| Festival | |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 9 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Robert Allen [1] |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBC Television |
| Release | 10 October 1960 – 26 March 1969 |
| Related | |
| List of Festival episodes Season 1 · Season 2 · Season 3 · Season 4 · Season 5 · Season 6 · Season 7 · Season 8 · Season 9 | |
Festival (originally titled Festival '61) is a Canadian television anthology series which aired on CBC Television from 10 October 1960 to 26 March 1969, spanning nine seasons under executive producer Robert Allen.
It featured standalone productions across a range of high-quality theatrical and musical performances such as plays, operas, ballet, orchestral concerts, and television adaptions of literature from novels and short stories, sourced from both Canadian and international repertoire.
Budgeted at around CA$45,000–60,000 per episode (among the highest for CBC programming at the time), Festival became the network’s flagship cultural showcase. Its ambitious presentation aimed to bring professional stage and music productions including works from Stratford Festival, the Metropolitan Opera, and the National Ballet of Canada directly into Canadian living rooms.
CBC Television aired dramatic and musical anthology series such as Scope and Folio during the 1950s. Robert Allen, a producer on Folio, became supervising producer of the new Festival series. [2] [3]
| Series | Episodes | Originally released | Day / Time | Duration | Specials | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | ||||||
| 1 | 25 | 10 October 1960 | 19 June 1961 | Monday, 9:30 p.m. | 60–90 | 100–120 | |
| 2 | 25 | 2 October 1961 | 11 June 1962 | Monday, 9:30 p.m. | 60–90 | 120 | |
| 3 | 25 | 1 October 1962 | 20 May 1963 | Monday, 9:30 p.m. | 60–90 | 135 | |
| 4 | 29 | 2 October 1963 | 24 June 1964 | Wednesday, 9:30 p.m. | 60–90 | 120–170 | |
| 5 | 27 | 7 October 1964 | 30 June 1965 | Wednesday, 9:30 p.m. | 60-90 | — | |
| 6 | 32 | 15 September 1965 | 6 July 1966 | Wednesday, 9:30 p.m. | 30–90 | 120–155 | |
| 7 | 20 | 14 September 1966 | 10 May 1967 | Wednesday, 9:30 p.m. | 30–90 | — | |
| 8 | 13 | 4 October 1967 | 8 May 1968 | Wednesday, 9:30 p.m. | 30–90 | — | |
| 9 | 14 | 30 October 1968 | 26 March 1969 | Wednesday, 9:30 p.m. | 60–90 | 120 | |
As an anthology series, Festival did not have main, regular, or recurring cast members, but instead, a number of notable actors who were regularly cast in multiple episodes across its nine-season run.
For instance, Gillie Fenwick appeared in two dozen episodes, and Joseph Shaw and Paul Harding a dozen each. Donald Ewer,Budd Knapp, and Leo Leyden, all appeared in nine episodes. And with seven episodes each, James Edmond,Arch McDonnell, Rex Sevenoaks, and Drew Thompson were also series regulars.
Two actors would go on to appear in the James Bond film series. Sean Connery who played the title role in Macbeth (1961) which re-aired on Festival in 1962, took the role of James Bond in 1962. Joseph Wiseman appeared on Festival twice in 1961 before his role as Dr. No opposite Connery.
Star Trek actors appeared well before its debut episode in 1966, including William Shatner (Kirk), James Doohan (Scotty), and two who would portray Klingons, actors John Colicos as the recurring character Kor, and Christopher Plummer as Chang in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991).
Notable actors appearing in five or more episodes include the following.
For a complete list of notable guest cast:
The production cost of a typical Festival drama show was approximately $45,000 in 1961, among the highest production costs of CBC programming at the time. [4] Productions such as a ballet performance or a Gilbert and Sullivan play could cost $60,000 for CBC. [4]
