TORONTO – The Stratford Festival has named Jonathan Church as its next artistic director. Church has been signed for an initial term of five years and officially assumes the role of artistic director on Nov. 1, 2026. Audience members are seen through a screen on the Stratford Festival's opening night of their theatre season in Stratford, Ont. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris YoungStratford Festival board chair David Adams says Church has a rare combination of vision, experience and leadership. In 2002, he directed the U.K. premiere of Timothy Findley’s Elizabeth Rex, which was commissioned by the Stratford Festival.