Alumna has played many roles

By Adela Talbot, BA'08, MA'11

Offstage since day one, Anita Gaffney has played a role at the Stratford Festival for more than two decades.

The Western grad and Stratford native started out selling ice cream to theatre-goers as a summer job. She’s also worked as a bookstore clerk, a waitress and numerous other roles, including that of “master of the photocopier.”

Today, Gaffney, who holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Western (1990) and an EMBA from Ivey Business School (2002), is the festival’s executive director.

Her homecoming could just be her calling.

“My father’s construction company built the original theater in 1953 and the festival was something that was always revered in my family,” Gaffney said. “It’s part of why I feel so lucky to be here.”

Starting with a staging of Richard III starring Alec Guinness and Irene Worth in July 1953, the Stratford Festival – once known as the Stratford Shakespearean and Shakespeare Festival – has evolved into a seasonal institution in the city of Stratford, 60 km north of London.  Although its mandate calls to present Shakespearean productions, the lineups include a variety of performances – from Greek tragedies to airy comedies.