With rehearsals for The Merry Wives of Windsor and Macbeth in full swing—and Antigone gearing up for its first read—our 2026 Season feels closer than ever. Meet some of the incredible artists who will be taking these stories from the page to the stage!

In Rebecca Northan’s soccer-centred take on The Merry Wives of Windsor, Ashley Wright plays Falstaff, a washed-up soccer star to returns to his old stomping grounds at the Windsor Community and Athletic Centre, home to the Windsor Stags. Penniless, he comes up with a plan to seduce Mrs. Ford (Melissa Oei) and Mrs. Page (Jennifer Lines), the wives of two wealthy community members, in order to steal their fortunes. When their husbands learn about Falstaff’s scheme, Mr. Page (Munish Sharma) is unfazed, but Mr. Ford (Craig Erickson) isn’t convinced that his wife isn’t also up to no good.

Rachel Angco plays Anne Page, Mrs. Page’s daughter and the captain of the championship-winning Windsor Stags women’s soccer team. Both Slender (Sara Vickruck) and Dr. Caius (Raf Rogers) are vying for her affection, but Anne only has eyes for the captain of the men’s soccer team, Fenton (Cameron Grant).

The other members of the Windsor Community and Athletic Centre include Yoshie Bancroft (Hostess), Steffanie Davis (Mrs. Quickly), Lucas Gnoato (Ensemble), Sebastian Kroon (Bardolph), Jacob Leonard (Pistol/Rugby), Yi Ming Liu (Ensemble), Zahf Paroo (Evans), and Anthony Santiago (Shallow), with Kate Besworth and Paul Moniz de Sá as understudies.

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Playing alongside The Merry Wives of Windsor on the BMO Mainstage is Macbeth, directed by Stephen Drover and set in a dystopian world sometime in the near future.

Munish Sharma plays Macbeth, a general who comes across three mysterious figures who prophesize that he will be named Thane of Cawdor, and then King. However, it is Banquo (Sebastian Kroon) who will become father to a line of kings. Even when Macbeth is named Thane of Cawdor shortly after by King Duncan (Anthony Santiago), he is determined to not do anything about the prophecy. Tess Degenstein plays Lady Macbeth, who convinces him to kill Duncan and seize the throne. They carry out “the bloody business,” and when Duncan’s dead body is discovered the next day, his sons Malcolm (Sara Vickruck) and Donalbain (Tai Leathem) flee, fearing for their own lives. It seems the path to the throne has been cleared for the Macbeths—but at what cost?

Rounding out the cast of Macbeth are Rachel Angco (Fleance/Macduff’s Child/Soldier), Steffanie Davis (Lady Macduff/Porter/Citizen), Craig Erickson (Figure/Murderer/Soldier), Jacob Leonard (Macduff/Lord), Melissa Oei (Ross/Citizen), Zahf Paroo (Figure/Sergeant/Soldier), Raf Rogers (Figure/Murderer/Soldier), and Ashley Wright (Lennox), with Bruce Horak and Ellis Lalonde as understudies.

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Meanwhile, in the Douglas Campbell Theatre, Ming Hudson directs Kate Besworth’s stunning adaptation of Antigone, which reckons with age-old questions of love, loyalty,  and resistance.

Yoshie Bancroft plays Antigone, a young woman grieving the recent deaths of her brothers Eteocles and Polynices, who died fighting each other in a bid for the throne. The new ruler—and her uncle—Creon (Paul Moniz de Sá) declares that because Polynices was a traitor, he must be left to rot, unburied, outside of the city limits, and anyone caught burying him will be sentenced to death. However, if the proper funeral rites are not performed, Polynices’ spirit will not be able to cross over into the afterlife. Antigone asks her sister, Ismene (Kate Besworth), to help bury Polynices with her, but Ismene refuses. Antigone must do this on her own—and reckon with the consequences of her actions.

The other players in this tragic tale include Cameron Grant (Haimon/Polynices/Chorus), Jennifer Lines (Jocasta/Chorus), and Azeen Zare (Chorus), with Rebecca Northan as understudy.

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WUG, KRAVGA, and MOOG return to Bard after their sold out run in 2023 and are ready to take on Oedipus the King in Goblin:Oedipus. 

Photo by Tim Nguyen

We’re so excited to have these brilliant artists with us this Season, and we can’t wait for you to see them on stage this summer.

Bard’s 2026 Season runs June 9 to September 19, 2026 at Sen̓áḵw/Vanier Park. Get your tickets now!