Results tagged “worldstage”

       

There was a movie that played at Hot Docs called Reporter. It was about Nicholas Kristof, The New York Times columnist who globetrots to the sites of the world's worst humanitarian disasters in an effort to provide original reporting that will draw attention to crises of which very few people are aware. Most interestingly, Kristof stays up to date on all the latest psychology literature on the subject of compassion; he is obsessed with crafting stories that will move his readers to action. Anyone can write something that will prompt people to respond "oh, that's a shame" before moving on; it takes a special talent to rouse a readership to demand change or intervention or support. What has been concluded from various experiments is that humans' innate capacity for sympathy is extremely limited: we are more likely to be affected by the suffering of an individual than that of a group. Kristof therefore tends to focus on very particular tales of one person's exceptional affliction.

FILM: The Institute for Contemporary Culture at the Royal Ontario Museum presents Next: A Primer on Urban Painting by director Pablo Aravena. As part of the Street Art Film Series exploring the history, politics, and future of street art around the world, the film uses footage of street artists in action and interviews with various participants in the subculture to convey the dynamism and creativity of this emerging artistic movement. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with the director. Royal Ontario Museum (100 Queen's Park), 7 p.m., $10, $8 students & seniors, $6 Friends of ICC.

There is only one opportunity left to see Particularly in the Heartland, a fantastic show from a New York-based company Torontoist mentioned the other day. After its matinee tomorrow at 3:00pm, the show closes and the New World Stage will start gearing up for its next show.

Remember the New World Stage Festival? Well, it's still happening!

It's a fascinating choice during the extended commercial ramp-up to Valentines day: while dollar stores overstock cinnamon hearts, the six o' clock news compares deals on roses and even Torontoists toil at sourcing the best Valentines day activities for your romantic entertainment, Harbourfront Centre's New World Stage brings us a grim, gutteral, fluid, hilarious and unflinchingly human exploration of the myth of a man whose desire gets him devoured by a pack of his own dogs.

This week's biggest opening was surely Mabou Mines DollHouse, which kicked off the 2007 New World Stage International Performance (the reboot of the old World Stage Festival) over at the Premiere Dance Theatre. The New York-based company's interpretation of Ibsen's A Doll House is bizarre and at times confusing. It is also as vital and thrilling a piece of theatre as you are likely to see this year. Torontoist urges you with all its mightiness to see this show (which has a rather brief run) if at all possible. The tickets are expensive, but there are afforable rush seats available.

The big news this week in theatre (well, other than that) was the announcement of the newly revamped New World Stage International Performance line-up for 2007. World Stage disappeared from the radar for a while when Ontario decided DuMaurier wasn't allowed to sponsor it anymore - the last time it was here it existed on a much smaller scale, consisting of solo shows. But now, it's back and bigger than ever with 17 full productions taking over the Premiere Dance Theatre and the newly re-named Enwave Theatre (formerly the Harbourfront Centre Theatre, formerly the DuMaurier Centre Theatre...) as well as various other locations in and around Harbourfront Centre. Here's a rundown of the most exciting-sounding shows on the bill:

For theatre in Toronto, anyway. Houses have reportedly been weak for World Stage: Flying Solo, leading the festival to offer reduced-price tickets to TAPA members. The Seven Lives of Simon Labrosse, a Carole Frechette play that Torontoist actually likes (don't get us started on Helen's Necklace), has been playing to underwhelming houses (except for the night the Governor General dropped by last week). And the cast of The Confessions of Punch and Judy has been dismayed by the lack of reservations for the rest of the shows run... And these are only the woes that have reached Torontoist's ears.

Go on down and make sure these one-person shows are accompanied by more than the sound of one hand clapping. Check out the schedule of events and Scene Changes’ full run-down.