Arsonists, Alligator Pie and streetcars
The variety of non-profit theatre in Toronto is one of the greatest things about this city. No matter what your interest is, you’ll find something to satisfy it this fall.
Soulpepper is our premier theatre company, devoted to the classics, but that can mean modern gems as well as Shakespeare and Ibsen. For example, this autumn, it’s alternating a revival of Samuel Beckett’s bleak Endgame with a life-affirming family show inspired by Dennis Lee’s Alligator Pie, which showcases the company’s gifted music man, Mike Ross.
Canadian Stage is out to expand the dramatic envelope under Matthew Jocelyn, and this fall’s shows are no exception, starting off with Tear the Curtain, a work from Vancouver’s Electric Company that mixes the worlds of film and theatre, as well as the satirical masterpiece The Arsonists, where Morris Panych directs some of our finest actors, such as Fiona Reid, Michael Ball, Sheila McCarthy and Dan Chameroy.
Tarragon Theatre is known as the home of Canadian playwriting and that still holds true this season, with works such as Alistair McLean’s No Great Mischief, Melody A. Johnson’s Miss Caledonia and John Mighton’s The Little Years, representing some of our most dynamic authors.
Theatre Passe Muraille is truly living up to its name and going “beyond walls” this season, with plays specially commissioned to deal with Toronto in all its aspects, from the CN Tower, through the 501 Streetcar, all the way to the life of the city’s taxi drivers. Different, exciting, provocative.
Buddies in Bad Times is devoted to alternative viewpoints of theatre, both sexually and sociologically, with works such as the revival of Studio 180’s critically acclaimed play about the early days of AIDS, The Normal Heart. — Richard Ouzounian