Stars of winter, gay heritage and Avatar
Cirque du soleil’s latest show gives audience a trip back to James Cameron’s Pandora
The Next Stage Theatre Festival Watch this if: You miss summer theatre binging.
The Toronto Fringe Festival is a massive, unpredictable free-for-all, but its wintertime sister, the Next Stage Theatre Festival, is a smaller and juried version that virtually eliminates the risk of seeing a dud. This year’s festival offers a few particularly star-studded ensembles, including Agamemnon, a new adaptation of Aeschylus’s play by Nicolas Billon (who wrote the recently acclaimed Butcher); Heart of Steel, a new musical with a cast of 21; a sketch show with Second City alums and this summer’s Fringe hit A Man Walks Into a Bar. And fear not, the beer tent is heated.
Wednesday to Jan. 17, Factory Theatre, 125 Bathurst St. The Gay Heritage Project Watch this if: You want a live queer history lesson.
In 2013, actors Paul Dunn, Andrew Kushnir and Damien Atkins dove into the legacy of the queer identity — the well-documented and the not so well-documented — and served up their discoveries in The Gay Heritage Project. Now that show, directed by Ashlie Corcoran, is back in Toronto before a tour across Canada, which is great news for anyone who missed it the first time around. Atkins, Dunn and Kushnir are undeniably charming as they bring this unknown history to life along with their personal stories, through sketches, monologues and, of course, a song or two.
Sunday to Jan. 31, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, 12 Alexander St. Toruk — The First Flight Watch this if: You’re up for a return trip to Pandora.
The latest Cirque du soleil production is a live prequel to James Cameron’s 2009 blockbuster Avatar, tell- ing the story of the Na’vi people and the creatures they live with on the moon Pandora.
This is the most narrative show that Cirque has done, as well as the only one that uses a narrator in a real language.
It’s also reportedly one of the more visually impressive shows in Cirque’s history and that’s saying something. Cameron’s film may have revolutionized 3D cinema, but seeing giant puppets from the fictional world in front of your eyes will probably be even more impressive.
Thursday to Jan. 10, Air Canada Centre, 40 Bay St.
Seeing giant puppets from the fictional world in front of your eyes will be impressive