Dancing all the way to the end of summer
A Midsummer Night’s Dream and oodles of improv also gracing Toronto stages
Dance: Made in Canada Watch this if: You want a different kind of dance festival. The Dance: Made in Canada/Fait au Canada Festival (which comes around every two years) is known for bringing together exciting contemporary dance works from across Canada; this year’s features companies from Vancouver, Montreal, Halifax and more, including two world premieres from Toronto. But the 2017 festival expands its repertoire to include a lotterybased collection of 10-minute dances called What You See Is What You Get, an interdisciplinary series that fuses dance with interactive digital technology, visual art and virtual reality called Arts Encounters, and a series of film screenings.
The “Made in Canada” label means more than ever.
Aug. 17-20, Betty Oliphant Theatre, 404 Jarvis St. AMidsummer Night’s Dream Watch this if: You want to remember this Dream.
Many productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream try to replicate the feel of the great outdoors, so why not cut out the middle man and present the play in a local park? Shakespeare in the Ruff (get it?) trades its usual choice of summer Shakespeare oddities (like a very memorable Richard III and a puppet-driven Macbeth) for this comedic chestnut. This version, directed by Megan Watson, is described as “post-gender but pro-sex,” casting the roles of Bottom and Lysander with female actors Nikki Duval and Joella Crichton.
Aug. 16-Sept. 3, Withrow Park, 725 Logan Ave. Summer Blockbuster Week Watch this if: You want silver screen laughs on black box budgets.
As all major production studios know: if the formula works, revive it. So Bad Dog Theatre, one of Toronto’s best homes for unscripted comedy and performance, is back with its Summer Blockbuster Week in partnership with the Canadian Improv Games’ Next Act Festival. Riffing on the movie and TV genres and tropes we know so well, the 2017 edition includes spoofs on Dance Moms, British quiz shows, Law & Order and RuPaul’s Drag Race, and features troupes from across Canada, as well as local favourites such as the Sufferettes, Tony Ho and Songbuster, and the return of Bad Dog’s signature game Theatresports. Also, there may not be popcorn, but there will be beer at the bar.
Aug. 14-19, Bad Dog Theatre, 875 Bloor St. W.