Stratford Theatre FAQ: Shows, Dress Code, Seats & Visiting
Short answers for a theatre visit. Dress, bags, scent and access follow the Festival's own pages, and we still don't sell tickets.
What's On
As of 2 November 2026, two Festival shows are still in their final performances: Guys and Dolls through 14 November and Something Rotten! through 15 November, both at the Festival Theatre. The 2027 season is already in the playbill, with public tickets from 16 November 2026. After 15 November, the playbill leads with 2027. Read what's playing for the list, and buy only at the official box office. Times change; your ticket and stratfordfestival.ca are the ones that count.
The late 2026 Festival season, not every title from the spring. Still on are Guys and Dolls (1 October–14 November) and Something Rotten! (1 October–15 November) at the Festival Theatre, 55 Queen Street. After they close, town dates are the Christmas Market (20–22 November), Winter Wanderland (28–29 November) and Lights On Stratford from 18 December. Earlier 2026 shows have closed. Confirm the year on the Festival's season page.
This file does not list a Shakespeare production scheduled in 2026. The Shakespeare it does list is the 2027 season: Hamlet at the Festival Theatre, and The Merchant of Venice and The Taming of the Shrew at the Tom Patterson. A 2026 Shakespeare title that has already closed will not appear here. Check the Festival's season page before you plan a trip around a play we have not printed, and see the titles we do hold on what's playing.
There is no venue in Stratford, Ontario called the Stratford Shakespeare Theatre. The name people are usually hunting is the Stratford Festival. Its four houses are the Festival Theatre at 55 Queen Street, the Avon at 99 Downie Street, the Tom Patterson at 111 Lakeside Drive and the Studio at 34 George Street East. See what's playing, or every stage in town, and buy tickets only from the official box office.
Stratford Theater, with that spelling, is the same search: the Stratford Festival in Stratford, Ontario. It is not one auditorium. Start with the playbill, then the four Festival houses and the smaller stages on the every-stage page. Films are a different night — Stratford Cinemas and The Little Prince are on the movies page — and we still don't sell tickets; the official box office does.
Beside the shows, the next dates are the public on-sale for 2027 Festival tickets on 16 November 2026, the Christmas Market on 20–22 November at the Rotary Complex, Winter Wanderland on Market Square on 28–29 November, and Lights On Stratford from 18 December 2026 to 10 January 2027. The what's playing page matches those dates, plus markets and trails, to the days you are actually here. Hours move. visitstratford.ca and the Festival site are the sources.
Dress & What to Bring
The Festival says it does not have a dress code, though many patrons like to dress up. Casual or more formal is fine, and a light sweater or jacket is worth packing because the theatres are air-conditioned. The same visiting page asks you to use scented products sparingly, or not at all, for people with allergies or intolerances. That is their wording, not a rule we added: read it on the visiting FAQ.
Yes. The Festival's visiting FAQ does not mention jeans, and it says there is no dress code. Casual or more formal attire is welcome, and many people still dress up. Bring a light layer for the air-conditioning, and go easy on scent, which is the other line on that same page.
Yes, at the Stratford Festival in Ontario. Their visiting FAQ says there is no dress code, and casual attire is explicitly allowed, so jeans are acceptable. Nothing on that page treats denim as a special case. The practical notes are a sweater for the cool house, and the request to refrain from scented products.
The Festival asks you to leave all coats, bags and large personal items at home. If you do bring large items, staff may require you to store them separated from you in the theatre area, and the Festival reserves the right to search any bag entering the facility. This guide does not add a size limit or a clear-bag rule they have not published. The statement is on their visiting FAQ.
Seats & Theatres
There is no single best seat, and we don't publish a chart. Centre, a few rows back, is the straightforward view of faces on the Festival Theatre thrust; extreme sides watch in profile, and a centre balcony is often the better-value view of the whole stage. The Avon wants you centred on its proscenium, the Tom Patterson's 600 seats are mostly close, and the Studio's 185 seats climb steep aisles. Seat tips live on the Festival, Avon, Tom Patterson and Studio pages; the official chart and accessible seating are on stratfordfestival.ca, which our accessibility notes only restate.
Nothing we list. Theatre Royal Stratford East is in London, England, not Stratford, Ontario. This guide does not carry its shows. If you meant the Festival, start with what's playing and the Ontario houses on every stage.
We don't have a number for it. Theatre Royal Stratford East is in London, England, not Stratford, Ontario, so its seat count is not ours to guess. The rooms this guide does count are the Festival Theatre (1,833), the Avon (1,077), the Tom Patterson (600) and the Studio (185). Those figures describe the houses; the official chart is what is actually on sale.
Nearby & Elsewhere
We don't list Toronto's plays. Stratford, Ontario is about two hours from Toronto. Getting Here has the GO, VIA and bus times, and the warning that an evening curtain usually means no train home that night. For what is on here, use the playbill.
We don't track musicals in Toronto. Stratford is about two hours away. The musicals here are the Festival's: Guys and Dolls and Something Rotten! through mid-November 2026, then Mary Poppins and Chicago in 2027. Read them on the playbill, and the trip on Getting Here. Festival tickets are only at the official box office.