Peter and the Wolf The Theatre Centre (1087 Queen Street West) September 6–10, 7:30 p.m. and September 10–11, 2 p.m. $22, or $15 for students/seniors/artsworkers As most of us are aware, childhood stories are usually much more “adult” than they seem. Death, fear, and violence are all commonplace (usually at the hand of some sort [...]

It's been about a week since the skies opened up and summer arrived on the streets of Toronto. And by that, of course, we mean the SummerWorks Theatre Festival. Starting last Thursday and continuing until this Sunday, 42 plays and more than a dozen music acts are taking over West Queen West in celebration of new, bold, and unconventional artistic projects in theatre, dance, and music. Even with a tiny hiccup concerning federal government funding a few months ago, artistic producer Michael Rubenfeld and the rest of the play-going community are not letting the festival—which gets larger and larger every year in attendance and scope—lose its momentum.

Sandcastles are commonplace in the east end of Toronto, where they pop up and disappear with the tides along the Beach. Performance venues, however, are not as easy to come by. But a brand new space, the Red Sandcastle Theatre, is officially raising its curtain tonight in Leslieville, and it seems to have materialized along Queen Street East just as quickly as its shoreline namesakes. But its new owner and artistic director, Rosemary Doyle, hopes it will be a little more permanent.

Fifty women play the role of their lifetime, literally—as daughters. Photo by Corbin Smith/Torontoist. Tout Comme Elle (Just Like Her) Bluma Appel Theatre (27 Front Street East) $55.50–$95.50 and limited $25 day-of rush tickets. The mother-daughter relationship. That’s a big one for a play to tackle—even with a cast of 50 of the city’s female [...]

Can you feel the love? Arsinee Khanjian as Andromache and Christopher Morris as Pyrrhus in Necessary Angel’s Andromache. Andromache The Theatre Centre (1087 Queen Street West) June 10-12, 14-19, 7:30 p.m$51.50 Necessary Angel Theatre Company‘s new production, Andromache, shows humanity at its most desperate: characters torture, manipulate, use, and hurt each other, both mentally and [...]

Fiancée to Pyrrhus, Hermione (played by Christine Horne) is having a rough day. Andromache The Theatre Centre (1087 Queen Street West) June 10–12, 14–19, 7:30 p.m, $51.50. Alluding to its name, the Luminato festival states that its purpose is to bring “Toronto’s light to the world, and the world’s light to Toronto.” And by presenting [...]

This Alice gets a particularly elaborate unbirthday. Jillian Vanstone as Alice, Robert Stephen as the Mad Hatter, and Jonathan Renna as the March Hare. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Four Seasons Centre (145 Queen St. West) June 4–12 and June 23–25 The Luminato festival is a lot of things: international, diverse, grand, bold, large in scale, [...]

Actor Eric Peterson—still keeping his eyes on the skies after 30 years. Photo by Cylla von Tiedemann. Billy Bishop Goes to WarSoulpepper Theatre CompanyYoung Centre for the Performing Arts (Distillery District, 55 Mill Street) Canada’s theatrical literature is still a young’un, comparatively speaking: the infant soft spots on our skull have hardened, but in terms [...]

Now, this is a cast we can relate to: Justin Welsh, Adam Luther, Gregory Finney, Keith Lam, and Stephen Hegedus in Against the Grain Theatre’s La Bohème. Photo by Gene Wu. Against the Grain’s La Bohème Tranzac Club (292 Brunswick Avenue) Thursday, June 2, to Sunday, June 5 at 8 p.m. A huge challenge for [...]

Aren’t they stinkers? The faces of the sixth annual Toronto Festival of Clowns. Photo by Kathleen Finlay. Mention a clown, and most people either experience (a) fear that out of its joke flower pin will spray a poisonous gas, destroying everything it touches as part of a diabolical plan to spread evil from birthday party [...]

Diego Matamoros in The Aleph. Photo by Cylla von Tiedemann. The Aleph The black box theatre is bare—a curtain is draped across the back, and a lone, grey office chair sits idly in the middle. It’s only on-stage companion is Diego Matamoros, a man dressed plainly in brown slacks, a neutral jacket, and glasses, who [...]