The Stratford Festival exceeded its attendance targets for the first fully-indoor season since 2020.
A total of 325,524 people attended the Festival in 2022, organizers revealed at their annual general meeting, surpassing the goal of 320,000.
“The pandemic that closed our theatres for the better part of two seasons was a formidable enemy,” said Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino.
“The whole point of theatre is to build community, to bring us together and create new understandings. That’s why we’ve never needed theatre more than we did during the pandemic years – and that’s why it was so exciting to be able at last to bring it back into our lives.”
The pandemic not only impacted the ability to perform, it delayed the opening of the new Tom Patterson Theatre, which was slated for 2020. Last year, the new venue hosted productions of Richard III, All’s Well That Ends Well and Death and the King’s Horseman, drawing more than 64,000 tickets sold, 40% more than in the last season in the old TPT in 2017.
In total, there were 481 performances of the 10 productions on four stages.
“In 2022, the Festival celebrated its 70th season – seven decades of performances that have attracted more than 29 million visitors from around the world,” said Executive Director Anita Gaffney. “With such an enduring track record of success, it’s easy to forget that each season is a miracle. Since the early days, we have relied on three revenue pillars – ticket sales, donations and government support – together with the careful management of expenses to support the Festival financially. Not since the very first season in 1953 has our financial balance been as delicate as it is now, as we work to thrive once more in a world changed by the pandemic.”
Between ticket sales, donations and government grants, the Festival combined for total revenue of $66.2 million, posting a surplus of $638,711 after expenses.
The Festival says there was still $2.6 million held on vouchers as of the end of 2022. They encourage those to who have yet to redeem vouchers to explore their 2023 schedule, which includes titles like Spamalot, Frankenstein Revived and Much Ado About Nothing.
