Songs with poetry and talk about moms
Catch (Re)Birth before it leaves for New York or tell your favourite mother story
(Re)Birth: E.E. Cummings in Song Watch this if: You like poetry, folk music and poetry sung to folk music.
Soulpepper Theatre has found unexpected success in its side season of concerts and cabarets, and it may have all started with this inventive musicalization of the American poet and playwright’s words with a charming ragtag esthetic (think paper hat accessories and a squeaky plastic frog as an instrument). If you saw and liked Spoon River, see this short run with Soulpepper favourites Gregory Prest, Raquel Duffy, Ins Choi and musical director Mike Ross before it heads to New York for Soulpepper’s residency in July.
Wednesday to Saturday, Young Centre for the Performing Arts, 50 Tank House Lane Circus Sessions Watch this if: You want to run away with the circus . . . for a weekend.
This is the third edition of Circus Sessions at Harbourfront Centre, a week of workshops, training and development with circus artists from across Canada. The session is led this year by the Ontario circus group Femmes du Feu, which focuses on the aerial arts, but participants have expertise in everything from clowning to juggling to the German wheel to the trapeze.
The public is invited to attend the week’s final presentations, after which you may have to resist the urge to juggle your wallet, keys and phone on the way home.
Friday to Saturday, Harbourfront Centre Theatre, 235 Queens Quay W. The Mother’s Day Storytelling Spectacular Watch this if: You miss your mom.
There’s no catch-all way to celebrate Mother’s Day — it can be way more complicated than it seems, depending on your relationship to mothers and motherhood. But you know what’s a pretty surefire fun way to mark the occasion? Listening to other people tell stories about moms at the Spoke, the monthly storytelling event held by Outside the March Theatre Company. The Mother’s Day-themed edition features comedian Joanne O’Sullivan, author Kathy Kacer and radio host Paul Aflalo.
Sunday, Streetcar Crowsnest, 345 Carlaw Ave.