Hello dear reader! Welcome to my new feature, Beyond the Box. I wanted to make this a regular feature this year, as there always seems to be shows which I’m made aware of or invited to but I unfortunately cannot attend. Alas, I am but one human, and until we can figure out time travel and/or teleportation, I can only be in one place at one time. This way you’ll be able to know what else is happening in the GTA even if I can’t make it in person.

Liminal – Choreographed And Performed by Throwdown Collective

Exploring the nature of change and what it means to evolve over time, DanceWorks kicks-off the new year with the world premiere of Liminal, a 60-minute dance performance created and performed by Throwdown Collective. Performed by creators and gifted dance artists Zhenya Cerneacov, Mairéad Filgate and Brodie Stevenson, Liminal examines time and perception with theatrical imagery and dynamic physicality, utilising a continuously revolving floor to alter audience perspectives. 

February 1 – February 4 at 8PM

Franco Boni Theatre (The Theatre Centre – 1115 Queen St W, Toronto)
Liminal – The Theatre Centre

Sweat – Storytelling Toronto

Acclaimed Storyteller Sheila Arnold (VA., US) returns to Toronto to present the world premier of Sweat – a ground-breaking short story by Guggenheim Fellowship Recipient Zora Neale Hurston, where 1920s feminism comes to fruition in the heart of the Harlem Renaissance. The piece is beautifully complemented with original musical composition and arrangement by Yorkville favourite and adult contemporary/soul musician John Campbell.

Saturday, February 18, 3023, 7:30pm – 8:40pm
Arts & Letters Club
14 Elm Street, Toronto

StoryFusion Cabaret! – Storytelling Toronto

Are we not drawn onward to new erA – Canadian Stage

Palindromic – in title and form – Are we not drawn onward to new erA presents a visual metaphor for this crucial moment in our future history. This incredibly inventive performance is both playful and surprising; hilarious and heart-achingly beautiful. An Edinburgh Fringe First Award winner, this powerful piece of theater is a “technically dazzling, emotionally devastating show.” (Time Out)

February 9 – 11, 2023

Bluma Appel Theatre, 27 Front St. E

Are we not drawn onward to a new erA / Canadian Stage

The Magic of Assembly – Toronto Dance Theatre

he Magic of Assembly explores the magic created from the act of assembling with one another as artists and the irreplaceable experience of gathering to witness performance in the current moment. The work is performed by TDT company members Yuichiro Inoue, Peter Kelly, Megumi Kokuba, Ryan Kostyniuk, Erin Poole, Devon Snell, Margarita Soria, and Roberto Soria, alongside LAL (Rosina Kazi and Nicholas Murray).

February 2 – 4 and 9 – 11

Winchester Street Theatre (80 Winchester St.)

The Magic of Assembly | Toronto Dance Theatre (tdt.org)

The Extinction Therapist – Theatre Aquarius

This is a World Premiere featuring the best in Canada’s comedic acting community (theatre, film and tv) … and they are here, in Hamilton, at Theatre Aquarius!

Not to mention a creative production team that is simply wow!!

A summary of the show is below .. but all you need to know is that you WILL laugh – and you’ll laugh lots! And who couldn’t use a laugh in January?

You won’t want to miss it!

January 27 – February 11

190 King William St. Hamilton

The Extinction Therapist – Theatre Aquarius

FIREWATER THUNDERBIRD RISING – Friday Creeations and Native Earth Performing Arts

Firewater Thunderbird Rising is the transformative spirit of dance travelling through dimensional realms of existence – ancestors, dreams, blood memory and the land directly connected to Anishinaabek way of living, awakening the healing of the Nation’s future. Firewater Thunderbird Rising will open with Path Without End, a 10-minute documentary dance film that witnesses Christine Friday’s family taking back their power from Shingwauk residential school and speaking their truth on their traditional tribal family hunting territory.

February 16 – 19, 2023, at 7:30 PM

Aki Studio, Daniels Spectrum 585 Dundas Street East, Toronto

Home – Native Earth Performing Arts

SAME DIFFERENCE – Theatre Conspiracy and The Theatre Centre

This boundary-pushing piece utilizes mirrors, immersive projection and surround sound to bathe, and sometimes plunge, audiences into ever-shifting cognitive and spatial perspectives. Audiences are encouraged to move through this dynamic installation to witness a variety of signs and sounds that continually alter the participant’s experience.

February 15-25, 2023

The Theatre Centre 1115 Queen Street West

Same Difference – The Theatre Centre

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

The program for Friday, February 3, 8pm and Saturday, February 4, 2pm features Alvin Ailey’s Night Creature (1975), a bubbly champagne cocktail of a dance, a perfect fusion of Ailey’s buoyant choreography and Duke Ellington’s sparkling music; Reflections in D (1963) a strong yet serene solo Ailey created for himself; Robert Battle’s For Four, featuring four amazing Ailey dancers dancing to Wynton Marsalis’ delicious jazz score; followed by Battle’s Unfold (2007) a sensuous, swirling duet.

On Saturday, February 4, 8pm, Survivors (1986/New Production 2022) a new production of Alvin Ailey and Mary Barnett’s impassioned tribute to the profound courage and terrible anguish of Nelson and Winnie Mandela; and the Canadian premiere of Kyle Abraham’s Are You In Your Feelings? celebrating Black culture, Black music, and the youthful spirit that perseveres in us all. Scored to a “mixtape” of soul, hip-hop, and R&B, the work explores the connections among music, communication, and personal memory.

At every performance, the inspiring finale will be Alvin Ailey’s must-see American masterpiece Revelations.

February 3 and 4, 2023

Meridian Hall 1 Front Street E, Toronto

Meridian Hall – Toronto – Toronto, ON : All events at Meridian Hall – Toronto : Tickets-Center.com