The Stratford Festival is putting its entire 2020 season on hold indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic, it announced Monday.

The decision is a “heartbreaking” one, artistic director Antoni Cimolino told the Star.

“Ultimately when we come through this, what’s going to make us healthy isn’t only the vaccines and the antivirals, but art too. It’s the thing that’s going to cure our souls. So stopping work is not something that’s done with any degree of ease,” Cimolino said.

“It’s heartbreaking on many levels. It’s losing these beautiful projects on our stages but also, for a lot of people, it’s an entire year’s income.”

“A lot of businesses in Stratford made special investments this year, because of the opening of the (Tom Patterson) Theatre and the 15-play season. They were really gearing up. But ultimately, we want everybody to be safe. That’s the reality of the situation right now. There are people dying.”

It was to have been a particularly momentous season for the 67-year-old theatre festival. It included a Colm Feore-led production of Shakespeare’s “Richard III” to celebrate the grand opening of the newly constructed Tom Patterson Theatre; a new production of Kander and Ebb’s “Chicago,” and the first production of “Hamlet” at the festival to feature a woman of colour in the title role, played by Amaka Umeh.

The suspension of the season will severely impact Stratford’s tourism industry in the valuable spring and summer months, even if physical distancing measures do relax in the coming weeks. The festival drives $135 million in economic activity in the town each year.

An added irony is that the festival, North America’s largest not-for-profit theatre company, was created in 1953 to save the town of Stratford from economic depression.

The festival had already cancelled performances until early June, but it became clear to festival leadership the current season would not be able to go ahead as planned, even if physical distancing directives are eased this summer.

The repertory model of the ensemble, in which one actor can appear in up to three different productions, makes for an extremely high risk of company-wide infection. There are also the risks of audience members sharing seating — with capacity in the festival’s four theatres ranging from 260 to 1,800 — as well as lobby areas and bathrooms.

But Cimolino, executive director Anita Gaffney and board chair Carol Stephenson said they will watch for updates from health and government officials, and possibly revisit several productions for limited performances this fall. They may also consider 2020 productions for the 2021 season.

“It’s a complex season so it’s difficult to fulfil that schedule as it keeps getting delayed,” said Gaffney. “But with all that said, as soon as it is safe to do so, we are going to gather. As soon as the sky clears, and it is safe to work and to bring people together, you can’t keep us out of the theatre.”

With no plays to rehearse and perform, the festival has shifted to digital projects, including a 12-week festival of its recorded Shakespeare plays, which launched last week with Cimolino’s 2014 production of “King Lear” starring Feore. It has now earned more than 26,000 views on YouTube.

Cimolino hosts artist interviews via live stream before each viewing party and the festival’s Forum events will continue via live stream as well.

But since the virtual offerings are free, almost all revenue has dried up for the company, which receives five to six per cent of its budget from government grants and relies on ticket sales for the vast majority of its income.

Due to payroll assistance from the federal government, the festival has been able to recall 340 of the nearly 500 employees who were laid off last month, including people in the costumes, props, finance, human resources and fundraising departments (this does not include independent contractors like actors). Senior staff took a 50 per cent pay cut last month.

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In lieu of refunds, Cimolino is asking ticket holders to consider putting current tickets toward future productions or donating the cost of tickets.

“For 67 years, by some miracle we’ve been able to make it work,” he said. “People bought tickets early for productions they would see a year later, practically. We are so exposed.

“So we really need people’s understanding and frankly we need a vote of confidence at this moment. It’s kind of a covenant between us and the audience that we’re promising them theatre that’s going to move them, that will make them see life differently, that will make them laugh in the years ahead. But in order for us to be there for them in the future, we need them with us now.”

Carly Maga is a Toronto-based theatre critic and a freelance contributor for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @RadioMaga