Cheap Theatre for the Week of March 25, 2014

Shock! Scandal! What will the neighbors say?! Would someone please think of the children?! This week’s collection of cheap theatre is all about gossip-worthy impropriety — the kind of stories that grace the front pages of the tabloids at the check-out line. You know exactly the kind, it’s everyone’s favorite guilty pleasure. Grab a ticket and pull up a seat to find out what they’ll do next. It’s sure to leave you eager for more.

Cowboy Mouth by Patti Smith and Sam Shepard (Rhizoma Productions/Sterling Studio Theatre). A man goes on a sex- and drug-fuelled bender with a girl who wants to make him a rock star. Opens Mar 24 and runs to Mar 29, Mon-Sat 8 pm. $20, stu $15. Sterling Studio Theatre, 163 Sterling, unit 5. sterlingstudiotheatre.com.

Desperate Church Wives by Diane Johnstone (Under the Blood Productions). Church ladies are upset when a minister’s wife is busted for prostitution in this solo comedy. Opens Mar 20 and runs to Mar 29, Thu-Sat 8 pm. $15, stu/srs $10. Red Sandcastle Theatre, 922 Queen E. 416-845-9411, totix.ca.

Road by Jim Cartwright (Theatre @ York). In 1980s England, the unemployed residents of a small town use sex, religion, nostalgia, suicide and drink to escape their bleak reality. Previews Mar 23-24. Opens Mar 25 and runs to Mar 29, daily at 7:30 pm, mats Wed and Fri at 1 pm. $17, stu/srs $12, preview $5. York University, Joseph G Green Studio, 4700 Keele. 416-736-5888, theatre.finearts.yorku.ca.

The Trial Of Ken Gass by Bobby Del Rio (Hlibka Entertainment Inc). In a Kafkaesque series of interrogations, theatre star Ken Gass is put on trial for crimes he is not aware of. A different actor plays Gass each night. Opens Mar 22 and runs to Apr 3, Sun-Thu and Sat 8 pm, mat Sun 2:30 pm. $15, Sun pwyc. Big Picture Cinema, 1035 Gerrard E. 416-466-3636, guestlistapp.com/events/233787.

Under The Skin by Betty Lambert (Unit 102 Actor’s Company). Destructive tendencies are revealed as three characters deal with the disappearance of a young girl. Opens Mar 20 and runs to Mar 29, Mon-Sat 8 pm. $20. Unit 102 Theatre, 376 Dufferin. unit102theatre.com.