Canadian actor Paul Gross to return to Stratford Festival, star as 'King Lear'

Actor Paul Gross poses for a photograph in Toronto on Tuesday, May 28, 2019. Gross is set to return to his roots in theatre next year and portray King Lear at the Stratford Festival. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Canadian actor Paul Gross is set to return to his roots in theatre next year to portray King Lear at the Stratford Festival.

The renowned theatre company in southwestern Ontario says Gross, best known for the TV series "Due South" and his film "Passchendaele," will star in the Shakespearean tragedy starting next spring.

Gross will take on the role of the elderly king 23 years after his turn as Hamlet on the same Stratford stage.

Rounding out the "King Lear" cast are Stratford mainstay Michael Blake as Edmund, as well as Tara Sky as Cordelia and DeĢjah Dixon-Green as Regan.

Also at the festival, "Republic of Doyle" actor Krystin Pellerin will play the Princess of Wales in "Casey and Diana."

The show chronicles the royal's visit to the Toronto AIDS hospice Casey House.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 1, 2022.

The Canadian Press

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