The Stratford Festival, formerly known as the Stratford Shakespearean, Shakespeare Festival and then Stratford Shakespeare Festival, is an internationally recognized annual repertory theatre festival running from April to October in the Canadian city of Stratford, Ontario. Theatre-goers, actors, and playwrights flock to Stratford to take part — many of the greatest Canadian, British, and American actors play roles at the Stratford festival. It was one of the first and is still one of the most prominent arts festivals in Canada and is recognized worldwide for its productions of Shakespearean plays.