Watch this if: You want to see France’s finest actress in fine fettle. ( Royal Cinema, 608 College, 7 p.m., festival continues to April 20) The director presents the Canadian premiere at the opening night of Images, Toronto’s annual festival of adventurous film, video, installation art and other media works. A documentary about a reliably wild rager that also served as an invaluable cultural hub for a marginalized and under-represented community, Weinraub’s film has been a fast favourite on the festival circuit since it debuted in Berlin earlier this year.

Watch this if: You want to experience a wild time capsule of LGBTQ culture.Ī vivid portrait of a little-seen queer subculture, Shakedown includes footage that director Leilah Weinraub shot in the early 2000s of a weekly party that was at the heart of an underground strip-club scene for African-American lesbians in Los Angeles. But anyone down for some wordplay is in for a treat. Now comes the doctor on tour and, presumably, some of the poems slated for a new fall collection, his first book in 35 years, will be included among the greatest hits: pointed, scathing words delivered in a dry Manc drawl that might require subtitles at times. Watch this for: A troubadour of the spoken word and funny as hell to boot.Īt 69, Clarke is busier than ever as a kind of grand old punk of letters, his versifying given new legs by a diverse band of followers, including Arctic Monkeys, The Sopranos and England’s high school curricula, with an honorary degree from his hometown University of Salford to add gravitas. ( Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, 12 Alexander St., 8 p.m., on until April 22) It’s about to start another tour to the U.K., but first this two-hander about a woman processing the death of her mother returns to Toronto for a short engagement to appease anyone here who has missed this hit. Quote Unquote Collective’s Mouthpiece, created and performed by Norah Sadava and Amy Nostbakken, has been one of the most internationally successful theatre productions to come out of Toronto in the last few years - they even got a Los Angeles run courtesy of Jodie Foster. Watch this if: You’ve missed the last couple best-of-theatre lists. ( Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St., 8 p.m., repeats April 11 and 12) Block ( Falsettos, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, the Wicked national tour), for a reprise of “Bring Him Home.” The two Broadway stars will also sing selections from shows like Company, Ragtime, Gypsy and another musical with a Toronto history, Kiss of the Spider Woman. Now he’s returning to a Toronto stage alongside the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and another Tony Award nominee, Stephanie J.

Watch this if: You want a little Broadway without crossing the border.īefore the acclaimed revival of Les Misérables hit New York City, the Toronto tryout in 2013 reintroduced us to Ramin Karimloo, who was promptly nominated for a Tony for his performance as Jean Valjean. (Berkeley Street Downstairs Theatre, 26 Berkeley St., 8 p.m., on until April 29) With the dark side of Facebook and the real value of privacy in the 2018 headlines, Canadian Stage’s production of Love and Information, co-directed by Tanja Jacobs and Alistair Newton, is so timely it’s almost like they were eavesdropping on our conversations. Watch this if: You’ve got news-feed fatigue.Ĭaryl Churchill’s 2012 play was born out of the information overload that has defined the last decade: over 50 scenes, with over 100 characters, played by a handful of actors, exploring how our desire for information satisfies and also depletes our capacity for emotional connection.

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