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In reference to this Montreal focus, the festival’s director Martin Faucher commented: “This edition pays tribute to a city where art inspires, instilling hope for a better tomorrow. In a world where walls we had thought demolished for good are being rebuilt, that is priceless.”

Of course, FTA is mostly famous for the wealth of international heavy-hitters it brings along to the city, and this year is no exception. Here then, picked from the 27 shows playing across the city, are five of the highlights you can expect in the furious fortnight between May 25 and June 8.

*Antoine et Cléopâtre (May 27 to 29, Cinquième Salle, Place des Arts)

Portugal’s leading director, Tiago Rodrigues, presents Shakespeare’s epic love story as an intimate pas de deux. The production also manages to negotiate a path between Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton’s tinselly take on the story, and Plutarch’s classical poems.