Thought it was more than overdue time to bring back my Theatre Crawl listings. Herein, I have compiled a few performances taking place in Toronto over the next few weeks.
This Theatre Crawl edition includes productions of varied topics and sensibilities. Be sure to include some of these in your social calendars!
Monks
The Theatre Centre
February 26 – March 2
The monks, who reside in the hilltop monastery have always lived in total isolation, are back again. When the Abbot ventures into town, two medieval Brothers take the opportunity to invite a wagon full of strangers to their austere abode. Trying to complete their tasks of counting lentils, caring for their donkey, and keeping the monastery standing becomes the quest of a lifetime.
Join the monks on a journey for a good time in this interactive clown show.
Performance Review
2025 Morning Parade Coffee Bar 256 Crawford Street
February 27 – March 23
On a young woman’s first day at her first job, a man tips her $15. The next day, he tips her $100. Then $150. She’s not THAT good at making cappuccinos.
So begins the first of seven stories about seven worst days at seven jobs by award-winning playwright Rosamund Small. Performance Review is described as a shockingly-funny and just plain shocking examination of power dynamics and sexual violence in the workplace.
The show is told intimately and immediately by Small herself as she serves coffee to a 30-person audience in real time at Dundas West’s Morning Parade Coffee Bar.
Crawlspace
Théâtre français de Toronto
March 5 – 6
The breakaway hit from our 2022-2023 season is back on stage for a limited run. This biting true story of real estate horror, written by Karen Hines and translated by Mishka Lavigne, plunges into the Kafkaesque nightmare of the Toronto market with humour that is “as cruel as it is brilliant”.
This intimate and surreal solo show is about property ownership, class struggles, and the “appearance” of money. All of which are hot topics today, especially in Ontario where the cost of living seems to keep rising and the availability of affordable housing seems like a dream of times past.
Fat Ham
Canadian Stage
Unti March 9
After a ghostly visit from his recently deceased father, Juicy must throw a cookout to celebrate his mother’s remarriage to his late father’s brother. Striking an eerie resemblance to that classic tale, Juicy must grapple with familial tensions, a quest for justice, and his own identity as he determines his next move. The show combines Shakespeare’s Hamlet with laugh-out-loud humour, heart, and a soundtrack that will have everyone moving.
There is Violence and There is Righteous Violence and There is Death or, The Born-Again Crow
Buddies in Bad Times
March 9 – 29
Beth wants to burn it all down: the coconut milk section, the lady razor section, the healthy snacks section. The whole damn superstore. She only makes it to the magazine rack, but her act of resistance (or “public breakdown”) gets her fired and lands her back with her mom in the suburbs—where a talking crow shows her how to harness her powerful political rage.
Age of Arousal
Alumnae Studio Theatre
March 12 – 23
The play is a powerful ensemble piece by acclaimed playwright Linda Griffiths. Set in an era of tumultuous change, this play explores the forbidden and gloriously liberated self, where characters grapple with explosive and contradictory desires.
Griffiths, a winner of five Dora Mavor Moore Awards and a Gemini Award, crafts a provocative and compelling narrative that you won’t want to miss.
WOMEN AT PLAY(S) 7
Alumnae Theatre
March 28 – 30, April 2 – 6
Women At Play(s) 7 is a festival of original short one-act plays written, directed, and performed by Canadian women-identifying playwrights, directors, and actors. This seventg edition features seven short plays for a dramatic, comedic, unexpected rollercoaster of a show. From Boomers to babies, from China to the Cheakumus, from literature to larceny, these plays take us on a journey through the lives of a truly diverse group of characters.
The plays for this year’s festival are:
Celebration of Strife by Brenda Somers, Director Susan A. Lock
Exit Here by Trina Davies, Director Marni Walsh
Going Avocado by Marian Buechert, Director Clara McBride
Half the Sky by Janet Lo, Director Brenda Kamino
Hot Milk by Sherry MacDonald, Director Lee Bolton
Oh Me, Oh Maya by Alicia Plummer, Director Tonjha Richardson
Toilet Paper for the Apocalypse by Margo MacDonald, Director Marianne Sawchuk
A Public Display of Affection
Crow’s Theatre
March 25 – April 20
Mixing history, comedy, and poignant reflection in equal measure, the show excavates the lives, loves, and landmarks of Wilson’s life as a queer teenager in Toronto.
Representing various characters, Wilson leads us on a wry and intimate exploration of the Village he once knew, the legacy it created, and the future being forged by a new generation.
