> THE TOP TICKET: THREE SHOWS TO TAKE IN

Toronto Urban Roots Festival (TURF) Watch this if:

You’ve procrastinated with your summer music-festival-going.

Since its dates were delayed because of the Pan Am/Para Pan Am Games this summer, the third edition of TURF is swooping in mid-September to ease Torontonians in our collective music-festival withdrawal. Back at Fort York, this year’s festival is one of the best yet; don’t miss Neko Case, Will Butler and St. Paul and the Broken Bones. But if outdoor crowds aren’t your thing, check out the festival’s club series, at the Horseshoe and Lee’s Palace from Wednesday to Sept. 22, for more intimate shows from the festival’s acts.

Friday to Sept. 20, Fort York Garrison Common, 100 Garrison Rd.

The 20th of November Watch this if:

You like theatre that goes dark.

Beginning his final season as artistic director of Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, Brendan Healy directs a solo show from Swedish playwright Lars Noren about a young man on the verge of committing a school shooting, based on the videos and diaries of a real-life shooter in Ger- many. That would be chilling enough without the unfortunate timeliness of recent threats against feminists at the University of Toronto. But Healy, known for staging violent and dark plays with style, may be the only director in Toronto we could imagine making this work.

Now through Oct. 4, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, 12 Alexander St.

The Supine Cobbler Watch this if:

You think feminism, Westerns and taboo subjects are an ideal combination for a new play.

This is a show for people who like being on the margins. A collective of young artists called It Could Still Happen are presenting their second production, with a cast and crew of cool emerging female theatre artists (writer/director/producer Jill Connell, producer Sascha Cole, designer Elizabeth Kantor, and actors Leni Parker, Chala Hunter, Susanna Fournier, Jackie Rowland and Katie Swift). It’s a western-inspired experimental drama about abortion that’s literally performed on the wrong side of the tracks. After a successful debut at this year’s SummerWorks Performance Festival, we’re excited to see this group in an experience that’s purely on their own terms.

Wednesday to Sept. 26, the railroad tracks at 35 Strachan Ave.