AllMovie

Stratford Adventure takes place not in Shakespeare's British home town, but in Stratford, Ontario. This 40-minute documentary details the launching of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in 1953. Despite an overall lack of enthusiasm from the local government, the Festival opens as planned, playing to excellent business and encouraging the formation of other seasonal Shakespearean companies in North America. Highlights include several tantalizing rehearsal shots of Tyrone Guthrie directing guest artist Alec Guinness (who willingly worked for next to nothing). Likewise well represented is Canadian actress Irene Worth, one of the early stalwarts of the Stratford operation.