Downie in the pink, turquoise and gold
Gord Downie has always been a flamboyant showman. For the Tragically Hip’s latest tour, he’s wearing that style on his sleeve.
Downie has been sporting a collection of brightly coloured metallic leather suits during the band’s Man Machine Poem Tour, which kicked off in Victoria on Friday.
They include bold creations in hot pink, turquoise, silver and gold; an unusual colour palette for a rocker more often seen in subdued tones, says Downie’s fashion co-conspirator, Izzy Camilleri. “When you think of Gord Downie you think of a jeans-and-T-shirt kind of a guy,” says the Toronto clothing designer. “You don’t think of hot pink metallic leather. Now we do.”
Camilleri says she and Downie started collaborating on the look last September, before he learned he had terminal brain cancer.
Downie kept his wardrobe plans secret from his bandmates, only revealing his look at the tour’s kickoff Friday, when he strode onto the stage in the hot pink suit.
At the Vancouver show on Sunday, he walked out in the turquoise outfit, and later donned the silver and gold suits. The Canadian Press
Superwoman has a book deal
Canadian YouTube sensation Lilly Singh, a.k.a. Superwoman, will release her debut book next spring.
Doubleday Canada says it will publish How to Be a Bawse on March 28, 2017, which “will teach readers how to be their own bawse, a person who exudes confidence and reaches goals.”
The Toronto native’s message is “that there are no shortcuts to success.”
Singh, who was featured in Forbes’ 2016 “30 Under 30 Hollywood & Entertainment” list, rose to fame with her comedic and inspirational YouTube videos. The Canadian Press
Passe Muraille announces season
Theatre Passe Muraille is branching out in its new season with productions that feature diverse music, spoken word performance and standup comedy as well as theatre.
The 2016/17 season kicks off with a remount of the Chalmers Awardwinning Alien Creature by the late Linda Griffiths, part of the 50th Anniversary Play Series. Starring Beatriz Pizano and directed by Jani Lauzon, it’s a “visitation” with poet Gwendolyn MacEwen.
Next up is the concert, theatre and storytelling hybrid John & Waleed: From Sudan to Southern Ontario with John Millard and Waleed Abdulhamid, directed by Marjorie Chan.
Stupidhead! A Mucisal Cmoedy is part standup and part musical, and features Katherine Cullen, Aaron Willis and Britta Johnson in an exploration of growing up with dyslexia.
Finally, Donna-Michelle St. Bernard (a.k.a. Belladonna the Blest) presents Sound of the Beast, a spoken word/hip-hop hybrid that explores censorship, brutality, and the artist’s ego vs. social responsibility.
Go to passemuraille.ca for information. Debra Yeo
Stratford audience invited to ‘relax’
The Stratford Festival is offering a special “relaxed” performance of its sold-out hit The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Meant especially for theatregoers with intellectual or learning disabilities, sensory processing conditions or autism, the Aug. 2 performance includes such differences as the actors introducing themselves before the show and explaining their masks and costumes; house lights staying partially on and the intensity of sound cues being reduced; audience members encouraged to come and go during the show, to move around or vocalize; a quiet space outside the auditorium; and a visual walkthrough of the play and virtual tour of the theatre, distributed in advance or available online.
“We know that for some, a trip to the theatre can be daunting. A relaxed performance is a truly remarkable, freeing experience and may change the way we all view theatrical performances in the future,” artistic director Antoni Cimolino said in a news release.
Tickets can be purchased through the box office at 1-800-567-1600. Debra Yeo