A giant in the Canadian Theatre world is no longer with us.
Stratford Festival announced on Tuesday the death of actor and director Joe Ziegler, a veteran of 10 festival seasons.
The festival says Ziegler’s career involved many artists and companies over four decades.
“He had an enormous heart, which he shared willingly with those around him, as willingly as he shared a great story,” said the festival.
“We treasure the time he spent with us.”
The festival says his time with them was in three acts. The first was in 1983 when he played Berowne in Love’s Labour’s Lost.
He stayed for five seasons.
His roles around that time included Edgar in King Lear, Lysander in a Midsummer Night’s Dream, Claudio in Measure for Measure, Autolycus in The Winter’s Tale, and Aeneas in Troilus and Cressida.
Ziegler’s second act in Stratford saw him direct Hamlet in 2000, before playing Hardy in The Trespassers in 2009.
He then returned for his third and final act. From 2015 to 2018, he played several roles including Mr. Frank in The Diary of Anne Frank, Joe Keller in All My Sons, Duncan in Macbeth, Judge Taylor in To Kill a Mockingbird, Casca in Julius Caesar, and the Earl of Caversham in An Ideal Husband.
The festival sends their deepest condolences to his wife Nancy Palk and son Tim Ziegler, and his friends and family.
