There’s always plenty of things to see not only here in Toronto, but around Ontario and further afield! Here’s some great productions you can check out!
Toronto
MacBeth: “A Tale Told by an Idiot” – Eldritch Theatre Company
The return of Eldritch Theatre’s dementedly inspired, one-man MacBeth! Shakespeare’s blood-soaked king, with weird witches, viscera-sopped murders, nightmares of madness, and terrifying occult prophecies crashing head on with our ghoulishly giddy bag of timorous trickery! Performed by a solo actor using a diverse range of multi-sized puppets, masks, and parlour magic, cosmic horror, and lowbrow pop, this Mad Mackers is a is equal parts high tragedy and cartoonish lunacy!
May 7 – 18
Red Sandcastle Theatre – 922 Queen St. E
MacBeth: A Tale Told by an Idiot! ‣ Eldritch Theatre
Read my review of this production here: https://aviewfromthebox.net/2024/02/12/eldritch-theatres-macbeth-a-tale-told-by-an-idiot/
A Taste of Hong Kong – Part of #Beyond TO Festival – Pi Theatre and fu-Gen Asian Canadian Theatre in association with vAct presented by Theatre Passe Muraille
Jackie Z welcomes you to A Taste of Hong Kong. Come join Jackie for a snack-sized tasting class of Hong Kong’s best treats! Jackie will introduce you to famous foods such as curry fish balls, siu mai, and more, while sharing the highlights and history of Hong Kong. All the way from its colonial era to the present, this class will give you an intimate look at the pride and determination of Hong Kong people.
May 13 – 17
Theatre Passe Muraille – 16 Ryerson Ave
A Taste of Hong Kong – Theatre Passe Muraille
Takwahiminana – Punctuate! Theatre presented by Soulpepper Theatre
[“TAK-wa-HI-mi-na-na” A Cree and Michif word for chokecherry]
Takwahiminanais a darkly funny, deeply moving new play by award-winning playwright Matthew MacKenzie (First Métis Man of Odesa, Bears).
Sharon—a Métis woman born in India, who moved back to her ancestral home in Alberta as a teenager, has always been caught between cultures.Now an adult, at a lavish foodie dinner party hosted by her longtime paramour, she’s marking the unofficial 20th anniversary of their extramarital affair. But as this complicated love simmers, her Indigenous knowledge is appropriated and fetishized.
Blending biting satire with stunning Bharatanatyam choreography, this world premiere is a theatrical feast you won’t soon forget.
April 30 – May 11
Younge Centre for the Performing Arts – 50 Tank House Lane
Soulpepper Theatre – Plays, Concerts & Musicals
Identity: a Song Cycle – Against the Grain Theatre
In early June 2020, Torontonian and baritone Elliot Madore opened up on social media about his struggles with “unabashedly expressing [his] identity” as a biracial person.
Director Joel Ivany and Elliot Madore came together to find a way to present to the Canadian arts community the universal themes behind Madore’s moving Instagram post. In collaboration with genre-bending composer Dinuk Wijeratne and acclaimed poet Shauntay Grant, AtG and Madore will present a song cycle that sets new and original Canadian poetry to music that blends Western classical music with an array of musical traditions, including those from South Asia and the Middle East, as well as modern Pop and Jazz idioms.
Identity combines Western classical music with global influences and personal narratives, exploring how we choose to define ourselves. This world premiere expands upon AtG’s original 2022 Identity film project with new songs and staging.
May 23 and 24
Young Centre for the Performing Arts, The Marilyn and Charles Maillie Theatre – 50 Tank House Lane
Identity: a Song Cycle – Against the Grain Theatre
WeeFestival
WeeFestival of Arts and Culture, a celebration of vibrant performing arts created especially for the very young by leading artists and companies from far and wide returns this spring from May 22nd until June 8th. This year’s programme stretches over three weekends in venues across the city and showcases a captivating array of productions meticulously curated to ignite the imaginations of very young children and their grownups.
May 22 – June 8
Various Venues
WeeFestival » Arts and Culture for Early Years
The Runner – Koffler Arts
Z.A.K.A is an Orthodox Jewish volunteer force in Israel who immediately respond to any terror attack, disaster or accident. When Jacob, a Z.A.K.A volunteer, makes the split-second decision to treat a young Arab woman, instead of the soldier she may have killed, his world is changed forever. A powerful thriller from Toronto’s Human Cargo and winner of the 2019 Dora Mavor Moore Awards for Outstanding Production, Outstanding Direction and Outstanding New Play.
April 16 – May 4
The Greenwin Theate at the Meridian Arts Centre – 5040 Yonge Street
The Runner | Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company
The Children’s Republic – Koffler Arts
Confined within the walls of the Warsaw Ghetto, Dr. Janusz Korczak struggles to protect the children at his orphanage from the horrors of the Second World War. There is not enough food or pairs of eyes to keep watch over them. Between a troublemaking thief, an abandoned girl, a malnourished boy, and a violin prodigy, Janusz has his hands full, but together they fight for beauty and hope in a world crumbling around them. Based on the WWII advocacy work of Dr. Janusz Korczak, The Children’s Republic is a reminder of the hope that can still be found in a world devoid of freedom and the necessities of life.
Alon Nashman (Shakespeare BASH’d’s Merchant of Venice) joins Sarah Orenstein (Stratford’s Salesman in China) and four talented students from TanenbaumCHAT in this production directed by the acclaimed Richard Rose.
May 14
Koffler Arts Studio – 180 Shaw Street
The Children’s Republic | Koffler Arts
Story of a Day – Bealtaine Theatre Festival
Story of a Day is a magical theatre experience that follows one child’s journey through an ordinary day transformed by music, storytelling, and animation. This enchanting show celebrates the quiet wonder of everyday moments, inviting audiences of all ages to see the world anew.
May 17-18
Helen Gardiner Phelan Playhouse – 79 St. George St
Home – Canada Ireland Foundation
Black Ballerina – Native Earth Performing Arts
Based on Syreeta Hector’s relationship to race, and her experiences in classical ballet, Black Ballerina is a powerful exploration of the nuances within one’s identity, and the unconscious ways that we all try to fit in. The 2019 performance of an earlier version of Black Ballerina was nominated for a Dora Mavor Moore Award. Performed by Hector, Black Ballerina brings an unbridled energy to the stage.
May 23 – 25
Aki Stuio Theatre – 585 Dundas St. E
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Hamilton
Waitress – Theatre Aquarius and The Grand Theatre
FIND YOUR BEGINNING Jenna Hunterson is a waitress and expert pie maker stuck in a small town and a loveless marriage. When a baking contest offers her a chance at escape, Jenna fights to reclaim part of herself. Waitress celebrates the power of friendship, dreams, the family we choose and the beauty of a well-baked pie.
April 30 – May 18
Theatre Aquarius – 190 King William St
Port Hope
Alice in Wonderland – Capitol Theatre Port Hope and Bad Hats Theatre
This smash-hit, Dora Award-winning family musical broke Canadian box office records over the past two years and now it’s coming to the Capitol! The iconic production, directed by Sue Miner, features Colleen Furlan in the title role, with Dave Ball, Rosie Callaghan, Eden Chiam, Christopher Fulton, Ben Kopp, Matt Pilipiak, Chelsea Preston, Fiona Sauder, Emry Tupper, and Anika Venkatesh.
May 16 – June 1
The Capitol Theatre – 20 Queen Street, Port Hope
Capitol Theatre – Alice in Wonderland – A Bad Hats Theatre’s Production
Montreal
For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again – Centaur Theatre
Centaur Theatre celebrates the most iconic Montreal playwright Michel Tremblay in a brand-new production of For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again translated by the Governor General’s Award-winning Linda Gaboriau. Featuring the luminary actors Ellen David and Emmanuel Schwartz and directed by the esteemed Alice Ronfard making her Centaur Theatre debut, this production celebrates the collaboration between the French and English communities that Centaur Theatre makes possible.
Celebrate the legacy of Michel Tremblay, a master storyteller whose works have redefined Quebec theatre and resonated with audiences worldwide. For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again is a touching and witty homage to Tremblay’s mother, a strong-willed and charismatic woman whose passion for storytelling and fierce wit ignited his love for literature and theatre.
This heartfelt play offers a glimpse into the unique relationship that inspired Tremblay to become the celebrated artist he is today. Set against the backdrop of working-class Montreal in the 1950s and 1960s, the story is both deeply personal and universally relatable. Through Tremblay’s dialogue, masterfully translated by the acclaimed Linda Gaboriau, the play takes the audience on an emotional journey filled with laughter, nostalgia, and the bittersweet difficulty of living with those prickly characters we can’t help but love.
May 13 – June 1
Centaur Theatre – 53 Saint François-Xavier, Montreal
For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again | Centaur Theatre
Mickey & Joe (Good. Bad. Ugly. Dirty.) – Theatre Ouest End
155 years after the ‘unification’ of Italy, a forgotten player finds herself trapped in limbo with her sworn enemy. Dirty Mickey, hailing from the dark Southern underbelly of an otherwise glorious country, fought in the resistance. Joe was the golden boy of the Risorgimento (literally, resurrection), forever remembered as a political hero. What happens when Mickey, an outlaw who was silenced, murdered and erased for Joe’s benefit, now threatens his legacy? This two-hander is the ultimate Italian standoff.
May 17 – 25
Mirella and Lino Saputo Theatre – 8370 Blvd. Lacordaire, Montreal
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