A brand new take on living history
TUESDAY
Lamar Watch this because: He’s just like any other Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper. Continuing the sports metaphor and imagery driving this “Championship Tour” of Top Dawg stablemates, consider Kendrick the imperious LeBron figure and the rest (Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul et al) his supporting cast of minions. With a four-piece band priming the pump, this is very much his show, including a “Pulitzer Kenny” shout-out and everything but the brandishing of a wrestling champion’s belt in lieu of that singular award, the first ever bestowed to a pop artist. The tour hasn’t been without its casualties; singer SZA, still listed on the bill, declared herself unable to perform at the end of last month due to throat problems. (Budweiser Stage, 909 Lake Shore Blvd. W., 7:30 p.m.) — Chris Young
THURSDAY
The Sorority Watch this if: You’re up for a smashing of Toronto’s mopey, male R&B template. With formidable chemistry and no little humour, the Sorority are four GTA female emcees — Keysha Freshh, Haviah Mighty, Lex Leosis, pHoenix Pagliacci — who since finding themselves together at an International Women’s Day cipher two years ago have been battering down as many of the hip-hop boy’s club stereotypes as they can fit into their bars. It all broke this spring with debut LP Pledge and, given the buzz around the record and a tour across the country in May, this homecoming figures to be a victory lap equally empowering and irresistible — with any luck, the first of many to come. (Adelaide Hall, 250 Adelaide St. W., doors 8 p.m.) — CY
Back in Time for Dinner Watch this if: You have an appetite for the food and domestic customs of the past. The term “living history” takes on new meaning for Southern Ontario’s Campus family as, each week, mom Tristan, dad Aaron, and teens Valerie, Jessica and Robert revisit a different decade, from the 1940s through the 1990s. Not only do they cook meals from that time, they dress in period clothes and their home is renovated to match the era. In the ’40s, for instance, they trade their refrigerator for an “icebox” and their TV and gadgets for a radio and card games. It’s eyeopening and entertaining. (Psst, quirky comedy Crawford also makes its broadcast CBC debut on Thursday at 9.) (CBC at 8 p.m.) — Debra Yeo
The Walrus Talks the Future Watch this if: You thought you knew what to expect. After last week’s election, it’s clear that Canadians have some very different ideas for what the future should look like, either two weeks from now or until the Earth burns itself up. So the Walrus’s talk series is looking toward the future in its latest incarnation, featuring Evergreen CEO Geoff Cape, storyteller Lisa Charleyboy, Sidewalk Labs engineer Craig Nevill-Manning, author Margaret Atwood (particularly gifted at imagining scary dystopias) and more. (Evergreen Brick Works, 550 Bayview Ave., 6:30 p.m.) — Carly Maga
FRIDAY
Breakthroughs Film Festival Watch this if: You want to check out the next great female directors. Shorts by many new Canadian talents are part of the lineup at the Breakthroughs Film Festival, a two-night show- case of emerging female filmmakers. A charmer by Toronto’s Dominique Van Olm, Little Brother, is a standout in Friday’s program thanks to the subtle take on sibling dynamics in this story of a boy and his older sister reconnecting. Cree First Nation filmmaker JJ Neepin, based in Winnipeg, makes a similarly strong impression with Laundry Day. Up-andcomers from Japan, Australia and South Africa provide many more reasons to check out the offerings at the BFF. (Royal Cinema, 608 College St., 7:30 p.m.) — Jason Anderson
Malpaso Dance Company at Luminato Watch this if: You want to see what you missed in 2015. This Cuban contemporary company sold out on its last visit to Luminato. It’s back with a mixed bill that features works choreographed by its artistic director Osnel Delgado, Canadian Aszure Barton and Ohad Naharin of Batsheva Dance Company. Delgado’s Dreaming of Lions is inspired by Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, and features music from Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra. Barton brings Indomitable Waltz and Naharin’s contribution is Tabula Rasa. (Elgin Theatre, 8 p.m., also June 16, festival continues to June 24) — DY
SATURDAY
crash course on feminist art. The art world was very much a man’s world until the formidable subjects of this documentary changed the game. Lynn Hershman Leeson’s film celebrates the achievements of Judy Chicago, Martha Rosler and many other women artists and activists of the 1960s and ’70s who had had it up to here with the male dominance and discrimination in the creative fields. Their boldness is matched by the many other women you’ll encounter in Game Changers: Inspiring Women, a six-doc series by Luminato and Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema that also includes the Fran Lebowitz profile Public Speaking. (Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, 506 Bloor St. W., 1 and 4 p.m.) — JA
Alan Cumming: Legal Immigrant Watch this if: You want a dose of Americana with a Scottish accent. Inestimable star of Broadway, television and our hearts, Alan Cumming is returning to Toronto with another cabaret performance following 2016’s sold-out two-night stint of Alan Cumming Sings Sappy Songs. Legal Immigrant, his new tour, reflects on the performer’s 10 years as a U.S. citizen with a variety of stories, lessons and songs that represent America today — for better or worse — from Merrily We Roll Along to P!nk to Disney. (Massey Hall, 178 Victoria St., 8 p.m.) — CM
SUNDAY
Picnic at Hanging Rock Watch this if: You’re in the mood for a female-led, gothic-style mystery. Brit Natalie Dormer, who’s played two doomed queens in The Tudors and Game of Thrones, stars in this miniseries as Mrs. Appleyard, the proprietor of a turn-of-the-20th-century girls’ school in Australia who has a secret past. Headstrong farm girl Miranda (Lily Sullivan), rich beauty Irma (Samara Weaving) and pal Marion (Madeleine Madden) are sort of the Mean Girls And then there’s orphan Sara (Inez Curro) and her whipping girl Edith (Ruby Rees). Things start to unravel for all of them when three students and a teacher go missing during the picnic. (Bravo at 10:15 p.m.) — DY