THE CANADIAN STAGE COMPANY ANNOUNCES 2008-2009 SEASON

• New season subscription packages now on sale

• Doubt, Frost/Nixon and Blackbird, three of the most powerful theatrical events of the decade

• World Premiere of a Canadian play adapted from the acclaimed novel Wild Dogs

• Toronto premiere of HARDSELLby Canadian collaborators Daniel Brooks and Rick Miller

• The return of two wildly popular hits Shirley Valentine and A Midsummer Night’s Dream

• Dora Award-winning actors Nicola Cavendish, David Storch and Caroline Cave

• The Canadian Stage Company announces landmark Berkeley Street Project

Toronto - Canadian Stage Company Artistic Producer Martin Bragg proudly announces the 2008-2009 season. The Company will present a subscription season of eight plays and the 26th annual Dream in High Park. New season subscription packages on sale today.

Bluma Appel Theatre features productions with universal appeal and an international flavor. They are: the Canadian premieres of Frost/Nixon, the Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award-winning drama starring David Storch; Miss Julie: Freedom Summer, an adaptation of August Strindberg’s classic written and directed by Stephen Sachs and starring Caroline Cave; It’s a Wonderful Life, a stage adaptation of Capra's holiday classic; the Toronto premiere of Doubt, a Parable, the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama by Academy Award-winner John Patrick Shanley; and a revival of Shirley Valentine, directed by Roy Surette with Nicola Cavendish reprising her Dora Award-winning performance.

Berkeley Street Theatre, known for edgier, more provocative works will become the home of a new collaborative partnership between The Canadian Stage Company and three of the country’s finest independent theater companies. The initiative, titled the Berkeley Street Project is The Canadian Stage Company’s vision for a vibrant contemporary theater center headquartered at the historic Berkeley Street Theatre. Nurtured by Canadian Stage, Berkeley Street Project’s inaugural year will include partnerships with Nightwood Theatre, Studio 180 and Necessary Angel Theatre Company.

The productions featured are: the world premiere of Anne Hardcastle’s stage adaptation of the award-winning Canadian novel Wild Dogs; the Toronto premiere of HARDSELL, a new work by Canadian collaborators Daniel Brooks and Rick Miller; and the Canadian premiere of Edinburgh Festival and West End hit Blackbird.

Finally, the Dream in High Park welcomes the return of ahdri zhina mandiela’s popular and acclaimed interpretation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream - a colorful, hip-hop twist on the Bard.