Local comedian Helder Brum, known for his garage shows, claymation vids, and dodgeball stamina, hosts a variety show tonight with a wide variety of guests, including fellow stand-up Pat Thornton, improv duo The Sufferettes, and musical guest Laura Barrett.
Nightwood Theatre’s annual festival of new creation, the Groundswell Festival, this year features a reading of a new play by Judith Thompson, productions from Montreal’s Odelah Creations and Halifax’s In Good Company, and nightly readings and events, including their annual Femcab Women’s Day Celebration.
Kate Nash. Photo by Christopher Dadey.
British singer-songwriter Kate Nash returns to Toronto with her third album, Girl Talk. She’s been busy, having spent the time since 2010′s My Best Friend is You setting up her own label to support other artists, launching the Kate Nash’s Rock n Roll for Girls After-School Music Club, and more. Last year, the pop culture–savvy multi-tasker also released a tribute single to Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof, and produced a stage version of the Buffy The Vampire Slayer musical episode “Once More With Feeling” for Halloween. Nash comes after two openers; her set is scheduled for 11:30 p.m.
The Soul Motivators. Photo by Yao Kouadio and Christine Yu.
Nine-piece funk band The Soul Motivators has only been playing live for a little over a year, but it has already become a popular draw at nightspots around town. Tonight, the band headlines its EP release party, with DJs Voltaire (of the Soul Surrender series) and Andy B. Bad.
Bret "The Hitman" Hart performing at last year's Sketch Comedy Festival.
This year’s edition of the Sketch Comedy Festival boasts headliners including Eugene Mirman (March 9), Bruce McCulloch (March 11), and Michael Ian Black (March 12). There are also visiting troupes from Winnipeg (Hot Thespian Action), Montreal (Uncalled For), and Vancouver (Peter ‘n Chris), plus a wide variety of local outfits. It’ll all wrap with a closing show featuring the Sketchersons, joined by special guest host and wrestling legend Bret “The Hitman” Hart.
Sketchfest runs at The Randolph Theatre, Lower Ossington Theatre, and Comedy Bar.
Hart is on the sidelines recovering from knee surgery; The Honky Tonk Man has been announced as the new host for Sunday night.
Lovers of photography and the city can rejoice at a new photo extravaganza: the Toronto Urban Photography Festival. This gigantic event features no less than 10 exhibitions, a variety of talks on the subject of urban photography, and a number of photo walks, so you too can get in on the practice of creating urban art. The exhibition also features the Disposable Camera Project, which places many disposable cameras around the city, leaving it up to whoever finds them to take a picture in the moment. And then you might possibly see the results in the festival.
What might we see through the eyes of a child? ChildSight tries to answer that question by pairing selected artwork with audio commentary from children who participate in the Kaleidoscope in-school art program. The opening reception on Thursday, March 21st also includes awards presentations, drinks, and, of course, a chance to check out the show itself.
Too Soon: The Contemporary as Method will try to tackle a tricky question: how do we study contemporary art while simultaneously living with it? The conference will take place over two days, the first of which will kick off with a keynote from Gaetane Verna, director of the Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery.
Guillaume Côté and Elena Lobsanova star in Romeo and Juliet. Photo by Bruce Zinger.
Due to popular demand, The National Ballet of Canada has brought Romeo and Juliet back to the stage for a short run. Russian choreographer Alexei Ratmansky gives new life to Shakespeare’s story of star crossed lovers, set to the romantic Prokofiev score.
The Second City cast take a minute to check their Twitters.
If there’s one thing that’s particularly impressive about Second City’s new mainstage show, The Meme-ing of Life, it’s how well balanced it is.
As the title implies, Meme-ing is nominally a show about the internet, and certainly there is a fair bit of internet-centric humour. (One sketch, about a boy who falls into a YouTube-induced coma that can only be cured by reading, is particularly on point.) That said, it isn’t just a series of jokes about cat videos. Instead, it’s a well-thought-out show that manages to offer something for pretty much everyone, without stretching itself too thin.
fu-GEN Theatre Company presents the Canadian premiere of Lauren Yee’s cheeky and insightful play, Ching Chong Chinaman. The ultra-assimilated Wong family don’t quite fit the Asian-American stereotype: teenaged Upton ignores chores and homework to play video games, and his sister Desi’s math scores are less than stellar. Upton’s solution to both problems? Hire an Asian indentured servant with an American dream. Starring Zoe Doyle, Brenda Kamino, Oliver Koomsatira, Richard Lee, Jane Luk, and John Ng.
Joe Cobden and Michelle Monteith turn their flashlights to dark corners of suburban life in Little One. Photo by Nir Bareket.
One of Canada’s most acclaimed and prolific young playwrights, Hannah Moscovitch, has her own mini festival at Tarragon Theatre this season. It started with This is War in January, and continues into March with three one-act plays, all concerning children. Two of those three plays form the double bill now on: Little One and Other People’s Children. (We’ve got a full review right here.) Later this month Other People’s Children will continue, paired with another one-act piece called In This World.
The cast of ROCK, a new play by Kat Sandler. Photo by Zaiden.
Playwright Kat Sandler has an impeccable flair for comedic dialogue, and her plays keep getting better, from early effort LOVESEXYMONEY, to Fringe hit Help Yourself, to, most recently, clever couple swap scenario Delicacy.
Sandler’s newest work ROCK could be her darkest yet, about an actor (Andy Trithardt) who’s begun fantasizing about murder, despite a supportive girlfriend (Jen Balen) and a rock solid best friend (Tim Walker).
The cast of Laws of Motion. Photo by Lindsay Anne Black.
The Canadian premiere of Ashlin Halfnight’s Laws of Motion, about an accident that sparks a chain reaction of events, boasts a powerhouse ensemble assembled by Small Elephant Co-Op and director Chris Stanton, and is staged in a second-floor jam shop in Leslieville.
The show has now been extended to March 23—but they absolutely have to close after that.
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