Halloween shows that will give a good scare
Danny Elfman’s Music from the Films of Tim Burton Watch this if: You want to take scary movies to the next level.
For Torontonians who want a more refined Halloween festivity, a concert by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra at Roy Thomson Hall should fit the requirements. This time, there are selections of Danny Elfman’s compositions for Tim Burton films like Edward Scissorhands, Batman and The Nightmare Before Christmas. The films won’t be screened, but the music will be accompanied by visuals of Tim Burton’s storyboards, illustrations and clips. Plus, now’s the chance to finally attend a symphony dressed like The Joker without getting weird looks from your fellow concertgoers.
Oct. 29-30, Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. Piya Behrupiya (Twelfth Night) Watch this if: You want a twist on an English theatre classic.
Soulpepper Theatre was established to produce lesser-known classical pieces — so no Shakespeare. But the Shakespearean comedy Twelfth Night is coming to the company this year in a special case. Mumbai’s The Company Theatre’s production of Piya Behrupiya ( Twelfth Night) has already gained acclaim at Shakespeare’s Globe in London and the Chicago Shakespeare Theater. The production, done entirely in Hindi with English subtitles, arrives in Toronto just in time for Diwali on October 30 (which Soulpepper is celebrating with a remount of Ravi Jain’s hit show A Brimful of Asha, co-starring himself and his mother Asha).
Oct. 27-29, Young Centre for the Performing Arts, 50 Tank House Lane Breathing Corpses Watch this if: You want to get morbid this Halloween.
The Danforth’s favourite storefront theatre, The Coal Mine, is back for its third season with the seasonally appropriate Breathing Corpses by Laura Wade. The 2005 play from the award-winning UK playwright moves backwards in time after a hotel maid finds a corpse in one of the rooms, and the tone isn’t likely to get brighter after that. Luckily, Coal Mine has a history of tackling dark stories with the calibre of large companies and the intimacy of indie spaces — so let’s get spooky.
Oct. 23-Nov. 13, Coal Mine Theatre, 1454 Danforth Ave.