Toronto Life – December 2018

photographs courtesy of arts and crafts, toronto consort, cirque du soleil and canstage

140 toronto life December 2018

When a woman slips into

a suicidal depression and ends

up in the hospital, her seven-

year-old son compiles a list

of things that make life worth

living. You’d expect Every

Brilliant Thing to be heart-

wrenching and tear-inducing,

but it’s also one of the funni-

est dramas ever written.

Originally a one-man show

starring British comedian

Jonny Donahoe, the Toronto

production will feature

Canadian favourite Kristen

Thomson.

An evening under the stars

theAtre^ |^ Every Brilliant Thing^

Nov. 27 to Dec 16,

Berkeley Street Theatre

9

A bittersweet ode

to the little things

MUSIC | Stars | Dec. 12 and 13, The Danforth

Last year, Montreal’s Stars released their best album yet. Earnest

and romantic with hints of the self-proclaimed “pop song pepper spray”

that lead singers Amy Millan and Torquil Campbell are known for,

There Is No Love in Fluorescent Light is more refined than any of their

previous albums, and each track has a confidence and emotional maturity

that comes from nearly two decades of songwriting. Their new music

is front and centre for their North American tour, but expect to dance

along to some early 2000s favourites as well.

6

7

A circus spectacle

In Cirque du Soleil’s latest acrobatic extravaganza,

a troupe of tumblers, clowns and ringmasters

come together at a funeral for Mauro, a fallen

creative comrade. But their mourning quickly

turns into a celebration, with performers

re-enacting his most meaningful moments from

a life well lived. There’s little time for sorrow

in this fast-paced spectacle, which treats birth,

death and everything in between as part of the

same joyous continuum.

MISC^ |^ Cirque du Soleil’s Corteo

Dec. 12 to 16, Scotiabank Arena

8

A 17th-century

holiday celebration

ClASSICAl^

Praetorius Christmas Vespers

Dec. 14, 15 and 16,

Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre

The Toronto Consort,

an ensemble specializing

in medieval and renaissance

music, brings cornetti,

sackbuts and theorbos into

the orchestral instrument

mix. More festive than

solemn, their holiday show

is an imagined recreation of

a Christmas vespers service

directed by the 17th-century

German composer Michael

Praetorius, with music

emanating from the balconies,

as well as the stage. Later, the

audience and band join forces

to sing along to some early

Christmas carols.

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