06/15/2026
In an interview with Toronto Star journalist Joshua Chong, Antoni Cimolino recalls the exact moment he realized he would step away from acting, a turning point that set him on the path to arts leadership. It was 1994, during Richard Monette’s production of Hamlet. Cimolino was playing Laertes opposite Steven Ouimette in the title role and was preparing to engage in a climactic sword fight when his mind began to wander.
“I was on stage, with sword in hand, and I was thinking, ‘Did I return that call?’… I thought: ‘Get off the stage because you’re going to kill someone.’”
That moment of clarity redirected his career. He moved first into directing, then into increasingly senior leadership roles, including general manager, general director and executive director, before serving as our Artistic Director for the past 14 years.
Now in his final season at the helm of the Festival, Cimolino reflects on his time here. His tenure includes staging 14 of Shakespeare’s plays, among them two productions of The Tempest: the 2018 version starring Martha Henry as Prospero, and this season’s new interpretation. He also points to one of his proudest achievements, his take on Macbeth in 2016: "in that production, it was the witch's world and everyone was kind of visiting it."
Antoni has also been a champion of Italian playwright Eduardo De Filippo, having directed three English-language productions of his work and preparing to stage a fourth, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, opening this August.
Arguably his greatest impact as Artistic Director has been his commitment to new play development. Over the past 14 years, he has programmed 31 new works, including the acclaimed Casey and Diana and Salesman in China, both of which have gone on to further productions across Canada. Two new plays are set to premiere later this season: The Tao of the World and The King James Bible Play.
📰 Read the full interview in the Toronto Star.
📷 Image credits in the captions.
