Stageworthy – Details, episodes & analysis

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Stageworthy

Arts

Frequency: 1 episode/8d. Total Eps: 485

Now in its 10th year, Stageworthy is Canada’s theatre podcast, bringing you in-depth interviews with theatre artists, panel discussions, and more. Each week, host Phil Rickaby sits down with the people who make theatre happen: from household names to artists you should know. Whether you're an audience member, a theatre maker, or just plain curious about Canadian theatre, Stageworthy offers a front-row seat to the conversations shaping the industry. New episodes every Tuesday.

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Jay Northcott is Bringing Joy, Blackness, and Bootycandy to Buddies in Bad Times

Tuesday, September 29, 2026 • Duration 01:08:35

In this episode:

Jay Northcott is a director, educator, and multidisciplinary artist whose work is rooted in joy, specificity, and a deep commitment to centring the full humanity of Black and queer artists. In this conversation, Jay joins Stageworthy host, Phil Rickaby to talk about Bootycandy, Robert O'Hara's wildly funny and emotionally complex play running at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre in association with Obsidian Theatre; and why a play written by an American offers a powerful opportunity to interrogate what it means to make distinctly Canadian art.

Guest: 🎭 Jay Northcott

Jay (They/Them) is a multidisciplinary Creator, Director, Producer, and former

Big Brother Canada contestant.

Central to Jay’s creative and artistic practice is their advocacy for marginalized communities including Palestinians, Indigenous, Black, Racialized, Queer, Trans folks and beyond.

The art they create is a window into their world, soul, values, and imagination.

Art is freedom and freedom breathes life.

Credits include: 7 METHODS OF KILLING KYLIE JENNER (Obsidian Theatre), KING LEAR (Stratford Festival), COTTAGERS AND INDIANS (Watermark Theatre, PEI), CONCORD FLORAL (Randolph College), 21 BLACK FUTURES (Obsidian Theatre, CBC), THE PARASITE (Theatre Outrè), PREMIUM CONTENT (Major Matt Mason).

Connect with Jay:

📸 Instagram: @jaythemcott

Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podchaser | Amazon Music | iHeart Radio 📺 Watch on YouTube – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell!

Support Stageworthy: If you love the show, consider supporting on Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthy Patrons get early access to episodes, participate in conversations about topics to cover, and more. With three backer levels: $2, $7, and $20.

Thank you to my Patrons: Chris, Georgia, Heather J, Tanisha, Aisling, Cassie, Heather, Jeanette, Steve, Makambe

Can't commit to monthly support? Leave a one-time tip here: ko-fi.com/stageworthy

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Erin Shields is Bringing Deaf and Hearing Worlds Together in To A Flame

Tuesday, September 22, 2026 • Duration 57:42

About This Episode:

Playwright Erin Shields joins Phil for a wide-ranging conversation about To a Flame, her loose adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher, a production fifteen years in the making that features both deaf and hearing performers and is performed in spoken English and American Sign Language. Erin also reflects on a remarkable year of productions, from Mary, Mary, Mary, Mary to Medusa to You Always, and how the pandemic, gave her the space to experiment with form in ways she hadn't before, and much more!

Guest: ✍️ Erin Shields

Erin Shields is a Canadian playwright, actor and educator based in Toronto. Most of her work highlights the negation or misrepresentation of women in classical texts by adapting these stories through a feminist lens for a contemporary audience. She likes making large plays for large stages. Her work has played across Canada and beyond.

Connect with Erin

🌐 Website: www.erinshields.ca

📸 Instagram: @shieldserin1

Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podchaser | Amazon Music | iHeart Radio 📺 Watch on YouTube – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell!

Jacklyn Francis on Why Theatre Matters More Than Ever Right Now

Tuesday, September 15, 2026 • Duration 01:04:05

Jacklyn Francis has been making theatre in Canada for more than three decades, and in this conversation she brings the kind of hard-won perspective that only comes from years of navigating the industry's rhythms, disappointments, and genuine joys. In this episode, they talk about what it really feels like to work at a major festival like Stratford, the art of understudying, the strange grief that follows closing night, and much more!

Guest: 🎭 Jacklyn Francis

Jacklyn Francis is a proud Canadian stage and screen actor whose career spans more than three decades across theatre, film and television. She most recently starred as Alice in Sexy Laundry, at the Drayton Festival Theatre. A longtime member of the Stratford Festival company, her Stratford credits include Forgiveness, As You Like It, 1939, Hamlet-911, Henry VIII, Julius Caesar, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Changeling, Pride and Prejudice and Richard III. She has also performed leading roles at theatres across Canada, including the Citadel Theatre, Canadian Stage, Blyth Festival, Thousand Islands Playhouse, The Sudbury Theatre Centre, The Globe Theatre, Equity Showcase, Shakespeare in The Ruff, Buddies in Bad Times, Theatre Northwest, Resurgence, Shakespeare by the Bay and appearances at The Toronto Fringe.

On screen, Jacklyn’s recent credits include HBO’s Welcome to Derry, NBC’s Brilliant Minds and Ruby and the Well, alongside appearances in Murdoch Mysteries, Rookie Blue, Flashpoint, Little Mosque on the Prairie, Missing and Our Hero.

A graduate of George Brown Theatre School with additional professional development at the Banff Centre/Citadel Theatre, Jacklyn is a recipient of the Jean A. Chalmers Apprentice Award and the Tanya Award in recognition of excellence at the Stratford Festival (in 2018, Jacklyn was the first actor ever to win this award)

Connect with Jacklyn

📸 Instagram:

Curtis Campbell has something to say about AI in the arts

Tuesday, September 8, 2026 • Duration 01:11:22

In this episode Curtis Campbell joins host Phil Rickaby to talk about AI in the theatre. In the lead up to this summer's Toronto Fringe, it was noticed that a number of shows were using AI generated posters, which sparked a discourse on social media about whether Generative AI should be used in the Fringe and beyond. This conversation spread to the Edinburgh Fringe, where AI generated posters were also seen.

In this episode Curtis and Phil talk about AI, its use in the arts, and whether AI should be embraced or avoided.

Note: in this episode, Curtis mentions a video that Phil published about his poster creation process. That video can be found here.

Guest: 🎭 Curtis Campbell

Curtis Campbell is a writer and theatre artist. Some previous credits as a writer and director include Katherine Is Not A Communist, Imp, BETR With Bevan and Color Me Pablo. His novel Dragging Mason County was be published by Annick Press in 2023. His plays Gay For Pay with Blake & Clay and Blake & Clay's Gay Agenda were Fringe hits.

Connect with Curtis

🌐 website: campwrites.weebly.com

📸 Instagram: @curtisdangcampbell

Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podchaser | Amazon Music | iHeart Radio 📺 Watch on – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell!

Sara Farb is Bringing one of Musical Theatre's Great Roles to Life

Tuesday, September 1, 2026 • Duration 58:33

About this episode

Sara Farb is a veteran of the Canadian theatre stage, having made her debut at the age of 9. Now she's bringing the role of Fanny Brice to life in Shaw Festival's Funny Girl. In this conversation, Sara joins host Phil Rickaby to reflect on the show, writing for the theatre, and what keeps her going.

This episode explores

What it takes to perform a show like Funny Girl
Joining the Shaw Festival for the first time
Performing on Broadway in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
That time she almost gave up the theatre to become a copywriter.
And much more!

Guest: 🎭 Sara Farb

Sara is an actor and writer. She wrote the book for the musical Kelly v. Kelly with Britta Johnson (music and lyrics) which premiered at Canadian Stage and Musical Stage Company in 2023; the show is a recipient of the Tom Hendry award and multiple Dora nominations. With Britta, she also co-wrote the Dora-nominated short musical He Is Coming. She wrote the book for the new musical Way Out There with Anton Lipovetsky (music and lyrics) which makes its premiere at YES! Theatre/Theatre Sudbury in spring of 2026. Her play, R-E-B-E-C-C-A, which she wrote and starred in, premiered at Theatre Passe Muraille. She is currently working on a new musical with Aaron Jensen (music and lyrics) about the forgotten female creator of the creature from Creature from the Black Lagoon. As an actor, Sara has performed on Broadway, in seven seasons at the Stratford Festival, and all over Canada. She is currently starring as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl at the Shaw Festival.

Connect with Sara

📸 Instagram: @farb.sara

Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podchaser | | 📺 Watch on – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell!

Madelaine Rose is Scaring Audiences One Kitchen at a Time

Tuesday, August 25, 2026 • Duration 01:12:58

About This Episode:

What happens when a self-described field mouse - someone who jumps at a cat's sneeze - decides to write a horror play? You get Passed Down, a one-person horror show about a woman who inherits her great aunt's house and discovers she may have inherited a little more than just the property. Performer, producer, director, and grant writer Madelaine Rose joins Phil to talk about bringing this solo horror play to the Halifax Fringe Festival, and why choosing the kitchen as the setting for a haunted house story was a deliberate and unsettling choice.

This episode explores:

The origins of Passed Down - from a 24-hour Toronto Fringe playwriting contest to a full 60-minute solo horror show
The challenge of producing, acting, and writing your own Fringe show - and how Madelaine learned to compartmentalize and set a hard deadline on revisions
Emotional safety in the rehearsal room - why the theatre industry has historically been better at getting actors into emotional scenes than getting them out again
The biggest mistake artists make when writing grant applications (hint: they forget the boring stuff)
And much more!

Guest: 👻 Madelaine Rose

Madelaine Rose (she/they) is a performer, producer and all-around creative. They are the current co-chair of outACTRAto, and the inaugural chair of the ACTRA National Progress Pride Committee. As a member of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community her mandate as a producer is to create the type of art she wishes to see in the world, art which creates space for more leading, and diverse roles for women, gender non-conforming, and queer artists. Their work as a theatre creator and filmmaker has been showcased and recognized from coast to coast, and around the globe. They are co-founder of Sigh No More Productions, and the Solo’d Out Theatre festival, and they can be seen acting in such award-winning works as The Perfect Bite (Secret City Adventures/ Netflix), My Best Friend’s Date (Sigh No More Productions), and The Heist… Almost (Sigh No More Productions).

Connect with Madelaine

🌐 Website:

Sharry Flett Is Reflecting on 34 Seasons at the Shaw Festival

Tuesday, August 18, 2026 • Duration 56:39

About This Episode:

Sharry Flett has spent 34 seasons at the Shaw Festival - long enough to have watched the company evolve through three artistic directors, raise a daughter who appeared on its stages, and welcome back former students she once coached as the people now directing her. In this conversation with host Phil Rickaby, Sharry reflects on what keeps drawing her back to Niagara-on-the-Lake, and what it felt like to walk into rehearsals for Wind in the Willows and find Fiona Sauder, André Morin, and fight director Jack Davidson Rennie - all artists she had mentored at George Brown College, now in positions of leadership.

This episode explores:

What it was like for Sharry to be directed by three former students she had coached at George Brown College; and how she navigated that full-circle moment
Playing Rat in Wind in the Willows: how the original Kenneth Grahame book shaped her approach to the character
Why performing for children demands complete honesty and commitment; and how that discipline serves actors in any room
The Shaw Festival under three artistic directors: Christopher Newton, Jackie Maxwell, and Tim Carroll, and how the ensemble ethos has remained constant through each
Sharry's path from medicine to music to theatre, including the moment picking up a flute sent electricity through her arm
The importance of teaching; and what Sharry gains from students when she brings Shaw's language alive in the room
And much more!

Guest: Sharry Flett

SHAW 2026: Funny Girl, The Wind in the Willows; 34th season. FOR THE SHAW: Anything Goes, May I Have The Pleasure?, My Fair Lady, The Secret Garden, The Apple Cart, The Clearing, The Doctor’s Dilemma, Everybody, Cyrano de Bergerac, Man and Superman, Me and My Girl, Uncle Vanya, The Philadelphia Story, Enchanted April, Lady Windermere’s Fan, Come Back Little Sheba, Maria Severa, Age of Arousal, Sunday in the Park with George, The Little Foxes, Getting Married, The Magic Fire, Major Barbara, The Autumn Garden, Floyd Collins, Misalliance, Rebecca, Joy, The Seagull, Hedda Gabler, Berkeley Square. (Selected Credits) ELSEWHERE: leading roles in theatres across Canada, including Katherine in The Taming of the Shrew, Miranda in The Tempest, Stratford Festival. FILM/TELEVISION: Grey Gardens, Shades of Black, Full House with Sharry Flett, Jane of Lantern Hill. AWARDS: Gemini nominations (best actress), War Brides and Suicide Murders, CBC; Paul Reynolds award, Shaw Festival; Tyrone Guthrie award, Stratford Festival. TEACHING: Shaw Festival, National Theatre School, George Brown Theatre School, Queen’s University, University of Toronto, Brock University.

Christopher Gaze is Sharing What It Takes to Build a Theatre Festival That Lasts

Tuesday, August 11, 2026 • Duration 55:52

About This Episode:

Christopher Gaze is the founder and artistic director of Bard on the Beach, Vancouver's beloved outdoor Shakespeare festival now in its 37th season. In this conversation, Christopher talks with Phil about how a $35,000 co-op startup in 1990 grew into one of Canada's largest theatre companies, drawing 80,000 people a season to a pair of tented stages in Vanier Park overlooking English Bay and the mountains beyond.

This episode explores:

How Bard on the Beach began in 1990 with $35,000, a Canada Council Explorations Grant, and a company of 27 co-op members
The influence of mentor Douglas Campbell: his force field in the audition room, his wilderness years, and why his name is on Bard's second stage
Programming a season: from Douglas casually suggesting Twelfth Night over the phone to today's collaborative circle of senior theatre practitioners
Goblin Oedipus, Antigone, and how Christopher was famously wrong about Goblin Macbeth (it sold out before opening night)
And much more!

Guest: 🎭 Christopher Gaze

Christopher Gaze is best known as the Founder and Artistic Director of Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival, which celebrates its thirty-seventh season in 2026. He hosts the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s popular Tea & Trumpets series and also their annual Traditional Christmas concerts.

Connect with Christopher Gaze:

📸 Instagram: @gazechristopher

📖 Buy The Road to Bard (Harbour Publishing)

🌐 Website: bardonthebeach.org

📸 Instagram: @bardonthebeach

Ming Hudson is Directing Antigone at Bard on the Beach

Tuesday, August 4, 2026 • Duration 01:02:35

About This Episode:

Director Ming Hudson joins Phil Rickaby to talk about bringing Antigone to Bard on the Beach in Vancouver - a production seven years in the making, created collaboratively with playwright Kate Besworth. It's a minimalist, intimate reimagining of a 2,500-year-old story about a woman who does the right thing even when told not to, and Ming shares how it came together from a literal bonfire in rural Nova Scotia to the thrust stage at Bard.

This episode explores:

How a seven-year collaboration with playwright Kate Besworth shaped this bold, minimal production of Antigone
The "arrow" model of non-hierarchical directing and why Ming loves saying "I don't know"
Making her Bard on the Beach directing debut after years as a performer with the company
The Edmonton Fringe, the Edinburgh Fringe, and why fringe festivals are essential to Canadian theatre ecology
What D&D has taught Ming about vulnerability, play, and building stronger creative relationships
And much more!

Guest: 🎭 Ming Hudson

Ming (she/her) is a Vancouver based artist who pays rent on the lands stolen from the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. For over 20 years, she has worked as a freelance performer, collaborative director, devised theatre creator, independent producer, and teaching artist on the West Coast, across Canada, and abroad. Her specializations are in physical theatre and the creation of new work as a collective ensemble. A graduate of the Creating Theatre and Performance program at LISPA (now arthaus.berlin), Ming also holds a MA in Ensemble Theatre (Rose Bruford), and a BFA in Acting (UVic).

Ming has worked for: Bard on the Beach, Zee Zee Theatre, 25th Street Theatre, The Arts Club, Studio 58, SFU, UBC, Dell'Arte International, UVic, vAct, Two Planks and a Passion, TheatreOne, Chemainus Theatre Festival, CCPA, Gwaandak Theatre, Green Thumb Theatre, Theatre Replacement, Atomic Vaudeville, Firehall Arts Centre, Boca del Lupo, Concrete Theatre, and Kaleidoscope Theatre. She has also created eleven new shows, which have been performed in five different countries.

Tim Carroll is making the Shaw Festival into a two-way conversation with its audience

Tuesday, July 28, 2026 • Duration 56:19

About This Episode:

Tim Carroll has been the artistic director of the Shaw Festival for a decade, and in that time he's reshaped the festival's mandate, expanded its reach into the community, and built a company culture grounded in playfulness, humility, and genuine artistic ambition.

This episode explores:

How Tim balances directing two major productions, Heartbreak House and Amadeus, in a single season, and why Tom Rooney is at the centre of both
The economics of theatre: why even one of Canada's largest festivals relies on donations for half its income, and how a small-audience show can be as valuable as a sellout musical
Why Tim abolished the Shaw Festival's mandate and replaced it with a mission; and what that difference actually means in practice
How working at Shakespeare's Globe with Mark Rylance shaped every aspect of Tim's directing philosophy, from shared light to trusting the unexpected
And much more!

Guest: 🎭 Tim Carroll

im Carroll currently serves as Artistic Director of The Shaw Festival at Niagara-on-the-Lake, a position he's held since 2017. Carroll may be best known for his years as Associate Director at London’s Globe Theatre, in particular for his productions of Richard III and Twelfth Night, starring Mark Rylance, for whose Broadway run in the 2013-14 season he was Tony-nominated and Mark Rylance won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor.

Carroll worked with the English Shakespeare Company before serving as the artistic director of the Northcott Theatre in Exeter. Carroll also served as the artistic director for the Kent Opera, and he is a founding member of the experimental theatre group the Factory in London. Carroll’s directing work has spanned not only the Globe but the globe, from theatres in Hungary, Norway, Portugal, Romania, and Canada!

Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | | | 📺 Watch on – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell!

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