Shows That Caught Our Eye in Toronto the Week of March 19th, 2018

This week’s selections feature Queer Techno Opera, a performative meal, and Norwegian folklore. There is much to choose from, so here to help you chose is our Editor Lin, with a few of her top picks in red. Check them out below the cut:

Already reviewed by Mooney on theatre:

Come From Away by Irene Sankoff and David Hein (Mirvish). Newfoundlanders open their homes to stranded passengers following the September 11 terrorist attacks. Previews from Feb 13, opens Feb 18 and runs to Sep 2, Tue-Sat 8 pm, mat Wed 1:30 pm, Sat-Sun 2 pm. $69 and up. At The Royal Alexandra Theatre. Show Info.

Cottagers And Indians by Drew Hayden Taylor (Tarragon). Comedy/drama looking at conflicts between native traditional water usage and property owners in cottage country. Previews from Feb 13, opens Feb 21 and runs to Mar 25, Tue-Sat 8 pm, mat Sat-Sun 2:30 pm (see website for other mats). $20-$60. At Tarragon Theatre. Show Info.

Bunny by Hannah Moscovitch (Tarragon). A woman is caught between her sexual desires and what is socially acceptable. Previews from Feb 21, opens Feb 28 and runs to Apr 1, Tue-Sat 8 pm, mat Sun 2:30 pm (see website for other mats). $20-$60. MainSpace. At Tarragon Theatre. Show Info.

The Drawer Boy by Michael Healey (Theatre Passe Muraille). An actor goes to the country to research rural life and reawakens painful memories for two farm owners. Previews from Feb 28, opens Mar 6 and runs to Mar 25, Tue-Sat 7:30 pm, mat Sat-Sun 2 pm. $17-$38 (weekend mats pwyc at the door; $22.50 in advance). TPM 50th Anniversary Gala March 8 – pre-show reception from 6 pm, performance of The Drawer Boy at 7:30 pm. Special guests, raffle prizes, gift bags, open bar & more. $125. Tickets. #DrawerBoyTO. At Theatre Passe Muraille. Show Info.

Idomeneus by Roland Schimmelpfennig (Soulpepper Theatre). A Trojan War hero must deal with the consequences of his promise to the gods in this fresh take on the Greek myth. Previews from Mar 3, opens Mar 8 and runs to Mar 24, see website for times. $32-$96. At Young Centre for the Performing Arts. Show Info.

And everything else:

Bloom. Modern Times Stage Company presents a play by Guillermo Verdecchia, inspired by TS Eliot’s The Wasteland. A war orphan and a war veteran live on the fringes of a ruined world – one is trying to remember, while the other is trying to forget. Previews Mar 23-25, opens Mar 27 and runs to Apr 8, Tue-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2:30 pm. $18-$30, preview $15, Sun pwyc at the door. At Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. Show Info.

Ergo Pink Fest. Ergo Pink Fest is a 3-day theatre festival, conceived and hosted by Ergo Arts Theatre, that gives voice to female and non-binary identified playwrights, giving them a unique platform to showcase their work. Mar 23-25: Fri 7 pm; Sat 1:30, 4 and 8 pm; Sun 1:30, 4 and 6:45 pm. See website for program details. Pay what you can. At Small World Music Centre. Show Info.

Belladonna – A Queer Techno Opera. FAWN Chamber Creative presents a collectively created opera with electronic artist ACOTE & guest mezzo-soprano Camille Rogers (librettist Gareth Mattey). Two shepherds tending their flock eat the berry of a belladonna plant and go on a hallucinatory journey. Mar 22 at 8 pm. $20-$30. At Kensington Hall. Show Info.

F**cking Carl. Théâtre français de Toronto presents a play by Louis-Philippe Roy & Caroline Yergeau. A personal ad on Kijiji leads to a hook-up, a beer, then two & so on. It’s up to the audience to decide whether this couple should be given the responsibility of adopting a child by asking the question: what defines an “acceptable” family in today’s society? Mar 22-24, Thu-Sat 8 pm, mat Sat 3:30 pm. $19-$26. At The Berkeley Street Theatre. Show Info.

Gripless. Puncher Productions presents a play by Deborah Ann Frankel. Mar 22-25, Thu-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm. At red Sandcastle Theatre. Show Info.

Round the Table. Jumblies Theatre presents a performative meal that brings together soup, sewing, ceramics, stories and suite of new rounds sung by the Ground Floor Choir. Mar 21-24, Wed-Fri 6:30 pm, Sat 5 pm. Pwyc ($20 sugg). At The Ground Floor. Show Info.

Life Around The Ben: Book One & Book Two. Allan Royal performs his solo show featuring 25+ characters about growing up in 1950s/60s Montreal. Mar 21-25, Wed-Sat 7:30 pm, Sun 2 pm. $30, stu $15 (with valid ID). At Theatre Passe Muraille. Show Info.

Peer Gynt by Henrik Ibsen (Randolph College). A young man pursues exotic adventures around the world before coming home to confront his past in this poetical fantasy based on Norwegian folklore. Opens Mar 20 and runs to Mar 24, Tue-Sat 8 pm, mat Sat 2 pm. $22. At Randolph Theatre.  Show Info.

What A Young Wife Ought To Know. Crow’s Theatre presents a 2b theatre company production of a play by Hannah Moscovitch. Set in 1920s Ottawa, the play looks at the destructive shame enacted upon women in western society for centuries via the withholding of knowledge about sex and birth control. Previews from Mar 20, opens Mar 22 and runs to Apr 7, Mon-Sat 8 pm, mat Sat 2 pm. $20-$45.  At The Streetcar Crowsnest. Show Info.

Les Misérables by Victor Hugo (Theatre Smith-Gilmour). Theatrical adaptation of Hugo’s iconic book about justice, forgiveness and love. Previews from Mar 16, opens Mar 20 and runs to Apr 1, Tue-Sat 8 pm, mat Sat 1 pm, Sun 3 pm. Wed student shows at noon. $40, stu/arts workers $30, mat $25, previews $20. March 25: Theatre Smith-Gilmour’s fundraising gala matinee. $100, stu $40. RSVP. At The Theatre Centre. Show Info.

The Break of Noon. Triple Bypass Productions presents a play by Neil LaBute. After a horrible tragedy, John Smith is the only survivor. He tries to navigate through his life and relationships with his newly found faith, to discover why. Opens Mar 15 and runs to Mar 25, Tue-Sun 8 pm. $25 at brownpapertickets.com.  At The Assembly Theatre. Show Info.

Artifice. Oakham Community Theatre presents four community acted, written, directed and produced shows on the theme of deception, from the masks we wear with our loved ones, to the deepest secrets we keep even from ourselves. Mar 14-17, Wed-Sat 7:30 pm, mat Sat 2:30 pm. $10-$15, Sat matinee pwyc at the door. At Daniels Spectrum. Show Info.

Gobsmacked! by Nic Doodson (Mirvish). This next-gen musical weaves stories through all forms of a cappella, from street corner harmonies to beatboxing and more. Opens Mar 14 and runs to Mar 25, Tue-Sat 7:30 pm, mat Sat-Sun 1:30 pm (and Mar 15 & 21). $55-$75. At The CAA Theatre. Show Info.

The Monument by Colleen Wagner (Factory Theatre). A soldier desperate to escape death for his war crimes agrees to give himself to the complete servitude of an unknown woman. A harrowing and visceral journey of two people forced to confront the atrocities of war. Previews from Mar 10, opens Mar 15 and runs to Apr 1, Tue-Sat 8 pm, Sun 2 pm. $20-$50. At Factory Theatre. Show Info.

Animal Farm by George Orwell, adapted by Anthony MacMahon (Soulpepper Theatre). How long will the animal utopia last when a charismatic new leader emerges? An innovative new adaptation of Orwell’s classic satire about tyranny and equality. Previews from Mar 9, opens Mar 15 and runs to Apr 7, see website for times. $32-$96. At Young Centre for the Performing Arts. Show Info.

Tainted Justice by Don Nigro (Village Players). Murder mystery based on a true event on Cape Breton Island in 1913. Opens Mar 2 and runs to Mar 24, Thu-Sat 8 pm (and Mar 7), mat Mar 11 and 18 at 2 pm. $20-$24. At The Village Playhouse. Show Info.

Listings based primarily on NOW! Stage Listings.