Land Acknowledgement
The Greater Victoria Shakespeare Festival creates and performs on the land of the lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples. We respect the relationship they continue to have with the land to this day, and the strength of their generational resilience in the face of ongoing systemic colonial violence and genocide. We are committed to the continual process of unlearning deeply embedded notions of white supremacy and colonial racism, and continuing to become better allies wherever we can. We ask that you consider your relationship to this land as well and remember that every settler is responsible for dismantling the colonial genocide that Indigenous people continue to face.
Greetings from Mayor Marianne Alto
On behalf of the City of Victoria, it is my pleasure to welcome you to the Greater Victoria Shakespeare Festival! Victorian’s are pleased to host this exciting event that brings together people of diverse ages, cultures and economic backgrounds - to feel inspired by Shakespeare’s works. Festivals like this contribute to our diverse community and foster connections through arts, culture and literature.
Thank you to the volunteers and participants for dedicating their time to make this event possible. We appreciate your commitment to include local businesses, educators and residents to recognize and celebrate the theatre and arts in our community.
I hope you enjoy the theatrical expertise for this year’s 2026 summer season production of A Midsummer Night's Dream!
Marianne Alto
Victoria Mayor
Production Credits
Maddy Kirstein Artistic Producer
Asa O’Connor-Jaeckel Playwright/Director
SJ Valiquette General Manager, Fight & Intimacy Director
Carly Young/Asa O’Connor-Jaeckel Costume Design/ Props/Set Coordinators
Jade McMillan Stage Manager
Ashley Chodat Dramaturge
Rosa Fairley Front of House Coordinator
Board of Directors
Grace Martin President
Corvus Campbell Vice President
Kai Fig Taddei Secretary
Bridgette Nzomwita Treasurer
Kaylee Cavanagh Member-at-large
Cam Culham Member-at-large
Laara Huuskonen Member-at-large
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS:
Allison Balabuch, Shona Slack, Ian Case, Lori Fisher
We Talk of Dreams - Cast List
Kanyiri Njoroge Benvolio
Juno Mercutio
Gus Setala-Gau Tybalt
Kyle Deslippe Romeo
Director’s Notes
By Asa o’connor-jaeckel
As a queer theatre artist with a deep love for Shakespeare, the contemporary practice of queering Shakespeare’s plays has always delighted me. In my experience, this usually takes the form of the alternative casting of conventionally cis or straight characters in the canon, or of teasing out some potential for love and expression beyond what is explicitly stated in the text. For any fans of the Romeo and Juliets created by Simon Godwin (2021), Baz Luhrmann (1996), or Karin Saari (GVSF, 2025), among others, you will know that the characters of Mercutio and Benvolio–along with Romeo and Juliet as a whole play, given its focus on love and desire–are among those that directors, actors, and dramaturges are often especially keen on queering.
Queered Shakespearean productions are unfailingly exciting and generative. However, they also ask some difficult questions of their artists. Regardless of what Shakespeare may have personally intended, his works–written to appeal to Renaissance English society and later revived to suit the political bents of the Victorian era–play a major role in upholding cis-heteropatriarchal cultural ideas about what it means to love, to live, to die, and to be human.
So what does it look like to successfully queer Shakespeare?
A production that queers a previously straight relationship does wonders to subvert conventions surrounding who has access to the audience’s attention, and to explicit joy in, and expression of, love. It can also fail to address what is uniquely interesting about queer identity and relationships. Alternatively, creating extra-textual or implicitly queer characters/relationships offers freedom of interpretation and a lack of dependence on cisheteronormative frameworks, while denying queer characters the chance to clearly articulate their stories and situations.
These questions, which initially kickstarted this project, extend far beyond telling stories through theatre. As a real queer person living in a real cisheteronormative, patriarchal world, one is often confronted with similar problems to solve when it comes to communication and self-expression. When the linguistic and relational tools at your disposal orbit straightness, how can you really say what you mean? Is clear communication worth an element of inauthenticity? What if total authenticity means communication breakdown? Is it possible to reclaim (previously) exclusionary language, spaces, and systems? What beautiful things happen when you find yourself in someone else’s words? Both in theatre and in real life, I don’t believe these questions have objective answers, which is precisely what makes asking them through this play so annoyingly fun.
When it came to designing the look and feel of the show, I wanted to prioritize the piece’s surreal, dreamlike quality–one which aims to mirror the fluid, sometimes-confusing state the characters find themselves in. For this reason, I chose not to ground the play in a specific time or place, intentionally pulling a variety of costumes and props from all over the “map”. The image of a stage covered in paper was one of the very first motifs that sprung to mind for me as a playwright, and did a lot to guide me through the design process. I wanted the characters to be able to be physically surrounded by someone else’s (Shakespeare’s) words, in turn letting them materially engage with the text in a variety of different ways. My hope is that this is supportive of my stylistic choice to weave together contemporary and Shakespearean text–heavily and happily inspired by plays like Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. I also hope to highlight the choice to pull text not only from Romeo and Juliet, but from all across Shakespeare’s canon, including snippets from Hamlet, As You Like It, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Love’s Labour’s Lost, and many of the sonnets.
I feel unbelievably grateful to be a part of the brilliant team bringing you We Talk of Dreams. This show is very near and dear to my heart, and I could not have asked for a more dedicated, talented, courageous, and hilarious group of artists to explore with. I am so excited for you to see the wonderful work they have done!
SYNOPSIS
We Talk of Dreams narratively occurs throughout the first half of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, weaving together contemporary and Shakespearean text...
In a dreamlike world scattered with strange fragments of poetry and scraps of paper, Mercutio and Benvolio spend their time together telling each other stories–occasionally interrupted entertaining Benvolio’s younger cousin Romeo, avoiding Tybalt and his fraught history with Mercutio, or getting roped into the decades-old feud between the Montagues and the Capulets.
While the beautiful poetry surrounding them speaks to Benvolio, Mercutio prefers to ignore the poetry and explore the dynamic environment around them. Sifting through the pages on the ground, Benvolio finds an invitation to a party being thrown by the Capulet family. Excited at the prospect of attending, Benvolio convinces Mercutio and Romeo to come with him.
On the night of the party, Mercutio and Benvolio quickly lose track of Romeo, and soon find themselves following a trail of poetry into the heart of the Capulets’ labyrinthine garden. While Romeo and Juliet fall for each other off in the background, tensions rise between Mercutio and Benvolio as they attempt to navigate queerness, language, connection, and what it means to fall in love in an increasingly confusing world.
Company Biographies
KANYIRI NJOROGE
Benvolio
Kanyiri Njoroge is an actor from Nairobi, Kenya finishing up his degree in Acting in the BFA at UBC. He will be playing Benvolio in "We Talk of Dreams," by Asa O'Connor Jaeckel. He is a multi-disciplinary artist who loves spreading joy and love through his art. His recent credits include Kate Besworth's "Antigone," playing Haimon, as well as Donald in Ruth Tesfahun's "Dustheads," which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, Next Wave in April. He is thrilled to be part of this festival and working with one of his best friends who is Asa, the director.
JUNO
Mercutio
Juno is a Hong Kong born and raised actor and dancer based in Vancouver, BC, on the unceded lands of the xwməθkwəy̓ əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. Juno is playing Mercutio in We Talk of Dreams. Juno’s love for performing started when little Juno would hog the mic during karaoke at family gatherings. At age 12, she started dance training, experimenting with different styles like hip-hop, jazz funk, commercial and waacking; she hasn’t stopped moving since. Juno then attended the acting program at Studio 58. Her recent credits include: Mercury in Romeo & Jewels workshop (Zee Zee Theatre), Apprentice Director of Something Rotten! (Studio 58), German Measles Mayo in A Journal of the Plague Year (Studio 58), Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet (Studio 58). She is so grateful to be a part of this heartfelt and important production and she would like to thank anyone who didn’t snatch the mic out of her hands at karaoke.
Gus Setala-Gay
Tybalt
Gus Setala-Gay (they/them) is a queer actor and singer born and raised in Vancouver, BC. They graduated from Studio 58 in the Spring of 2026, and are so excited to play Tybalt in We Talk of Dreams. Their previous roles include: Peter Quince/Ensemble (Something Rotten!) Man in High Boots 1/ Disinfector 1/Watermelon Man 3 (A Journal of the Plague Year), Capulet (Romeo and Juliet), Morlock C/Caterer (The Time Machine), Ensemble (We Are Boy Band), Ram Sweeney (Heathers: The Musical) and Humpty Dumpty/Tweedle Dum (Through The Looking Glass). Gus is honoured to create and perform on the unceded traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. They are eternally grateful to all of their friends who motivate and inspire their work, their family who always supported their dreams and their two cats Binker and Clementine for being adorable.
Kyle Deslippe
Romeo
Kyle Deslippe is a Vancouver-based actor and graduate of the BFA Acting program at UBC, where he was awarded the Beatrice Johnson Wood Scholarship in Theatre. Recent theatre credits include Chorus in Antigone (UBC), Gibson/Mr. Burns in Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play (UBC) and Dodo in The Last of the Pelican Daughters (UBC), followed by The Servant of Two Masters (UBC) and The Refugee Hotel (UofT).
Alongside his acting work, he is also completing a Master’s degree in Business Management at UBC. He will graduate in December 2026 and is seeking opportunities in film, television, and theatre.
Carly Young
Costume Design Coordinator
Carly Young is gleaming with excitement to be joining the team of We Talk Of Dreams. They are a performer and costume designer, creating on the traditional Lekwungen and Songhees territories. As someone who loves to express their passion through physical theatre, you can often find her parallel to the floor or upside down in some way or another. When they’re not clowning around on stage (or anywhere really) you can find Carly breaking the laws of reality through experimental costuming with nothing but hot glue, glitter and a prayer. Her other credits include: GVSF’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, ‘A Midsummer Nightmare’ and Alectoria’s award winning fringe show ‘Origins of the Coast’.
Asa O’Connor-Jaeckel
Playwright/Director
Asa O’Connor-Jaeckel (they/he) is a queer director, actor, and interdisciplinary theatre artist currently completing a BFA in Acting at the University of British Columbia. Over the years, they have created and performed their way around so-called Vancouver and Victoria, working with organizations including Ragamuffin Productions, North Van Arts, Iuvenis Productions, Christy-Webb Productions, Word of Mouth Department, and Bard on the Beach. Asa also works in theatre education, and has supported young artists at Bard on the Beach and Gateway Theatre. They are a member of the 2026 Riotous Youth cohort (Bard on the Beach), and are the recipient of the Yvonne Firkins Prize for Directing (2025). When not on or around the stage, they can be found playing guitar, writing the odd philosophy paper or, most importantly, befriending any strangers’ dogs that cross their path. Asa is beyond thrilled to be part of the incredible team bringing you We Talk of Dreams. A massive thank you to everyone that has made this production possible!
Maddy Kirstein
Artistic Producer
Maddy Kirstein (he/they), a theatre artist specializing in community-centered management and immersive storytelling, aspires to create spaces that give artists the strength and support to share their art. In 2018, they established the Alectoria School of Magic, a live-action roleplaying camp designed to create a safe environment and inspire creativity among young people throughout Vancouver Island. The camp's emphasis was on teaching youth that embracing magic can liberate their expression in spontaneous and joyful ways. In 2022, they co-founded a community of practice built on creativity and empowerment called Be With with Emily Coldwell. Focusing on retreats, workshops, and creative facilitation for all ages, they believe in the power of the arts to allow individuals the space to know and accept themselves fully. In 2023, they dedicated their time to empowering one another to step out into the world as their full selves. Since then, you can find them running between errands as they produce shows with Alectoria Productions, the GVSF, and everything in between.
Jade McMillan
Stage Manager
Jade McMillan (she/her) is a Master’s student in Educational Psychology at the University of British Columbia and is excited to return to stage management after taking a year away from the role. Her previous theatre experience includes working as an actor, director, and stage manager from elementary to high school and in undergrad with UBC Players Club. She is thrilled to be joining the Greater Victoria Shakespeare Festival for We Talk of Dreams and to be back behind the scenes helping bring this production to life!
SJ Valiquette
General Manager/Fight & Intimacy Coordinator
SJ Valiquette (she/ they) is an actor, audiobook narrator, and apiarist from Treaty 7 Territory. They have worked with GVSF in many capacities since 2016 and are thrilled to be back with the festival this year. Previous GVSF credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Romeo & Juliet, The Winter's Tale, Twelfth Night, Love's Labour's Lost, Macbeth, Cymbeline, and Much Ado About Nothing.
Rosa Fairley
Front of House Coordinator
Rosa (she/her) is a theatre artist originally from beautiful Vancouver on the lands of the Musqueum, Stó:lō, and Tsleil Waututh Nations. Rosa is thrilled to be returning for a second season with the GVSF! She is still new to Front of House, and is ever grateful to the GVSF for giving her the opportunity to learn and grow in a new aspect of theatre outside of acting. When not working in theatre, Rosa can be found working towards her degree in art history at UVic, writing poetry, prose and general scribbles, and drinking endless cups of tea whilst reading endless mystery, historical fiction and fantasy novels. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is her favourite of Shakespeare’s plays. She first fell in love with the 1999 film, followed by a comic book adaptation read many nights under the covers as a kid. She can’t wait to be transported into an entirely magical world of mischief, delightful mayhem (and puppets!) with all of you. Enjoy your journey into the faerie realm, and keep your wits about you!
Some language and pronouns have been changed to accommodate and support the needs of our production and cast.
Content Warnings: Violence, death, blood, intimacy, excessive swears including the F-slur. Recommended ages 16+, but ultimately up to care-givers discretion.
