After a short hiatus, my personally curated Theatre Crawl list returns. This week, I have chosen shows that will entice many of you. These include drama pieces, musical theatre, dance, and more.
I Am Marguerite
by Shirley Barrie
directed by Molly Thom
starring Daniela Pagliarello, Chris Coculuzzi, Heli Kivilaht, Sara Price, Christopher Oszwald
Alumnae Theatre Mainstage
Runs to Saturday, April 25
1542: For choosing love over duty, Marguerite de Roberval was banished to the Isle of Demons off the north coast of Newfoundland. After two years on the desolate island and driven half mad by loneliness, hardship and memories, she now has a chance of rescue. Join us for the world première of this ORIGINAL play based on a true story in Canadian history.
Tickets: Regular: $20, Wednesdays: $10, Sunday: PWYC
Wednesday to Sunday at 8pm nightly
Tickets can be purchased via phone at 416-364-4170 or
by online here
SPOTLIGHT SOUTH AFRICA
Hatched
By Mamela Nyamza
Berkeley Street Upstairs
Runs to Sunday, April 19
As a child growing up in Gugulethu, multiple award-winning dancer, choreographer, teacher and development activist Mamela Nyamza, the 2011 Standard Bank Young Artist Award Winner for Dance, started using dance to translate the world around her. Nyamza’s two dance pieces interrogate the African dancer’s body and cultural ethos, while offering autobiographical explorations of her own identity as a dancer, an African and as a mother.
ubu and the truth commission
By William Kentridge
In Collaboration WithHandspring Puppet Company
Berkeley Street Downstairs
Runs to Sunday, April 19
William Kentridge’s masterful collaboration with Handspring Puppet Company (War Horse) in which puppetry, live actors, music, animation and documentary footage are combined to fuse the chaos of a century-old legend with original testimony from witnesses at the post-apartheid Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Weekday and Weekend Performances Vary: Check website for details
Tickets: $24 – $49
Tickets can be purchased online here
The RISER Project
Mouthpiece
Company: Quote Unquote Collective
Created and performed by: Amy Nostbakken and Norah Sadava
All music composed by: Amy Nostbakken
Running: April 17 – May 3
Mouthpiece follows one woman, for one day, as she tries to find her voice. In this genre bending performnace, Nostbakken and Sadava express the inner conflict that exists within a modern woman’s head, interweaving a cappella harmony, dissonance, text and a range of physicality including dance and physical storytelling.
Little Death
Company: The Little Death Collective
Written by: Daniel Karasik
Directed by: Zachary Florence
Performed by: Shauna Black, Sarah Dodd, Kate Hennig, Christopher Stanton, Nicole Underhay and Elizabeth Tanner
Running: April 17 – May 3
Alex may or may not be dying. Confronted with his mortality, he searches for sex and connection in hotel bars – with his wife Brit’s conflicted blessing. Little Death asks fundamental questions about marriage, fidelity, and the intimate needs of men and women.
Weekday and Weekend Performances Vary: Check website for details
The Theatre Centre
Tickets: $15 to $25
Tickets can be purchased via phone at 416-538-0988
online at theatrecentre.org
Nerd Girl Burlesque
Tassels and Tabletop: Signature Sensations
Handlebar
Thursday, Apr 16, 7:30pm
I have attended one of these burlesque shows, and although not a big event, it is certainly a load of fun! The perfomers always show off some great moves and fun acts. The guests this month are:
Axel Blows
Bianca Boom Boom – The Triple B With The Double D’s
Esther De Ville – Toronto’s Vintage Vixen
Rouge La Rouge-The Harlettes
Hosted by styling funny lady Reddy!
Doors 7:30pm, Show at 8pm, Gaming 9 PM onwards.
Tickets $10 online or at the door. Advance ticket holders receive priority, reserved seating.
Emily’s Piano
Adapted by Mark Cassidy from the novel by Charlotte Gingras*, translated by Susan Ouriou
Directed by Mark Cassidy
Featuring Heather Marie Annis, Hilary Carroll, Mary Ellen MacLean, Ginette Mohr and Christopher Sawchyn.
Copyright © 2003 Charlotte Gingras and Les éditions de la courte échelle inc.
Young People’s Theatre Mainstage
Runs to Saturday, May 2
Emily’s Piano follows nine-year-old Emily who is coping with the break-up of her family and her mother’s slow slide into depression. As she becomes more caregiver than cared for, Emily’s resourceful spirit leads her on a journey through the streets of Montreal in search of a particular piano she hopes will bring light back into their home.
Recommended for ages 10 & up
Weekday and Weekend Performances Vary: Check website for details
Tickets: $15-$30
Tickets can be purchsed via phone at 416-862-2222 or
by visiting tickets.youngpeoplestheatre.ca
Infinity
Tarragon Theatre and Volcano Theatre
Written by Hannah Moscovitch
Directed by Ross Manson
Starring Paul Braunstein, Haley McGee, Amy Rutherford with violinist Andréa Tyniec
Runs to Sunday, May 3
Tarragon Theatre’s Extraspace
A shocking, funny and revelatory elegy to time and love. How does a new Theory of Time change everything we know about ourselves? A brilliant young woman and her parents smash together like particles colliding in an accelerator. Her father is a theoretical physicist and her mother a composer; she is a mathematician. Together, they learn that love and time are connected in ways they couldn’t have imagined.
Tuesday-Saturday at 8pm; Sunday at 2:30pm and 2:30pm on Saturday, April 18
Regular Tickets: $50-$55 (Discounts for seniors, students, arts workers & groups)
Tickets can be purchased via phone at 416.531.1827
or by visiting tarragontheatre.com
Some rush tickets available. Check website for details.
Brantwood: 1920-2020
Sheridan College’s Canadian Music Theatre Project
Created and directed by Mitchell Cushman and Julie Tepperman
Music and lyrics by Bram Gielen, Anika Johnson and Britta Johnson
Runs to Sunday, May 3
Brantwood is the largest production of immersive, site-specific musical theatre in Canadian history. At Sheridan College, audience members are greeted as the final graduating class of a fictional Brantwood High and transported by yellow school bus to their “alma mater” for a reunion before the school’s closing for a redevelopment project. In choose-your-own-adventure style, spectators decide which of the 11 different storylines to follow at any time.
Tuesday-Sunday at 7pm nightly
Patrons assemble at the main entrance to Sheridan College, Oakville
Tickets: $35 (discounts for groups and repeat patrons)
Tickets can be purchsed via phone at 905-815-4049 or
by visiting tickets.sheridancollege.ca
Audience members are encouraged to wear comfortable shoes
With these many options, we have no excuse to not head out this weekend!
