{"id":122039,"date":"2026-02-25T15:10:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T20:10:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=122039"},"modified":"2026-02-25T15:10:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T20:10:07","slug":"interview-theatre-legend-ronnie-burkett-talks-reinventing-shakespeare-little-willy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2026\/02\/25\/interview-theatre-legend-ronnie-burkett-talks-reinventing-shakespeare-little-willy\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Theatre Legend Ronnie Burkett Talks About Reinventing Shakespeare In Little Willy"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_122042\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-122042\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-122042\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2026-02-25T150809.626.jpg\" alt=\"Theatre artist Ronnie Burkett\u2019s Little Willy (Photo: Dahlia Katz)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2026-02-25T150809.626.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2026-02-25T150809.626-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2026-02-25T150809.626-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2026-02-25T150809.626-768x402.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-122042\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ronnie Burkett\u2019s Little Willy (Photo: Dahlia Katz)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Ronnie Burkett\u2019s show Little Willy will open at Canadian Stage on February 27. Produced by Ronnie Burkett Theatre of Marionettes, the unique artist offers a bawdy and irreverent take on Shakespeare\u2019s Romeo and Juliet.<\/p>\n<p>Little Willy reprises characters that will be familiar to the many fans of Burkett\u2019s work. The story takes the familiar story and turns it inside out.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s also a very adult reinvention of the story, designed for audience members age 16+ only.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/EmJkhinEwgU?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<h2>Ronnie Burkett<\/h2>\n<p>Ronnie Burkett was born in Medicine Hat, Alberta, and became fascinated with puppets as a young child. He developed the ambition to become a puppeteer, and was writing and touring his first shows by the age of 14. He attended Brigham Young University in Utah on a theatre scholarship for a year, but left to pursue his career.<\/p>\n<p>He pursued his craft as a puppeteer \u2014 and he creates all his own puppets and marionettes by hand \u2014 in various forms. He won a regional Emmy in 1979 for the puppets he created for a show called Cinderrabbit on PBS in the United States. He went on to form his own theatre company in 1986.<\/p>\n<p>His international breakthrough came with a show titled Tinka\u2019s New Dress, which won two Dora Awards, four Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Awards, and a special citation from the Obie Awards. It toured internationally, and became part of a trilogy of works. He won a Chalmers Award in 1996 for his show Old Friends, and in 2009, a Siminovitch Prize in Theatre. He received the Distinguished Artist Award from the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Awards for his contributions to the arts in Alberta in 2015.<\/p>\n<p>Burkett writes his own scripts, and voices all the characters. Unlike Little Willy, his pieces often deal with darker subjects, and he often uses unusual characters, and elements of the grotesque.<\/p>\n<h3>Ronnie Burkett: The Interview<\/h3>\n<p>In Little Willy, Burkett takes Shakespeare\u2019s play and puts it into a larger story.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell you know, with The Daisy Theatre in general, it&#8217;s a bunch of vaudevillians that do a show,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n<p>His Daisy Theatre troupe, in other words, will produce Romeo and Juliet, and various hijinks ensue.<\/p>\n<p>Why that play in particular?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I did <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=OPVII-i2kD8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Little Dickens<\/a>, it was so easy, because the general public knows The Christmas Carol,\u201d he points out. \u201cWhen I was thinking of Shakespearean stuff, I thought, what is the one everyone would know?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Romeo and Juliet naturally came to mind. He points out it\u2019s a good entry point for Shakespeare in general.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTwo kids meet, have underaged sex, unsupervised, and six people die,\u201d as he sums up.<\/p>\n<p>Shakespeare himself shows up in Little Willy in marionette form.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell, I just thought he was a good hook,\u201d he says. He relates that a mentor of his in the 1970s produced a puppet version of the Bard\u2019s Taming of the Shrew, and created a puppet of Shakespeare himself to appear in it. The idea stuck with him. \u201cIt was just in my mind to have Shakespeare in this show.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The revered playwright makes his appearance in the story outraged at what the Daisy Theatre actors are doing to his work.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_122043\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-122043\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-122043\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/CSLittleWillyPromo-photobyDahliaKatz-4065.jpg\" alt=\"Theatre artist Ronnie Burkett\u2019s Little Willy (Photo: Dahlia Katz)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/CSLittleWillyPromo-photobyDahliaKatz-4065.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/CSLittleWillyPromo-photobyDahliaKatz-4065-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/CSLittleWillyPromo-photobyDahliaKatz-4065-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/CSLittleWillyPromo-photobyDahliaKatz-4065-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-122043\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ronnie Burkett\u2019s Little Willy (Photo: Dahlia Katz)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3>Improv &amp; Music<\/h3>\n<p>Like most of Burkett\u2019s shows, the performance involves improvisation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAny Daisy Theatre show, there&#8217;s never been a script written down ever,\u201d he says. In the case of Little Willy, there is a structure to the performance, with specific scenes, and songs written by John Alcorn.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have to drive the car and take the audience through this in less than two hours,\u201d Ronnie say.<\/p>\n<p>Songs and music are always an important part of The Daisy Theatre shows.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvery Daisy Theatre show has always begun with a burlesque strip show,\u201d he says. \u201cDolly Wiggler, who is the house burlesque artist, has an Elizabethan strip show.\u201d She goes through four layers of clothing to the opening song.<\/p>\n<p>Casting Romeo and Juliet also involves a musical number as two aging divas vie each other for the role.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a battle song between the two divas of the show. It\u2019s called I Am Juliet.\u201d he says. \u201cThey are both well past their prime.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Recurring Daisy Theatre characters who appear in the show include Edna Rurals, a woman from the prairies. She\u2019s a turnip farmer with a conservative bent, a kind of every-mom or auntie. \u201cShe has a beautiful ballad,\u201d Burkett says. It involves advice to young girl.<\/p>\n<p>Another number is sung by a Las Vegas lounge singer, who explains why passions are so heightened \u2014 they\u2019re Italian is the reasoning. Naturally, it\u2019s an Italian song.<\/p>\n<p>Little Willy is a send up of Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, theatre and its conventions, and more.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>The Audience<\/h3>\n<p>What would he say to potential audience members?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI sell pretty well everywhere I play, and to be honest, I think it&#8217;s primarily word of mouth,\u201d Burkett says.<\/p>\n<p>He speculates that anyone suggesting a puppet show for adults to anyone unfamiliar with his work as an evening out would likely be turned down.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe reaction would be pretty strong \u2014 I&#8217;m busy that night,\u201d he laughs. \u201cOnce people are in the show, they have no idea that it could be that silly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As he points out, his show is pure performance, without any of the theatrical tech that is common nowadays.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt&#8217;s a true theatrical experience,\u201d he says. \u201cIt&#8217;s not a franchise musical. It&#8217;s a one of a kind.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His shows are for those who simply love live theatre.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy work doesn&#8217;t translate to camera work,\u201d he notes, pointing out that film and TV is designed to control the viewing perspective, which tends not to work with his shows. \u201cThe camera makes the puppets look boring and static. This is theatrical.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Characters<\/h3>\n<p>\u201cThere&#8217;s pretty much the standard characters [of The Daisy Theatre],\u201d he says. Another character Burkett aficionados will recognize is Schnitzel, an innocent based on the idea of a fairy. Esme is another, based on an aging Gloria Swanson who\u2019s been on the road for decades, and is drunk most of the time. She\u2019s got an acid tongue, and a mean sense of humour.<\/p>\n<p>But, recurring characters doesn\u2019t mean the same marionettes he\u2019s used before.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhenever a marionette changes their clothes, I have to create a new puppet,\u201d he explains. \u201cShakespeare I think was the only new character that I made for the show.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Various puppets have been added over the years. \u201cIn The Daisy Theatre now we have 56 puppets,\u201d he explains. Not all of them show up in every show. Physically, he has built hundreds of puppets.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_122041\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-122041\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-122041\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/LittleDickens-photobyDahliaKatz-8537.jpg\" alt=\"Theatre artist Ronnie Burkett\u2019s Little Willy (Photo: Dahlia Katz)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"798\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/LittleDickens-photobyDahliaKatz-8537.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/LittleDickens-photobyDahliaKatz-8537-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/LittleDickens-photobyDahliaKatz-8537-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/LittleDickens-photobyDahliaKatz-8537-768x511.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-122041\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ronnie Burkett\u2019s Little Willy (Photo: Dahlia Katz)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3>Little Willy<\/h3>\n<p>Little Willy began during the years of the COVID pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDuring lockdown, unbeknownst to me, I was going to be in my studio for two and half years,\u201d he says. \u201cI thought, I&#8217;ve got the studio, let&#8217;s build as many shows as we can.\u201d He ended up creating four new shows during that period.<\/p>\n<p>Once presenters got back to planning their performance seasons, Burkett\u2019s first suggestion was Wonderful Joe, a story about an old man, his dog, and gentrification. (Wonderful Joe toured through 2024 and 2025.)<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe response from presenters was, we&#8217;re coming out of lockdown [&#8230;] do you have anything that&#8217;s just silly?\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>Little Willy fits that bill.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think, for Toronto right now, with this weather, with politics in the world, with the state of things, I think it&#8217;s the perfect show to present pre-spring,\u201d Burkett says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt&#8217;s deliciously stupid.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>The Show<\/h2>\n<p>Ronnie Burkett serves as playwright, set and costume designer, and marionette designer for the show, with music arrangements and production by John Alcorn.<\/p>\n<p>Little Willy will be at the Berkeley Street Theatre from February 27 to April 5.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Find tickets and show details [<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/de.canadianstage.com\/show\/little-willy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HERE<\/a><\/strong>].<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em>Are you looking to promote an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/advertising\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color: #0e101a;\"><u>event<\/u><\/span><\/a>? Have a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/masthead\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>news tip<\/u><\/a>? Need to know the best\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/events\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>events<\/u><\/a>\u00a0happening this weekend? Send us a\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><a href=\"mailto:anya@ludwig-van.com?subject=Let's%20chat\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><em><u>note<\/u>.<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"western\"><em><b>#LUDWIGVAN<\/b><\/em><\/h3>\n<p class=\"western\"><em>Get the daily arts news straight to your inbox.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"western\"><em>Sign up for the Ludwig Van Toronto e-Blast! \u2014 local classical music and opera news straight to your inbox <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/583e6ce0-dfd0-48be-8a33-61256b3c58e3.mlbtlr.com\/p2\/Fbd8jWoWQQ6CdBcLIvut3Q\/02E3cYaETqaj4Xm087cpSg?contactid=S3HHYfHY5rZv5f94S15MnA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/583e6ce0-dfd0-48be-8a33-61256b3c58e3.mlbtlr.com\/p2\/Fbd8jWoWQQ6CdBcLIvut3Q\/02E3cYaETqaj4Xm087cpSg?contactid%3DS3HHYfHY5rZv5f94S15MnA&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1695737525351000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0QTqKRwRJQFGK3KoJYigxX\">HERE<\/a>.<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ronnie Burkett\u2019s show Little Willy will open at Canadian Stage on February 27, offering a bawdy and irreverent take on Shakespeare\u2019s Romeo and Juliet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":122042,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[42533,29,4780,62,63],"tags":[631,41513,29740],"yst_prominent_words":[29732,11439,12186,27138,29733,11678,8973],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2026-02-25T150809.626.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-vKn","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122039"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=122039"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122039\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":122044,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122039\/revisions\/122044"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/122042"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=122039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=122039"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=122039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}