Once again this season, as is often the case, the strongest pieces at the Shaw Festival reside in the Jackie Maxwell Studio Theatre.

Directed by Philip Akin, The House That Will Not Stand is a complex and moving mandate-era exploration of freedom and family. Written in 2014, Marcus Gardley’s New Orleans-set drama explores an under-explored part of American history through the eyes of free women of colour as they grapple with New Orleans’ unique plaçage system and its impact. The ever-reliable Sophia Walker is particularly superb in an all-round stellar cast who beautifully balance the play’s fascinating educational insight with its heartbreaking human core. A wonderful piece of programming excellently executed.

The studio’s late opener is Snow in Midsummer, one of two productions adapted from classical Chinese storytelling at the festival this year. Clocking in just over two hours, Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig’s swift epic positions the story in an imagined present brought to life with creative but restrained detail by director Nina Lee Aquino and designers Camellia Koo (set), Joanna Yu (costumes), Michelle Ramsay (lights) and John Gzowski (original music & sound). Cowhig’s work is both poetic and frank, anchored by beautifully developed characters. The brilliant Courtney Ch’ng Lancaster was sadly on leave when I attended the show but stirring performances from Jonathan Tan, Michael Man, Donna Soares, and John Ng proved unmissable. Another fabulous choice of a modern text that expands and complements the festival’s traditional identity.

If you see any shows at the Shaw this year, prioritize these ones.