Returning with my In The City series with a personally curated list of events as part of my birthday-celebration of life week. I am starting with Part 1 as there are many events and suggestions I’d like to share with you all.
As always, you will notice some local favourites. I am also listing some theatre and music events that are budget friendly and not mainstream. We may not make it to all of these events, but we can certainly try!
Theatre / Live Performances
Migraaaants
Presented by Two Thousand Feet Up Theatre Company
Theatre Passe Muraille
Until January 28, 2024
In this dark comedy, we journey with asylum seekers from a war-torn landscape to an overcrowded boat, to an unfamiliar land. Uncover the layers of a global crisis as this immersive, multimedia performance sheds light on the unbreakable human spirit within the refugee narrative, and gives audiences a chance to connect with the people beyond the headlines. Brace yourself, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.
The Shadow Whose Prey the Hunter Becomes
by Back to Back Theatre
Presented by Canadian Stage
Until January 28, 2024
Weaving a narrative through human rights, sexual politics, and the rise of artificial intelligence, The Shadow Whose Prey the Hunter Becomes is a clever theatrical revelation reminding us that none of us are self-sufficient and all of us are responsible for the future. At the center of this exploration lies a fundamental question: ‘If artificial intelligence took over the world, would human beings all end up living with an intellectual disability?’
Casey and Diana
Soulpepper Theatre
Originally produced by the Stratford Festival
January 23, 2024 to February 4, 2024
Casey and Diana is written by Nick Green and directed by Andrew Kushnira. It is a thought provoking new play set in Toronto’s Casey House, Canada’s first-free standing AIDS hospice, providing care and comfort to clients diagnosed with and dying of AIDS. In 1991, as this devastating epidemic was reaching its peak, Casey House received a historic visit from Diana, Princess of Wales. Casey and Diana is a gripping play that vividly captures a historic moment in time between caregivers, advocates, a princess, and people dying of AIDS.
Rockabye
by ARC Theatre
Factory Theatre
January 26 to February 11, 2024
Capitalism, Race, and Pop Culture. You know, the small stuff.
Sidney can feel her career slipping down the drain. No one loves a pop star when she’s past forty. Unless she wants to join the ranks of the has-beens on the casino circuit, she needs to reinvent herself – and quick. But what if she regains her former glory and still feels that something is missing?
Content Warning: mature language and content.
De Profundis: Oscar Wilde in Jail
Soulpepper Theatre
February 1 to February 18, 2024
De Profundis: Oscar Wilde in Jail is adapted and directed by Gregory Prest with original music and lyrics by Mike Ross and Sarah Wilson. The show is a musical fantasy based on the letter Oscar Wilde wrote to his love Lord Alfred Douglas while incarcerated at Reading Gaol. One page a day was written over a period of three months, collected at the end of each day, and handed over to Wilde on his release from prison. This poignant piece is performed by the award-winning Damien Atkins.
Et on campera sur la lune
Les Marcels | Alliance Française Toronto
February 3, 3024
A 75-minute tableau performance, in French, combining puppets, object theatre, and multimedia. Les Marcels invite teenagers to relive the conquest of space from the beginnings of mankind to the plans to colonize the moon. With humor and tenderness, these Quebec artists revisit the stories of our modern heroes who wanted to touch the stars, and dare to imagine the space exploration of tomorrow.
Music
Beethoven’s Sixth + Korngold’s Violin
Toronto Symphony Orchestra
Roy Thompson Hall
January 26-27, 2024
Experience Korngold’s Violin Concerto, where cinematic flair meets symphonic grandeur, expertly performed by violinist Ray Chen. Then, stay for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 which evokes deep connection with the natural world through its uplifting melodies and sweeping orchestral textures.
There will be a free pre-concert performance by the TSO Chamber Soloists before the Friday, January 26 performance.
University of Toronto New Music Festival: University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra
Metropolitan United Church
January 27, 2024
Program:
Gerardo Guevera – Galería siglo XX de pintores ecuatorianos (20th Century Gallery of Ecuadorian painters)
Marjan Mozetich: Procession of duos
Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony No.9 in E-flat Major, Op. 70
All programs and performers are subject to change.
The Sellers & Newel Literary Society Presents
Notes from the Margins: Pairings of Favourite Books & Songs
Featuring Raha Javanfar & Jesse Corrigan
January 28, 2024
If you have yet to discover live music inside one of my favourite local book stores, this is your chance. Minimum donation is $20 with all the proceeds going to the artists. As of today, there are only 3 seats left!
The Sellers & Newel Literary Society Presents
Juno Award Winner Paul Reddick & Kyle Ferguson, Guitar
January 31, 2024
Listing another event at Sellers & Newel in case you’re not able to make the other one.
Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir
Soundstreams | St. Paul’s Basilica
February 3, 2024
The world-renowned chamber choir returns to Toronto with music by Arvo Pärt, Palestrina, and a world-premiere by Canadian composer Omar Daniel. Led by its founder Tõnu Kaljuste, The Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir (EPCC) is in the top rank of the world’s greatest vocal ensembles, famous as the foremost interpreters of music by their beloved countryman Arvo Pärt. Their program includes Pärt favourites like Magnificat, Nunc Dimittis, Dopo la Vittoria and Kanon Pokajanen, as well as works by another great spiritualist of centuries past, Palestrina, including three selections of his Offertorium.
