Urban Planner: November 15, 2013

In today's Urban Planner: an adaptation of August Strindberg's Miss Julie, a concert at the library, and plenty of other things.

By Torontoist

Gentlelady Regina of Light Fires. Photo by Liz Brand.

• Theatre: Red One Theatre Collective presents an adaptation of August Strindberg’s classic drama Miss Julie, directed by David Ferry. In Patrick Farber’s After Miss Julie, set in England at the close of WWII, Miss Julie (Claire Armstrong) tempts her chauffeur John (Christopher Morris), imperiling his engagement to Christine (Amy Keating). The Storefront Theatre (955 Bloor Street West), 8 p.m., $10–$20. Details
• Music: As part of the Toronto Public Library’s Live in the Stacks series, electro-pop outfit Light Fires will be playing a free show in the Sanderson library, after hours. Admission is free, and all ages. Toronto Public Library, Sanderson Branch (327 Bathurst Street), 8 p.m., FREE. Details

Ongoing…

• History: The name “Mesopotamia” derives from a Greek term meaning “land between the rivers.” The Royal Ontario Museum’s latest major exhibit, which opens on June 22, takes this literally, as visitors flow between painted representations of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers on the floor.

  Presented by the British Museum and rounded out with pieces from institutions in Chicago, Detroit, and Philadelphia, “Mesopotamia: Inventing Our World” covers 3,000 years of human development in the cradle of urban civilization. Most of the 170 artifacts on display have never been shown in Canada. Royal Ontario Museum (100 Queens Park), all day, $27 (Includes general admission). Details

• Art: When it was originally unveiled at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London (England, not Ontario), the “David Bowie Is” exhibition shattered attendance records, selling over 42,000 advance tickets. Now that the show has come to Toronto, it’s easy to see why it was so successful. Composed of over 300 objects from David Bowie’s personal archive, spanning his entire career, the exhibit is arranged and presented as a completely immersive experience, enveloping visitors in a kaleidoscopic visual and aural landscape that would be overwhelming if it weren’t so brilliantly arranged and intelligently guided. Art Gallery of Ontario (317 Dundas Street West), all day, $30 (includes general admission). Details
• Theatre: Since its humble beginnings in the back room of Toronto’s Tranzac club back in 2003, Evil Dead The Musical has steadily risen in infamy as a ridiculously fun, tongue-in-cheek, gore-soaked musical experience. From those earliest shows, the musical has gone on to make an off-broadway debut, to win and be nominated for several Dora awards, and to play in dozens of cities around the world, from Montreal and Vancouver to Tokyo and Madrid. It was high time that the show make a triumphant homecoming to a stage in Toronto, and it finally has, at the Randolph Theatre. The Randolph Theatre (736 Bathurst St.), all day, $19.99–$79.95. Details
• Film: It’s not every day that a media tour opens with the injunction not to photograph “the sex blob,” but so began TIFF’s preview of “David Cronenberg: Evolution,” the organization’s first large-scale touring exhibition (for now, it’s stationed at the TIFF Bell Lightbox’s HSBC Gallery). It’s an exhaustive, stunning look at some of the wildest, most perverse creations of a pioneer of the body-horror genre—who also happens to be Canada’s most internationally renowned filmmaker. TIFF Bell Lightbox (350 King Street West), 2:40 a.m., $15, $12 students, $5 Tuesdays. Details
• Film: Since its inception in 1993, the Rendezvous With Madness Film Festival has delivered on its complex mandate: presenting cultural representations of mental illness and addiction and then contextualizing them through post-screening discussions. This year’s lineup might be the festival’s most stacked yet, with screenings on a range of issues and in a variety of genres. Multiple venues, all day, Various prices. Details
• Film: The Regent Park Film Festival occupies an interesting niche in Toronto’s mini-festival circuit, as much because of its grounding in a particular neighborhood—Canada’s largest and oldest public housing project—as for its commitment to offering its programming free of charge. This year’s slate is a mix of community filmmaking, documentaries about a range of issues relevant to Regent Park residents, and mainstream features like Ryan Coogler’s award-winning Fruitvale Station, based on the true story of Oscar Grant’s death at the hands of an Oakland police officer. Daniels Spectrum (585 Dundas Street East), all day, FREE. Details
• Theatre: Like the company’s recent triumph, Angels in America, Soulpepper’s newest show, The Norman Conquests, requires multiple trips to the theatre—or a hearty constitution for a full day of marathon attendance. Unlike Angels in America, the three instalments of The Norman Conquests—Table Manners, Living Together, and Round and Round the Garden—are comic in nature and small in scope, with each instalment taking place in a different part of a couple’s house. Written by prolific British playwright Alan Ayckbourn, the three-part series features veteran members of the Soulpepper ensemble, and can be “enjoyed individually or in any combination.” Young Centre for the Performing Arts (50 Tank House Lane), all day, $51–$68. Details
• Art: “Telling: An Audio Survey of Parkdale,” curated by Phil Anderson and Tara Bursey, gathers site-specific audio clips that relate to spaces across Parkdale. The opening reception and panel discussion (where the public will get the chance to discuss the different works) are on November 7th and November 13th respectively (both at 7 p.m.). Gallery 1313 (1313 Queen Street West), all day, FREE. Details
• Theatre: Why simply watch a theatre production when you could be immersed in it? Let the Bloomsbury Collective transport you to Cambridge University in the year 1928 to hear Virginia Woolf deliver a speech that would later inform her iconic feminist text, A Room of One’s Own. Attendees are invited to roam the on-site library and peruse Woolf’s personal letters and diary to get a peek into her life. Campbell House Museum (160 Queen Street West), 7 p.m., $20. Details
• Comedy: You might expect a show called We Can Be Heroes to be a send-up of superhero films, but Second City’s new mainstage production is actually a celebration of minor, everyday acts of heroism ranging from giving advice to a bullied child to managing not to be a jackass at your friend’s wedding. Second City (51 Mercer Street), 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m., $24–$29. Details
• Theatre: Every revolution needs a leader. And though the movement to bring the classic 1980s musical Les Miserables back to Toronto is markedly different than the quest for political accountability and social equality, it has its hero just the same. After Wednesday night’s official opening performance at the Princess of Wales Theatre, the audience likely would have followed London-based, Richmond Hill-raised performer Ramin Karimloo (as the story’s golden-hearted protagonist, Jean Valjean) anywhere he would lead. Princess of Wales Theatre (300 King Street West), 7:30 p.m., $35–$130. Details
• Theatre: When we go to the theatre (especially if the plan is to write about the experience), we try to leave everything going on in the world offstage in the lobby. But sometimes, that’s easier said than done. This was the case when we went to see Moss Park just a few hours after the mayor of Toronto had announced that, while he had indeed smoked crack cocaine, he wasn’t going to do anything at all to atone for his misdeeds. Theatre Passe Muraille Mainspace (16 Ryerson Avenue), 7:30 p.m., $15–$32.50. Details
• Theatre: Jamaican-British playwright Debbie Tucker Green isn’t afraid to touch on heavy subjects, bringing them to light with a blunt but poetic voice. Her play dirty butterfly tells the story of three people—two black and one white—living in a poor London neighbourhood. The thin walls of their tenement houses don’t allow for secrets, and so the harsh realities of domestic violence and racial economic divides are exposed. Presented by Bound to Create Theatre, the play features gut-wrenching performances from Kaleb Alexander, Beryl Bain, and Lauren Brotman. Aki Studio Theatre (585 Dundas Street East), 8 p.m., $20–$25. Details
• Theatre: The Alumnae Theatre Company presents its inaugural FireWorks theatre showcase. Akin to the New Ideas Festival, this series features plays created in-house by local artists. Three pieces will be staged during the three-week run: Theory by Norman Yeung, Gloria’s Guy by Joan Burrows, and Measure of the World by Shirley Barrie. For those who want more than just stage productions, there will also be several roundtable discussions and playwright talks to attend. Alumnae Theatre (70 Berkeley Street), 8 p.m., Tickets $20, $50 for series pass. Details
• Theatre: The Unit 102 Actors Company brings Shakespeare’s tale of power and corruption to life with its production of Julius Caesar. Taking place in 44 B.C., the play follows the events surrounding Caesar’s assassination. First performed as early as 1599, many of the story’s central issues are still relevant today. Unit 102 Theatre (376 Dufferin Street), 8 p.m., $20. Details
• Theatre: Winners and Losers is a play by Marcus Youssef and James Long based on a game of the same name the two theatre artists sometimes play. They pick a person, place, or thing, and debate whether it’s a “winner” or a “loser.” But it probably wouldn’t be fair to pick their director (and Crow’s Theatre artistic director) Chris Abraham as a topic, particularly since he was recently declared the winner of the Siminovitch Prize, Canadian theatre’s most prestigious (not to mention lucrative) honour. Berkeley Street Theatre (26 Berkeley Street), 8 p.m., Various prices. Details

Urban Planner is Torontoist‘s guide to what’s on in Toronto, published every weekday morning, and in a weekend edition Friday afternoons. If you have an event you’d like considered, email us with all the details (including images, if you’ve got any), ideally at least a week in advance.