Here we are, the start of another theatre season! With new seasons beginning at all of our favourite theatres, and productions being put on from emerging companies, it’s going to be a BUSY month. I’m really looking forward to getting back to some of my favourite spaces and seeing what the 24/25 season has in store.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch – Bowtie Productions
Hedwig and the Angry Inch tells the tale of how a “slip of a girlyboy” from communist East Berlin, Hanschel, becomes the “internationally ignored song stylist” known as Hedwig after a botched sex change operation. The show daringly breaks the fourth wall, as Hedwig directly tells the audience of her past tribulations and heartbreak in the form of an extended monologue paired with rock songs. With a little help from her band and her back-up singer Yitzhak, Hedwig examines her quest for her other half, for love, and ultimately for her identity.
The intimate cast includes rising stars from the Toronto theatre industry, accompanied by exciting talent on the production team. Hamilton drag royalty Jessie James stars as Hedwig and rising star of Sheridan College Luca McPhee plays Yitzhak, Hedwig’s neglected husband and back up singer.
September 1 – 7
Theatre Passe Muraille Mainspace – 16 Ryerson Avenue
Fierce – Moss Theatre Collective
Fierce, one of Walker’s unpublished works, delves into the complexities of human relationships and the unexpected paths to healing. A psychiatrist, a former inmate, and a surprising amount of contraband. Newly released from prison after another drug and drink-fuelled public disruption, Jayne lands in Maggie’s office for court-ordered treatment. As the two go head-to-head, both women reveal and confront hidden sides of themselves, struggle to cope with their sorrows, and bond through a need to escape the past. Told with George F. Walker’s signature dark humour and searing truths, this is a story about healing through strange and meaningful connection (and a combination of illicit substances and pizza).
September 6 – 21
Alumnae Theatre Studio Space – 70 Berkeley St
Moss Theatre Collective – Promoting the work of Canadian playwrights.
Qalb, A Journey of the Ego – 1S1 Theatre
Qalb means heart in Persian, the native language of the beloved 13th century poet, Rumi. Diving into his world of thoughts and poetry, 1s1 Theatre’s latest production Qalb – A Journey of the Ego is about heart and resilience. Inspired by Dawn Jani Birley’s life as a Deaf person facing audism, her struggle for equity is relatable to all dealing with oppression. Birley turns to the philosophy of Rumi to transform her isolation, anger, and frustration into a force of love in the world.
A completely new and original work, Qalb creates a dynamic communication space for everyone, bringing ASL (along with spoken English) to the stage, celebrating the richness of this vivid, visual language. Following its 2023 ground-breaking debut production, Lady M, 1s1 Theatre continues to forge a new Deaf-led theatre movement in Canada. Their latest workoffers Deaf audiences access to Rumi’s poetry in their native language and presents both Deaf and hearing audiences new ways of seeing and understanding the world. Together, following the wisdom of Rumi, we work to become reflections of our true selves and create a world in which we all wish to live.
September 7 – 14
Tarragon Theatre Extraspace – 30 Bridgman Ave
Qalb – A Journey of the Ego – Tarragon Theatre
Infinite Life – Coal Mine Theatre
A surprisingly funny inquiry into the complexities of human suffering through a distinctly female lens, former Artistic Director of the Shaw Festival, Jackie Maxwell, makes her Coal Mine directorial debut with an all-star cast including Brenda Bazinet (Shoot the Messenger), Ari Cohen (The Antipodes), Kyra Harper (Hard Rock Medical), Christine Horne (Angels in America), Nancy Palk (August, Osage County), and Jean Yoon (Kim’s Convenience), returning to the Toronto stage for the first time since appearing in Kim’s Convenience on stage in 2017.
In the play, five women at a Northern California “fasting/healing retreat” sit outside on chaise lounges and philosophize in a bold, dream-like story exploring what it means to desire in a body that’s failing you.
September 6 – 29
Coal Mine Theatre – 2076 Danforth Ave
INFINITE LIFE — CMT (coalminetheatre.com)
ROSMERSHOLM – Crow’s Theatre
The Canadian premiere of a riveting new adaptation of the Henrik Ibsen masterwork, by acclaimed UK playwright Duncan Macmillan and directed by Crow’s Theatre Artistic Director Chris Abraham, in ROSMERSHOLM love, sex, faith, and politics collide. At the center of the storm stands John Rosmer, the heir to an influential family dynasty. Enter the mysterious Rebecca West, bringing the winds of change to Rosmersholm with the force of a hurricane. As secrets unravel and loyalties shift, the very foundations of power tremble, and the fate of a nation hangs in the balance. Rife with personal and philosophical debate, this spellbinding drama will leave your heart racing right to the bitter end. The production features a stellar cast including Ben Carlson, Beau Dixon, Virgilia Griffith, Kate Hennig, Diego Matamoros, and Jonathon Young as John Rosmer.
September 3 – October 6
Streetcar Crow’s Nest Guloien Theatre – 345 Carlaw Ave
Rosmersholm – Crow’s Theatre (crowstheatre.com)
Dinner with the Duchess – Here for Now Theatre
A WORLD PREMIERE
At the end of a storied career, violin virtuoso Margaret gives her final interview to a young, savvy reporter. Aided by her ever-charming husband, Margaret must confront secrets and ghosts of the past to face the impossible question: how will she be remembered?
September 11 – 28
Stratford-Perth Museum – 4275 Huron Road RR#5, Stratford
Dinner with the Duchess — Here For Now Theatre
Roberto Zucco – Buddies in Bad Times Theatre
Artistic Director ted witzel directs a cast of award-winning actors in this rarely performed neo-noir masterwork from legendary postmodernist French writer Koltès.
Witness the living through the eyes of the dead. Roberto Zucco lures us into the wet streets and gloomy rooms of 1980s Europe, where a charming antihero battles his cosmic urge to kill. Written as he was dying in 1989, Koltès’ sordid swan song is Greek tragedy kissed by Gregg Araki—breathlessly violent but with a pitch-black wit and occasional syrupy sweetness that leaves you disarmed. Caught between the realms of true crime and grotesque fantasy, the play shines a blistering sun on our darkest impulses; by the end, you’ll wonder if we’re just flightless birds in the face of our fates.
The cast features Jakob Ehman in the title role, with Samantha Brown, Fiona Highet, Kwaku Okyere, Oyin Oladejo, and Daniel MacIvor.
September 15 – October 5
Buddies in Bad Times Theatre – 12 Alexander St
Roberto Zucco — Buddies in Bad Times Theatre
1939 – Canadian Stage
In 1939, an English teacher, anticipating a visit by King George VI at a fictional Residential School in Northern Ontario, enlists her students in a production of All’s Well That Ends Well. But her rigid ideas of how Shakespeare should be performed are challenged as news spreads, audience expectations abound, and her Indigenous students start finding parallels between themselves and the characters in the play, setting out to make Shakespeare’s bitter-sweet comedy defiantly their own.
Initially produced in 2022 at the Stratford Festival, 1939 was born of both family legacy and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action and has been guided by Indigenous Elders, Survivors, and ceremony throughout its development.
September 15 – October 6
Berkeley Street Theatre – 26 Berkeley St
The Chosen – Teatron Theatre Company
Two boys living five block apart and two wolds apart – one from a Hasidic dynasty, the other Modern Orthodox. Set against the backdrop of 1940’s Brooklyn, The Chosen is a timeless story about faith, family, and friendship and the universal struggles of making difficult decisions, growing up, and finding one’s place in the world.
September 19 – 26
Meridian Arts Centre Studio Theatre – 5040 Yonge St
Mukashi, Mukashi – CORPUS in association with The Kio Company
Mukashi, Mukashi explores two iconic fairy tale characters from Western and Japanese folklore: The Wolf, from Little Red Riding Hood and the Crane, from The Gratitude of the Crane. Their unlikely meeting in this production sets the stage for a conflictual then harmonious relationship that blossoms through a transformative journey. The stage work uses traditional and contemporary Japanese art forms (Origami, Kyōgen, Bunraku, Manga), mixed with Western practices old and new including pantomime and the comedy traditions of Looney Tunes cartoons and TV talk shows.
Like all of CORPUS’ work, Mukashi, Mukashi will speak to children and adults alike. It introduces the poetic and intriguing world of Japanese folk tales and blends it with the dark and comedic undertones of western fairytales, all with a CORPUS twist and cross-cultural sensibility.
September 24 – 29
The Theatre Centre – 1115 Queen St W
Mukashi, Mukashi – The Theatre Centre
SAMCA – Spindle Collective
SAMCA follows two sisters, Miha and Prava, as they come to terms with their sexuality, and the impact this has on their lives growing up in rural Romania in the late 1800’s. When the younger sister becomes pregnant following a sexual assault, the two are left to grapple with how this new-found motherhood changes their relationship. SAMCA explores how being a mother defines womanhood, and what happens when motherhood is thrust upon someone who does not want it. The audience is guided through the forest by the Zâne, spirits of the forest, to encounter different elements of the story climaxing in a horrifying, sensory nightmare!
September 25 – 29 and October 2 – 5
Black Creek Pioneer Village – 7060 Jane Street
SAMCA | Spindle Collective (natbushnik0.wixsite.com)
Low Pay? Don’t Pay! – Alumnae Theatre
Low Pay? Don’t Pay! is an irreverent and hilarious play, offering a powerful commentary on the absurdities of modern life. In a world where the cost of living is spiraling out of control, two working-class women and their spirited neighbours find themselves pushed to the brink. Exasperated by the economic hardships they face, they decide to take matters into their own hands. With a rebellious spirit, they begin to defy the system by refusing to pay for goods.
September 25 – October 6
Alumnae Theatre – 70 Berkeley St
LOW PAY? DON’T PAY! – Alumnae Theatre
Thank you to my Patrons:
N. Bushnik, B. Kinnon, D. Moyes
And to my supporters who’ve bought me a coffee:
Angelica and Paul, Anonymous, Adrianna, and Caitlin
Would you like to become a Patron? Check out my Patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/AViewfromtheBox
Or, you can buy me a coffee at: buymeacoffee.com/aviewfromthebox
A View from the Box 