleasurable, NIU's Stratford experience offers a pre trip seminar on campus, convivial travel and select meals, and the BEST available seats.

You will enjoy the following program features: accommodations in Stratford's Mercer Hall Inn, illuminating program notes on the plays, and a distinctive NIU canvas tote bag. With all this, there's never been a better year to join us for Stratford – and we hope you'll agree!



What People Have Said About This Trip
“I don't know how you do it. Year after year it gets better and better. An absolutely perfect trip. The professor's zeal is contagious. We're looking forward to next year's trip." –Ed and Marge Warmowski

"A wonderful trip. I’d never taken a tour trip before and was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it." –Carrie Trinka

"Very professional trip, competent and informational without being 'stuffy.' The professor is fantastic." –Sandra Goetz

"I enjoy the pleasant personalities of the people in the group, their sense of humor, the quality of the lectures both in Stratford and before the trip at NIU." –Olive Chitty

"The professor's enthusiasm for the subject showed as we talked about the plays. Everyone could understand." —Maggie Daly



The greatness of the annual Stratford Festival in Ontario is known and appreciated, not just in Canada but throughout the world. Every summer more than 500,000 lovers of great theater delight in magnificent performances of the works of Shakespeare and other playwrights both classical and contemporary.

The Chicago Times has said, “What the Chicago Symphony is to orchestra, the Metropolitan is the opera, and the New York City Ballet is to dance, the Stratford Festival is to classic theater.” And Clive Barnes of the New York Post has called Stratford “one of the three great English–speaking classic theaters, together with Britain’s National Theater and its Royal Shakespeare Company.”

Summertime in Stratford
Superb theatrical performances are just the first of many delights with which Stratford greets her summer visitors. You may take a walking tour of the city, providing you the chance to appreciate Stratford's historic architecture, exquisite gardens, and lush expanses of park land.

Shoppers will find many temptations. Stratford boutiques offer specialties such as fine English china, Irish linen, and Eskimo carvings. When it is time to relax, bring a picnic lunch to the banks of the River Avon and marvel at the grace of the swans. Savor the sunshine and culinary specialties at an outdoor café. Stratford in the summer offers many surprises!

Accommodations This year we will be staying at Mercer Hall Inn.  Right in Stratford’s vibrant downtown core, you’ll enjoy all the comforts of home and then some. Each of the fourteen rooms highlight the work of local artists and craftspeople in the form of paintings, drawings, engravings, headboards, and intriguing bedside tables. This unique Inn, with its warm and welcoming surroundings, offers exceptional service and hospitality.  The thoughtfully appointed rooms are located on the second and third floors above Tango Coffee Bistro. All Mercer Hall guests receive full breakfast at Tango and internet access (wireless and ethernet). Please note that Mercer Hall Inn is not equipped with an elevator. Rooms are arranged with king or queen bed configurations, private bath, TV/DVD/CD stereo system, in-room Canadian book and CD library, feather duvet and feather pillows, hair dryer and iron, and individual climate control.

Mobility This trip does require walking/stair climbing. Arrangements cannot be made for individuals who are unable to meet these physical demands. Taxis are flat rate ($6 CDN for 1 or 2 passengers, $7 for 3 or more) for anywhere in town.

Transportation Transportation is provided by motorcoach, DeKalb to Stratford with optional pick-up points by arrangement. United States and Canadian citizens crossing the US/Canadian border are required to have a passport.


Three Easy Ways to Register

1. PHONE (800) 345 9472 or (815) 753 0277 for immediate reservations using a credit card (TTY/TYY callers, phone (815) 753-2000 and ask to be connected with “Outreach.”).
2. FAX your completed reservation form with credit card information to: (815) 753 6900.
3. MAIL to: NIU Outreach, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115.