Singer-songwriter Skye Wallace isn’t afraid to explore the dark places to make her mesmerizing, powerful music
MUSIC
Their major label debut hasn’t taken off any of Snotty Nose Rez Kids’ edge or urgency
STAGE
Buddies in Bad Times’ new artistic director ted wetzel tackles French Post-Modernism as he directs the season opener
SCREENS
TIFF highlights are opening up on screen and streaming, with Pharrell Williams’s life-in-Lego Piece By Piece, the Tragically Hip’s No Dress Rehearsal and Jason Reitman’s Saturday Night among the best
COMEDY
Andrew Phung’s Run the Burbs was funny as hell but still got the boot from CBC. He brings his stand up to the Comedy Is Art Festival
THE CLOSER
The Ford Family has been at war with the city they are supposed to represent for decades and now Doug is leading the battle against his hometown to an all-out assault
Skye Wallace Photo Credit: Mike Hutchinson
TOP6 SIX
Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift
Where: Rogers Centre, 1 Blue Jays Way
Why: Gear up for Halloween with Burton’s Nightmare on the big screen at RTH to live accompaniment by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Guaranteed to be trippy as fuck. 1 2 3 4 5 6
When: Thurs., Nov. 14; Fri., Nov. 15; Sat., Nov. 16; Thurs., Nov. 21; Fri., Nov. 22; Sat., Nov. 23
Why: Donald Trump hates her, but the rest of the world loves her — including us. November becomes Taylor Swift Month in The Six as the city embraces her record-breaking Eras Tour and we all become Swifties with tons of related events across Toronto.
Billie Eilish
Where: Scotiabank Arena, 40 Bay St.
When: Tue. Oct. 1; Wed., Oct. 2; Thurs., Oct. 3
Why: Remember Billie? One of our other favourite female superstars hits Toronto for three nights at the big arena.
Tig Notaro: The New Stuff
Where: Comedy Bar Danforth, 2800 Danforth Ave.
When: Tue., Oct. 1; Fri., Oct. 6; Tue., Oct. 15, Wed.; Oct. 16
Why: Stand-up comedy all-time great Tig Notaro is in a long-term residency in Toronto, performing intimate shows at Danforth Comedy Bar working out material for an upcoming special.
Nuit Blanche
Where: Across the city
When: Sat., Oct. 5
Why: More than just an excuse to roam the city with drinks until dawn, this year’s theme, Bridging Distance, invites audiences to explore ways in which they experience and perceive distance through three exhibitions and more than 80 works by local, national and international artists.
Art of Time’s Sankofa: A Soldier’s Tale Retold
Where: Harbourfront Centre Theatre, 231 Queens Quay W.
When: Thurs., Oct. 24 – Sun., Oct. 27
Why: Genre-busting and blending repertory troupe that borrows from jazz, classical and pop plays its final shows of its final season.
Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas in Concert
Where: Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St.
When: Fri, Oct. 18; Sat., Oct. 19
Editor/Publisher
Michael Hollett
Associate Editor
Rayne Fisher-Quann
Operations Manager
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Art Director Jefferson Wilde
Advice Columnist
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Contributors
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Billie at the Oscars
Nuit Blanche Tour Video
Tig Notoro Special Art of Time Reel
Behind the scenes
Skye Wallace shines light on darkness
Singer’s excellent new album, “The Act of Living” uses horror and comedy to dial down tension
Skye Wallace Photo Credit: Mike Hutchinson
By: Aisling Murphy
COVER STORY
When singer-songwriter Skye Wallace shows up at Boxcar Social, tucked into a laneway off Markham Street, she’s dressed for an adventure.
Wisps of hair peek out from beneath a corduroy baseball cap, and a colourful kerchief around her neck — gifted to Wallace at a music festival in Yellowknife — adds a certain camp counsellor flair to the ensemble.
Indeed, the soft-rock-pop musician, on the cusp of releasing her sixth album, The Act of Living, is ready for anything.
“I was born in Scarborough,” she says, sipping iced coffee. The songwriter has been making music since 2013 and has toured both domestically and internationally with her uniquely homegrown sound. “But we moved every couple of years, me and my family. We kept heading west; I spent some formative years in B.C., then moved back to Toronto about 10 years ago. And now I’m here.”
So is Toronto home for Wallace, then?
“That’s tricky,” she says, gazing into her drink. “My family and I are very close, so home is wherever they are. But a lot of places claim me, which is nice; Sunshine Coast, for instance, and I spent a lot of time in Durham Region growing up — Oshawa, Ajax, that kind of thing. And I’ve never lived on the East Coast, but my family’s from Newfoundland. So, I have beacons of home everywhere, kind of.”
In the absence of a permanent geographical home, says Wallace, is her community. Almost as if on cue, a friend comes to our table to say hi — Steve Foster, a fellow musician. It seems no matter
where Wallace goes, a pal won’t be far away.
The Act of Living explores feelings of togetherness — and loneliness — in the context of death. It’s a dark concept for an album, but Wallace has dark experiences to pull from, including a near-fatal car accident and the death of her grandfather, two life experiences she says hugely affected her approach to creating art.
“The whole thing is about my relationship with death,” she explains. “It’s an examining of death and cycles and life. So, some of the songs are very personal to me — they’re about a near-death experience with my mom and ushering my grandfather into whatever comes beyond. It was very intimate and very raw.
“Some songs on the record are intentionally very rickety,” she continues, “with sharp corners and edges. And then some are more universal, things I think we can all relate to and understand.”
What stands out on The Act of Living is Wallace’s experimentation with proximity. On Marrow, the opening track, Wallace plays with reverb, which makes her voice echo against invisible walls with a satisfying bounce. Later, on Dead End, Wallace’s voice sounds closer, sort of, but it’s amplified by stacked harmonies that lend a Florence Welch-style depth to the track.
“We kept some of the vocals from demos,” she shared. “There’s a brittleness you can’t replicate in the studio. We’re really riding the fourth wall, bringing people into the story at different points … I like things with a little nasty quality to them
— that’s what makes things human, that kind of imperfection. You find the beauty in little mistakes, in little happy accidents and things. That’s what appeals to me.”
As we chat, Boxcar Social’s soundscape evolves from chaotic jazz to brooding rock. When Wallace gets into the minutiae of The Act of Living, Fruit by Oliver Sim plays over the coffee shop’s speakers, with intermittent flashes of spacey synth.
“The first song I wrote on the record was right after my grandfather had passed,” she shares. “I was really in the process of grief and still very raw about it. I was writing and singing through tears, and that became an integral sound to the track. It felt important to commemorate my grandfather in that way — we were very close.”
Wallace says her relationship with death changed as she continued to dig into the album; feelings of fear ebbed and flowed as she discovered new ways to consider grief and mortality through the handson production of the record.
“I realized there was something happening here,” she says. “I started writing songs further generated by that lead of death, and its connection with the body. The thing that shook me out of that state of fear was the notion of death as a cycle or death as change.
“Death doesn’t have to be tangible and horrific, looming over my shoulder,” she reveals. “In fact, one of the last songs I wrote was about the death of anxiety.” Wallace shares that medication for mental health was a game-changer
for her, but it brought with it a new sense of dread — about the absence of the very feeling she’d been hoping to assuage.
“Something was missing,” she shares. “You feel empty; it’s an adjustment. So, I wrote this song about my breakup with anxiety. I wanted to get rid of it, but it was still as sad as any breakup — even if you know the relationship isn’t working, it’s always going to be kind of shitty.”
Wallace hits the road this month with 10 or so stops across small-town Ontario and a final show at Toronto’s Great Hall in November. She’s stoked to share the new album with her fans — and to sing these tracks with them on tour.
“I’ve already performed it a few times, but I can’t wait to do my song The Act of Living ,” she says. “It’s so sludgey and droney — the initial inspiration was actually drone. It’s about this trudging, exhausted feeling of living in this world that doesn’t make sense — the cognitive dissonance of looking to each other to cope.
“I wanted that existential malaise,” she says. “So, I’ve been touring it, trying stuff out. And that’s actually given me a chance to understand it.” Wallace also filmed a music video for The Act of Living , which she says she can’t wait to share with the world.
“It’s way more beautiful than I thought it was going to be,” she says. “Horror and comedy go so well together because you have that push-pull of tension and relieving the tension and death. It’s all about that.”
“Everything is Fine” video
The Act of Living
Genre: Bedroom-pop meets high-impact-rock
If you like: Florence and the Machine, Fleetwood Mac, carolesdaughter
Best track: Blood!
Rating: NNNN (out of 5)
Why you should listen: Skye Wallace manages to måarry ambitious production choices with down-to-earth lyrics and instrumentation. This is an album full of rough edges, but those snags in production actually add a cool-girl sophistication to the record, making it stand out from the crowd.
NEXT: The Great Hall, Fri. Nov. 1
EnlighTEN x Global Toronto Music Festival
September 28–29
Celebrate the Aga Khan Museum’s 10th anniversary with music, family activities, and a cake cutting ceremony!
Featuring FREE live music performances by GTMF Showcase performers:
Aphrose
Lara Wong and Melon Jimenez
Yao Harmz
Julian Taylor
Soleil Launière
Daby Touré
Wild Black
The Museum’s Performing Arts programming is generously supported by the Nanji Family Foundation. Scan QR code for details
Presented in partnership with Produced by
Aga Khan Museum | 77 Wynford Drive, Toronto
Billie Eilish, Herbie Hancock, Lemon Twigs, Julian Taylor highlight Fall concert season Music
By Adam Davidson
Who: Julian Taylor and various artists
When: Sat., Sept. 28 – Sun. Sept. 29
Where: Aga Khan Museum, 77 Wynford Dr.
Genre: World
Why you should go: Julian Taylor headlines a packed, free program of music åand special events programmed by the Small World Music festival to celebrate the Aga Khan Museum’s 10th anniversary. Taylor plays Saturday while Wild Back and other acts are featured Sunday.
Who: Kevian Kraemer
When: Mon., Sept. 30
Where: Drake Underground, 1150 Queen St. W.
Genre: Alternative/Indie
Why you should go: Known as “Guy on a Guitar” on TikTok, the 18-year-old from New Jersey rose to prominence on the social media app with guitar tutorials and has since made a name for himself for his original songs, he takes his career to the next level as he leaves his bedroom for a big tour across North America.
Who: Herbie Hancock
When: Tue., Oct. 1
Where: Massey Hall, 178 Victoria St. Genre: Jazz
Why you should go: The jazz icon is one of the most influential artists in music history, with Snoop Dogg once thanking him “for inventing hip hop.” You can never quite anticipate what a Herbie Hancock show will be like as he and his band are experts at improv, but you can expect performances of classic tracks, like Cantaloupe Island and Chameleon, that changed the course of jazz history.
Who: Coco and Clair Clair
When: Wed., Oct. 2
Where: The Axis Club, 722 College St. Genre: Alt-pop
Why you should go: Fresh off the release of their latest album,
Girl, the Atlanta alt-pop duo have taken a big step forward musically as they cast off their shackles and embrace vulnerability within their songwriting. The audiences will be immersed in this unique world as Coco and Clair Clair blend club-ready pop tracks with vulnerable love songs.
Who: Billie Eilish
When: Tue., Oct. 1 and Wed., Oct. 2
Where: Scotiabank Arena, 40 Bay St. Genre: Pop
Why you should go: One of the biggest artists in the world heads to Toronto for two memorable nights at the Scotiabank Arena. Fans will get the chance to hear Billie Eilish perform tracks from her 5-N Hit Me Hard and Soft album, including BIRDS OF A FEATHER and LUNCH. She is an innovative artist and this translates to her live performances as she keeps it fresh and exciting for her legions of hardcore fans.
Who: Justin Rutledge
When: Wed., Oct. 2 and every Wed. until Oct. 30
Where: Cameron House, 408 Queen St. W. Genre: Roots
Why you should go: Smoothvoiced, soulful Canadian singer-songwriter Justin Rutledge sets up at the Cameron front room every Wednesday in October for 6 pm shows.
Who: Fred Again
When: Thurs., Oct. 3 and Fri., Oct. 4
Where: Scotiabank Arena, 40 Bay St. Genre: Dance
Why you should go: From headlining festivals to viral tracks and hit collaborations, Fred Again is truly the DJ of the moment. If you need any convincing to buy tickets to see the British DJ
Continued on page 11
Julian Taylor headlines Aga Khan 10th Anniversary festival, Sat., Sept. 28
Surfin Surfrajettes, Stars, Spedding and more
Continued from page 9
live in action, just check out his viral Boiler Room set on YouTube; you’ll be hooked.
Who: Chris Spedding and Guests
When: Thurs., Oct. 3
Where: The Horseshoe Tavern, 370 Queen St. W.
Genre: Rockabilly
Why you should go: Chris Spedding, the ’80s British rock legend, and guests perform Robert Gordon’s greatest hits and deep cuts in an evening dedicated to the memory of “The Voice.” Guests include Marshall Crenshaw, Travis Good (The Sadies), Teddy Fury (Bopcats/Royal Crowns), Danny Marks, James Henry (Millwinders), Cynthia Ross (B-Girls), Mark Sanders (Wasagas/Millwinders), Evil Elvis, Dave Rave (Teenage Head), Bill Moser and Nicholas Campbell. Others to be announced.
Who: Stars, Set Yourself on Fire 20th anniversary shows
When: Thurs., Oct 3 – Sat., Oct. 5
Where: The Concert Hall, 888 Yonge St.
Genre: Musing, majestic indie
Why you should go: Three nights of Stars for their Set Yourself on Fire 20th anniversary shows. NEXT advice columnist Amy Milan is also in an awesome band, or two, including these Montreal legends who celebrate 20 years of this groundbreaking release.
Who: Ron Hawkins
When: Sat., Oct. 5
Where: The Rivoli, 332 Queen St. W. Genre: Roots
Why you should go: Former Lowest of the Low frontman Ron Hawkins does an intimate show at the Riv.
Who: The Lemon Twigs
When: Sat., Oct. 5
Where: Lee’s Place, 529 Bloor St. W.
Genre: Rock
Why you should go: The New Yorker sibling duo will bring their special brand of harmony-laden melodic rock and roll to Toronto in support of their recent album, A Dream Is All We Know.
Who: UNA MIA
When: Fri., Oct. 4
Where: The Drake Hotel, 1150 Queen St. W.
Genre: Alt-R&B/Pop
Why you should go: Beleville-raised alt-R&B/Pop songstress UNA MIA prepares for a special homecoming show as she continues her impressive ascent in the alt-R&B space. Following appearances on Colors and On the Radar, the Bosnian Canadian has built up a following from her silky-smooth vocals that captivate audiences.
Who: The Surfrajettes
When: Sat., Oct. 5
Where: Horseshoe Tavern, 370 Queen St. W.
Genre: Surf rock
Why you should go: Toronto’s campy Surfrajettes bring a sizzling surf sound that will leave you smiling and grooving. Come celebrate the release of their second album, “Easy As Pie”.
Who: Mdou Moctar
When: Wed., Oct. 9
Where: The Concert Hall, 888 Yonge St.
Genre: Rock
Why you should go: For something totally unique, Nigerien singer/songwriter Mdou Moctar will perform a set of modern rock music inspired by Tuareg guitar music. The West African sings about defiance and anti-colonialism and uses his music as a vehicle for pushing change and provoking conversation.
Who: Psychedelic Furs and The Jesus and Mary Chain
When: Wed., Oct. 9
Where: Queen Elizabeth Theatre, 190 Princes’ Blvd.
Genre: ’80s rock
Why you should go: A dream bill in the ’80s and ’90s, these legendary bands still deliver aggressive, enthralling rock shows.
Who: Nia Archives
When: Thurs., Oct. 10
Where: The Danforth Music Hall, 147 Danforth Ave.
Genre: Jungle, Dance
Why you should go: The British DJ is bringing jungle back to the masses. The subgenre of dance music was born out of the U.K. rave scene in the ’90s but faded into obscurity. Nia Archives is celebrating the genre on a huge platform and showcased her talents by supporting one of Beyonce’s Renaissance tour shows in London.
Who: Fontaines D.C.
When: Fri., Oct. 11
Where: Queen Elizabeth Theatre, 190 Princes’ Blvd.
Genre: Post-punk
Why you should go: The Irish band have just released their hotly-anticipated fourth studio album, Romance, and shifted gears to a bigger and bolder altrock sound. Be prepared for a hot and sweaty night at the intimate Queen Elizabeth Theatre as Fontaines D.C. continue their ascent to rock stardom.
Who: Johnny Marr and James
When: Thurs., Oct. 14
Where: HISTORY, 1663 Queen St. E.
Genre: Alternative, Rock
Why you should go: Johnny Marr may have recently dismissed any chance of The Smiths reuniting, but if you’re feeling nostalgic, then head to HISTORY to see the former guitarist perform classic hits like How Soon Is Now? and There Is a Light That Never Goes Out
Who: Low Cut Connie
When: Mon., Oct. 14 and Tue. Oct. 15
Where: Horseshoe Tavern, 370 Queen St. W.
Genre: Rock
Why you should go: Following the release of their documentary Art Dealers in September, Low Cut Connie head to Toronto for an intimate show at the Shoe. Led by Adam Weiner, the Philadelphia rock band will deliver a fun evening full of soulful rock.
Who: MonkeyJunk
When: Thurs., Oct. 17
Where: Hugh’s Room, 296 Broadview Ave. Genre: Blues
Why you should go: The Ottawa blues band bring their exciting live show to Toronto as they continue to reinvent the genre while paying tribute to its rich and storied history. Fun is at the core of these simians’ sound.
Who: Andy Shauf
When: Fri., Oct. 18
Where: The Great Hall, 1087 Queen St. W. Genre: Dreamy indie
Why you should go: Ethereal Saskatchewan prairie product Andy Shauf goes it alone with a solo show at the Great Hall.
Who: Cyndi Lauper
When: Sun., Oct. 20
Where: Scotiabank Arena, 40 Bay St. Genre: Pop
Why you should go: After a glistening career, the ’80s icon and LGBTQ+ hero is embarking on a farewell tour to share a night of nostalgic hits like Girls Just Wanna Have Fun and Time After Time with her Canadian fans.
Who: Catfish and the Bottleman
When: Mon., Oct. 21
Where: The Phoenix Concert Theatre, 410 Sherbourne St. Genre: Rock
Why you should go: Before the British rock band embark on a stadium tour of the U.K. next summer, they’ll rock the Phoenix Concert Theatre as the beloved venue winds down. Expect the stadium level of energy and passion as they perform hits like Kathleen and Cocoon
Who: Clairo
When: Wed., Oct. 23
Where: Massey Hall, 178 Victoria St. Genre: Indie-Pop
Why you should go: The Atlanta artist has been a big name in the indie scene for some years, but following the critical acclaim of her latest album, Charm, Clairo is quickly becoming a household name. The performance at Massey Hall promises to have an incredible atmosphere as she invites fans to an immersive trip inside her musical world.
Who: Hinds
When: Wed., Oct. 23
Where: Lee’s Place, 529 Bloor St. W. Genre: Indie rock
Why you should go: After a difficult couple of years, Hinds are back (with half of their band remaining) and will be taking their tour around the world to perform their new album, VIVA Hinds.
Who: Nick Lowe and Los Straitjackets
When: Fri., Oct. 25
Where: TD Music Hall, 178 Victoria St.
Genre: Indie Brit rock
Surfrajettes celebrate their new album release, Sat., Oct. 5 at the Horseshoe.
Cyndi Lauper, Clairo, Catfish, Tenille Townes and
Continued from page 11
Why you should go: One of Elvis Costello’s favourites and a frequent collaborator, Brit-indie rock legend Nick Lowe returns with Los Straitjackets.
Who: Tenille Townes
When: Sat., Oct. 26
Where: Danforth Music Hall, 147 Danforth Ave. Genre: Roots
Why you should go: In the last five years alone, the Canada-born artist’s full-hearted and soul-searching songwriting has led to milestones like touring with legends Stevie Nicks, Miranda Lambert and Shania Twain and taking home two JUNO Awards — all while building up a globe-spanning fanbase irresistibly drawn to her intensely honest storytelling.
Who: Dawn Richard & Spencer Zahn
When: Sun., Oct. 27
Where: Lula Lounge, 1585 Dundas St. W. Genre: R&B, Soul
Why you should go: Following the release of their latest collaborative album, Quiet in a World Full of Noise, Dawn Richard and multi-instrumentalist, producer and composer Spencer Zahn perform a special show at the intimate Lula Lounge. The album is soulful, contemplative and harmonious, and it will be a rare treat to watch the two artists recreate this magic live on stage.
Who: Leon Bridges
When: Sun., Oct. 27 and Mon., Oct. 28
Where: Massey Hall, 178 Victoria St. Genre: R&B, Soul
Why you should go: Two nights of Leon Bridges at Massey is a dream with this always stunning, soulful singer.
Who: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
When: Sun., Nov. 3 – Wed., Nov. 6
Where: Scotiabank Arena, 40 Bay St. Genre: Rock
Why you should go: The wait is finally over! The Boss postponed his 2023 Canadian dates to focus on his health but is back and ready to rock the Scotiabank Arena. Springsteen has a legendary status for his long and entertaining live performances that run for many hours, and
despite being in his mid-70s, he shows no sign of slowing down or retiring.
Who: The Jayhawks
When: Thurs., Nov. 7
Where: The Great Hall, 1087 Queen St. W. Genre: Americana
Why you should go: Americana legends The Jayhawks scratch a Wilco itch, the bands broke out together.
Who: Myles Smith
When: Thurs., Nov. 7
Where: The Opera House, 735 Queen St. E. Genre: Pop
Why you should go: Myles Smith is on a hot streak. The British singer-songwriter went viral for the hit song Solo. He proved he wasn’t just a one-trick pony as his latest big single, Stargazing, took his career to the next level and gained him legions of fans across the world for his catchy pop melodies.
Who: Taylor Swift
When: Thurs., Nov. 14 –16 and Nov. 21 – 23
Where: Rogers Centre, 1 Blue Jays Way
Genre: Pop
Why you should go: After breaking records and causing mass hysteria all around the world, Taylor Swift brings her Eras Tour to Rogers Centre for an impressive sold-out, six-show run. For those lucky enough to get tickets, be prepared to be taken on a career-spanning journey by one of the biggest stars in the world.
Who: Shiv and the Carvers
When: Fri., Nov. 15.
Where: Bovine Sex Club, 542 Queen St. W. Genre: Punk
Why you should go: The Roller Skate Punk band were formed in 2021 and they have been carving out a space for themselves in the thriving punk scene in Toronto. Be prepared for an exciting night of music and a diverse mixture of songs from original tracks to a cover of Shania Twain’s That Don’t Impress Me Much.
Who: MENNO VERSTEEG with Janky Bungag
When: Sat., Nov. 16
Where: Monarch Tavern, 12 Clinton St. Genre: Indie
Why you should go: Former Hollerado main man Menno Versteeg has released a fresh introspective album and is back on the road doing what he loves.
Who: Jim Cuddy Band
When: Wed., Nov. 27
Where: Massey Hall, 178 Victoria St. Genre: Roots
Why you should go: Blue Rodeo’s Jim Cuddy celebrates the release of his sixth solo album — the 5-N rated All the World Fades Away, released in June — playing one of his favourite rooms in the country.
I’m angry about kids being murdered in residential schools. I’m angry at the way things are going right now. But we’re letting people know what we went through, and that we’re here.
”
Darren “Young D” Metz and Quinton “Yung Trybez” Nyce
Nyce
Watch
“I’m Good” music video
Snotty Nose Rez Kids Rap a Red Future
hen Snotty Nose Rez Kids connect to our Zoom interview, they’re in a state of bliss.
They’re stoked because the duo’s newest album, Red Future, has just been released after a year of fine-tuning. It’s their first album since signing to Sony Music, and from Red Future’s first track, it’s clear that the record is a big step forward for one of Canada’s buzziest hip hop acts.
The Haisla rappers are psyched, too, for their upcoming TV show, Snotty Nose Rez Kids, which will premiere on CBC in 2025. The half-hour comedy will share some of the mishaps from the pair’s time on the road, and Snotty Nose Rez Kids say the show will bring some needed representation of Indigenous culture to Canada’s mainstream media.
So, yeah, you could say the guys are having a good year.
“It feels amazing,” says Quinton “Yung Trybez” Nyce, joining Zoom from a bustling cafe. “I don’t even know how to describe it. When I got home from our release party last night, I stayed up for hours. I just couldn’t sleep, thinking about the album.”
“We just held on to it for so long,” agrees Darren “Young D” Metz. “We worked so hard towards this album, and it’s finally out in the world. We’re just really zen right now. We’re really feeling in the moment.”
Don’t mistake the band’s contentedness for fatigue — Red Future is a bold, blistering album that begs to be blasted at a high volume, particularly at one of the group’s high-energy concerts.
The record’s opening track, Welcome to My World, offers a glimpse into what will follow: “A restitution,” promises the very first lyric. “A war cry.”
“Welcome to My World is a reality check,” explains Metz. “Not only what me and Trybez go through, but what our people as a whole go through. And you hear it from that opening spoken-word
section; you hear it in Trybez’s opening bars. It hits you in the face right away — we wanted to paint a picture, and that track is the starting point.
“We end the album on Red Future,” he continues, “which is looking forward, really moving forward in a positive light. It’s really a journey.”
“The album’s based on Indigenous futurism — the idea that we can see ourselves in the future,” adds Nyce. “For us to do that, we need to deal with the hardships and all the shit we went through growing up, everything our people went through. Welcome to My World lets people know that this is the shit I had to deal with in order for me to be here.
“I’m angry,” he continues. “I’m angry about kids being murdered in residential schools. I’m angry at the way things are going right now. But we’re letting people know what we went through, and that we’re here.”
While that anger never fully dissipates from the album — tracks like the standout No Dogs Allowed crackle with rage — Red Future often experiments with emotional dissonance.
On Shapeshifter, for instance, Snotty Nose Rez Kids refer to a creation story about Raven and oscillate between high-impact beats and more lo-fi soundscapes.
“There’s a lot of layers to that track,” says Metz. “Not only the creation story, and the shapeshifters across culture, but it’s also us shapeshifting to a whole new level that we’ve never been to. We’re changing and learning and unlearning.”
That learning curve is one of the most compelling threads of Red Future — you can hear the growth in the duo’s production choices, which Nyce and Metz credit to their partnership with Sony.
“We had a lot more resources, production-wise,” says Metz. “We
By: Aisling Murphy
really wanted to continue pushing things on the production side with this record. This was the very first time we were really hands-on with the production. We’re working with the stems, and our engineer, to really bring it to life. The most fun part of writing and making the record was honing in on the production side.”
“Sony really gave us the resources we needed to make Red Future dope, and we had final say on the creative aspect of everything,” agrees Nyce. “That was a good start to that relationship, for sure.”
Metz and Nyce say they finished the Red Future development process with over 30 tracks — far too many for the album. Snotty Nose Rez Kids had to make tough choices about what to cut, and some of those unreleased songs still hit close to home for the duo.
For any other musical group, those tracks might be lost to the vault, with one or two hauled out for a deluxe edition or live performance. But Snotty Nose Rez Kids have another means of sharing those songs: Their upcoming TV show.
“All of those songs are bangers,” says Nyce, laughing. “We’re looking at putting a lot of the music into the show.”
“Over the years, we’ve had so many mishaps happen to us that were unfortunate and shitty at the time — looking at it now, we realize some of those stories are comedy gold,” adds Metz. “But with the show, we want to make you laugh and feel good at the same time.”
Of course, no album’s complete without a live tour, and Snotty Nose Rez Kids say audiences can be ready to have a great time if they come to a show. The duo generally plays intimate spaces — the average gig clocks in at under 2,000 people — but that proximity makes for memorable, visceral concerts.
“We just want to make you feel good,” says Metz. “We want to make you feel amazing.
“It’s important that there’s chemistry between me and Trybez, but chemistry with the crowd, too. We’re learning how to engage with them, and really making sure we’re present in the moment — and that the audience is present in the moment, too. Whenever we do that, the shows are just fucking insane.”
“Vancouver and Toronto are two of our favourite cities, and levelling up in those cities is really important to us,” adds Nyce. “When everybody comes out and has a crazy time, it just … it makes you feel like a million bucks.”
Red Future
Genre: Hip hop
If you like: Kendrick Lamar, Drezus, Wolf Castle
Best track: No Dogs Allowed
Rating: NNNNN (out of 5)
Why you should listen: Snotty Nose Rez Kids have significantly amped up their production choices, resulting in a concept album that knows exactly what it wants to be from the very first beat. Red Future explores a range of feelings, from electric rage to more lo-fi melancholia, and signals a promising future for a group that’ll also be expanding their artistic practice into TV next year.
NEXT: The Opera House, Toronto, Fri., Dec. 6
Stage Buddies is back with jagged neo-noir
“Zucco”
offers new artistic director
unhinged monologues and promises to provoke
By Liam Donovan
Theatre director ted witzel was in university when he first encountered French postmodernist Bernard-Marie Koltès’s Roberto Zucco, the jagged neonoir he’s now staging at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre (where he’s been artistic director for just over a year). In a post-rehearsal interview, he tells me about that first, charged reaction: “What the fuck is this writing?” he remembers himself asking. “I need to know what the rest of this play is, because these monologues are so unhinged… what is going on here?”
But it was only when he was living in Berlin five years ago that he started understanding how to approach this loose adaptation
of mid-20th-century Italian serial killer Roberto Succo’s life. The missing ingredient? Rage.
After dashing to the corner of the rehearsal studio to retrieve a book of art by David Wojnarowicz (an East Village radical who, like Koltès, died young of AIDS), he tells me that seeing an exhibit of the artist’s work at the KW Institute for Contemporary Art gave him a new perspective on the anger spurring queer thinking in the late ‘80’s and early ‘90’s.
“Wojnarowicz’s work is such a different lens on the AIDS crisis — a different expression of queer rebellion and queer rage than I’d encountered in any of the more pop culture expressions of it,” he says. “Seeing this
intersection of the forces of capitalism with the tenderness of the decaying and marginalized body… brought me so much closer to the experience of being queer and really fucking angry at the time.”
Several AIDS-related plays have hit Canadian stages recently, with Nick Green’s Casey and Diana finding particular success. But a lot of them are too well-behaved for witzel. “There’s been so many AIDS narratives… that have a kind of sentimentality to them,” he says. “But so many of them don’t adequately contain the rage, [or ask]: ‘what does it mean to be in a queer space? What does the rage look like in ourselves, with each other?’”
This is witzel’s first time directing a full production in Toronto since the pandemic. He tells me that while he’s nervous as ever — “I find the first day of rehearsal fucking terrifying and sweaty, it’s just awful” — it’s “been amazing” having his collaborators interact with this text he’s cherished for so long.
“With every piece, you spend so long with what you [personally] are finding inside of it,” he says. “I’m a night owl, so it’s usually at one in the morning that I’m digging into it and thinking about it, or it’s happening in my bathtub.”
Then, coming into the rehearsal hall, “it’s like you take something out into the day-
light and see how the colours are different. Suddenly… it becomes a three-dimensional thing, and a mirror for other people’s histories and desires and ways of seeing the world.”
And while the production deals with some complex themes, witzel is careful to underline that the team is also aiming to make it a great night out. “It’s a challenging play, because it has brutality to it, but it’s also a very beautiful and sumptuous piece,” he says. “We’re gonna provoke you [and] we hope it’ll change you. But above all, we’re not here to feed you platitudes: We’re here to show you a good fucking time.”
When: Now, until Sat., Oct. 5
Why you should go: Director ted witzel says Bernard-Marie Koltès’s postmodern
a
What: Roberto Zucco
Where: Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, 12 Alexander St.
neo-noir offers
provocative blend of beauty and brutality.
Watch the trailer
“Come
Green Goblins Mangle Macbeth, Come From Away Comes back, Flin Flon Cowboy Theatre must-sees
What the Festival!, Now – Sun., Sept. 29 (Youngplace, $30)
This new performance festival focuses on the absurd and underground — drag, clown, puppetry and the like. Full-length offerings include BITTY-BAT on Planet Earth, a physical comedy about a bat; WINNING : Winning, a mostly silent clown performance that becomes strangely heartfelt in its final minutes; and The ZUCCHINI Club, a puppet show about an old Italian gardener protecting his zucchini from local wildlife. There’ll also be workshops, cabaret-style variety shows and lobby entertainment.
SAMCA , Now – Sat., Oct. 5 (North Property of Black Creek Pioneer Village, from $25)
This new horror musical by Natalia Bushnik and Kathleen Welch promises site-specific, pre-Halloween frights. Per-
formed in a forest near Black Creek Pioneer Village, it follows two sisters coming to terms with their sexuality in late-19th-century Romania. Produced by indie companies Riot King and Spindle Collective; directed by Brendan Kinnon.
RUTAS Festival, Now – Sun., Oct. 6 (Factory Theatre and Theatre
Passe Muraille, from $25)
The sixth edition of Aluna Theatre’s scrappy international performing arts festival will highlight interdisciplinary work from across the Americas. Anchored by the theme of “personal cartographies,” the lineup includes Variations on Coffee, a look into the lives of female coffee producers in Oaxaca; Reminiscencia, a performance that uses Google Earth to explore the emotional topography of Santiago; and Sandwich Board Hall, an
art-installation-slash-tour of an arts venue the piece’s synopsis says “almost exists.”
Come From Away, open run (Royal Alexandra Theatre, from $49)
After the back and forth of pandemic lockdowns forced Mirvish’s last Toronto run to close, Irene Sankoff and David Hein’s Newfoundland-set hit musical is back. Good thing, too: We’ve missed those wooden chairs.
The Thanksgiving Play, Fri., Sept. 27 – Sun., Oct. 20 (CAA Theatre, from $50)
A hit on Broadway in 2023 and the opener of the 2024-25 off-Mirvish season, this satire by Indigenous playwright Larissa FastHorse mocks performative political correctness. Vinetta Strombergs will direct a rock-solid cast of local talent (Rachel Cairns, Colin Doyle, Craig
Lauzon and Jada Rifkin) in PopUp Theatre Canada’s Canadian premiere production.
Goblin:Macbeth, Thurs., Oct. 3 – Sun., Oct. 27 (Tarragon Theatre, $72)
A trio of green monsters are taking over the Tarragon Mainspace. In this touring Spontaneous Theatre creation by Rebecca Northan and Bruce Horak, goblins find a copy of Shakespeare’s complete works and give Macbeth a shot, resulting in comedy, tragedy and a splatter of improvisation. Goblin:Macbeth has so resonated with audiences that the company has already premiered Goblin:Oedipus. We’re excited to see why.
13 Plays About ADHD All at The Same Time, Fri., Oct. 4 – Sun., Oct. 13 (The Assembly Theatre, $30)
“Can I create a play so dumb that they take my Dora [Award] away?” asks writer-director Alec Toller in the press release for this Circlesnake Productions comedy, which is apparently like if The Muppets were trying to put on a seminar about ADHD but a bunch of Canadian actors (Sharjil Rasool, Jillian Welsh, Danny Pagett, Chloe Sullivan and Jon Blair) tried to interject with their own ideas about what should be on stage.
Nabucco, Fri., Oct. 4 – Fri., Oct. 25 (Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, from $35) The Canadian Opera Company is presenting this Verdi opera about a Babylonian king for the first time ever, and the production, courtesy of the Lyric Opera of Chicago, sounds
Continued on page 22
From Away” comes back. Now playing, Royal Alexandra Theatre.
HONEY
NOVEMBER 21DECEMBER 1,
mammoth — the cast features over 120 performers, including baritone Roland Wood in the titular role and soprano Tamara Wilson as the female lead.
7a*11d International Festival of Performance Art, Tue., Oct. 8 – Sun., Oct. 13 (630 Queen St. East, PWYC from $0)
I DON’T EVEN MISS YOU
OCT OBER 31NOVEMBER 10, 2024
My Name is Lucy Barton, Fri., Oct. 18 – Sun., Nov. 3 (Bluma Appel Theatre, from $48)
If anyone can make a solo show in the 867-seat Bluma Appel Theatre work, it’s Maev Beaty, one of Canada’s most consistently exciting stage actors. Produced by Canadian Stage, this adaptation of Elizabeth Strout’s popular novel, about a woman reuniting with her mother after several years, should give her the chance to flex her whole arsenal of acting skills.
The 14th edition of English Canada’s oldest performance art festival will feature nightly evening performances at 630 Queen St. E., along with additional performances, talks and exhibitions at Hart House and 401 Richmond. Featured artists hail from Germany, Sweden, Brazil, Japan and more. All programming is free.
Next Stage Theatre Festival, Wed., Oct. 16 – Sun., Oct. 27 (Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, $30)
This curated fall festival from the folks at Toronto Fringe returns for its 17th iteration with six full productions: Keir Cutler’s solo show Civilized, which satirizes a 19th-century civil servant in favour of residential schools; Louise Casemore’s two-hander Gemini, a dive into the dynamic between a bartender and one of her regular customers; Lyndsey Bourne and Sam Kaseta’s Vancouver-set musical I Was Unbecoming Then, which explores the peaks and valleys of high school choir practice; Frankétienne’s 1978 play The Noose, about two Haitian immigrants in a New York basement apartment; Lou Campbell’s solo show Prude, an enigmatic blend of standup and drag; and Bonnie
The Flin Flon Cowboy, Sat., Oct. 19 – Sat., Nov. 2 (Theatre Passe Muraille, from $15)
A Flin Flon Cowboy Collective and TPM co-production in association with Why Not Theatre, this new autobiographical country musical chronicles the life of Ken Harrower, a gay and disabled singer. The story begins in Ken’s birthplace of Flin Flon, MB, before diving into his harrowing experience of Winnipeg’s foster care system.
What the Constitution Means to Me, Thurs., Oct. 31 – Sun., Nov. 9 (Soulpepper Theatre, from $40)
Timed to overlap with the upcoming U.S. election, this hit one-woman play by American playwright Heidi Schreck invites audiences to consider their relationship to their country’s foundational principles. And, lest you worry it won’t be relevant to Toronto audiences, Shreck has reimagined the parts of the script for this Canadian run co-produced by Nightwood Theatre. Directed by Soulpepper artistic director Weyni Mengesha; performed by Amy Rutherford.
Duff’s drama This Feels Like the End, which asks what would happen if the sun suddenly stopped rising.
Continued from page 21
Goblins: Macbeth premiere Oct. 3 - 27
iny Bear Jaws calls itself “an indie theatre company with teeth.” I Don’t Even Miss You, its upcoming show at Factory Theatre about a non-binary computer programmer named Basil waking up in a kind of dystopia, proåmises to demonåstrate why.
In a Zoom interview from their home in Edmonton, playwright-performer Elena Belyea says that at the beginning of each Tiny Bear Jaws creation process, they and collaborator Tori Morrison set creative constraints for themselves. “We always make a list of goals of things that we’re interested in learning or doing,” says Belyea. “For this one, I was like, ‘I want to sing and dance it.’ And me and Tori had never created music together, so we wanted to do that. And we also knew that we wanted the video to play a really big role narratively; the way Tori said it is that ‘I want to make a show where if the video doesn’t work, the show wouldn’t work.’”
Directed by Emma Tibaldo, the resulting
By Liam Donovan
SANKOFA: THE SOLDIER’S
production is billed as a “pop solo show” exploring grief, love, artificial intelligence and legacy. Belyea says they’re drawn to solo performance because they love connecting with audiences. “I don’t know that I’ve ever written a solo show that has a fourth wall,” they say. “I’m almost always speaking directly to the audience, and it’s my favourite thing to do. I also love writing fourth-wall stuff for other people — having other people act my text is one of my favourite experiences in theatre. But in terms of being a performer, what I find really exciting is getting to go out and have my scene partner be the audience.” Toronto theatregoers will be Belyea’s next scene partners, something Belyea and their collaborators are pumped for. “We’re just so excited about it,” they say. “Most of my team are emerging or mid-career queer and trans artists coming out from Alberta to do it, and everyone’s, like, doing backflips… we just cannot wait to share it with the Toronto audience.”
Elena Belyea
Screens
TIFF PREVIEW REVIEWS
The Wild Robot
What: Movie, 102 mins.
When: Fri., Sept. 27
Where: In theatres
Genre: Family
Rating: NNN
Why you should go: When a sophisticated helper robot named ROZZUM 7134 (Lupita Nyong’o)
Roz — crashes onto a remote island, they are confused by the absence of humans to help. The animation is lovely and while The Wild Robot ’s social commentary feels a little muddled, it hardly matters, considering how well the film delivers on inventiveness, humour and some very cute woodland creatures.
Megalopolis
What: Movie, 138 mins.
When: Fri., Sept. 27
Where: In theatres
Genre: Drama
Rating: NNN
Why you should go: After decades of development Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis has finally arrived. And in some regards, it does not disappoint. It is both a singular, uncompromising vision from one of our greatest directors and an uneven, sometimes incoherent smorgasbord that takes on more than it can reasonably carry.
Piece by Piece
Where: In theatres
What: Movie, 93 mins.
When: Fri., Oct. 11
Genre: Rockumentary
Rating: NNNNN (out of 5)
Why you should watch: Oscar-winning documentarian makes wildly inventive film using Lego to tell the story of hip hop producer, singer and fashion mogul Pharrell Williams
Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Morgan Neville (20 Feet from Stardom [2013], Won’t
You Be My Neighbour [2018]) inventively tells the story of rap producer, singer and fashion mogul Pharrell Williams — using Lego — for one of the most unique and satisfying films on view at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF)! This strange device is not a gimmick but an incredible tool for taking us “inside” Williams’ brain, and it allows the director to visually represent every essential step of Williams’ “rags-to-riches” journey, including the singer’s “ability” to see colours generated by music. The film’s exhilarating colour pallet is reminiscent of Inside Out 2 and, in many ways, the film is just as joyful. What else would you expect from a film about the life of the guy who had a huge hit with a song called Happy ?
No Dress Rehearsal
Where: Prime Video
What: Miniseries, When: Now playing
Genre: Rockumentary
Rating: NNNNN (out of 5)
Why you should watch: Honest look at “Canada’s band,” including great early days, high school footage up to the incredible final tour and devastating passing of
lead singer Gord Downie. Filmmaker Mike Downie has created an honest and revealing look at the Tragically Hip — “Canada’s band” — that his late brother Gord fronted. He led a bunch of buddies who met in high school in Kingston and eventually conquered the country with their raw blues rock songs that tell unapologetically Canadian stories. Despite being directed by Gord’s brother, it’s not hagiography. With enough rough edges revealed, it creates a compelling narrative that sees high school pals achieve unimagined success that occasionally leads to growing distance — literal and metaphorical — between them until Gord’s illness makes all disputes suddenly incidental.
Saturday Night
Where: In theatres
What: Movie, 109 mins.
When: Fri., Oct. 11
Genre: Drama
Rating: NNNN (out of 5)
Why you should watch: Frantic, frenetic look in what feels like real time at the creation and airing of the first-ever episode of TV’s Saturday Night Live
Canadian director Jason Reitman (Up in the Air, Juno) expertly captures the chaotic energy and excitement that powered TV’s Saturday Night Live the night of its television debut, Oct. 11, 1975, and throughout its early years when it inventively and dangerously pushed the
Continued on page 26
Piece
By Gabrielle Marceau and Michael Hollett
More Joker, A different man, Wicked and Saturday night among fall film highlights
Continued from page 25
boundaries of what was acceptable — and funny — on TV. Back when Saturday Night Live still felt radical.
Never Let Go
What: Movie, 101 mins.
When: Fri., Sept. 27
Where: In theatres
Genre: Horror
Why you should watch: Get scary season started early with the psychological horror Never Let Go , starring Halle Berry as a single mother who lives deep in the woods with her two kids, sheltering them from mysterious forces beyond their doors. But are these mysterious foes real or products of a paranoid parent? It’s been a big year for horror (from Maxxxine to Longlegs), and if this fall’s offerings seem a bit less buzzworthy, there are sure to be some gems among the fall horror slate.
Joker: Folie à Deux
What: Movie, 138 mins.
When: Fri., Oct. 4
Where: In theatres
Genre: Drama
Why you should watch: You probably won’t be able to escape the long-awaited (or long-dreaded) followup to Todd Phillip’s controversial Joker (2019), the aptly titled Joker: Folie à Deux. Joaquin Phoenix returns as Arthur Fleck, the maladapted wannabe stand-up comic who finds love behind bars with Harley Quinn (Lady Gaga). And just in case the film didn’t sound wild enough, it’s also a jukebox musical. Folie à Deux is shaping up to be the most debated Hollywood film of the year.
Nickel Boys
What: Movie, 140 mins.
When: Fri., Oct. 25
Where: In theatres
Genre: Drama
Why you should watch: RaMell
Ross’s lyrical and experimental documentary Hale County
This Morning, This Evening was among the best films of 2018. The director’s followup, an adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer-prize-winning novel
The Nickel Boys , is decidedly different fare. Starring Aunjanue Ellis and Ethan Herisse, this drama follows two Black teens enduring the brutal realities of a reform school in Jim Crowera Florida. Although the film seems aimed at a wide audience, hopefully, this foray into the mainstream will have the energy and originality of Ross’s debut.
Wicked
What: Movie.
When: Fri., Nov. 22
Where: In theatres
Genre: Musical
Why you should watch: After what seems like years of build up — and one celebrity scandal — Part 1 of the big-screen adaptation of Wicked finally hits theatres in November. Directed by Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians), the film stars Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda, two unlikely friends who become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good in the Land of Oz. Based on a Broadway show that’s been running for two decades.
Nightbitch
What: Movie, 98 mins.
When: Fri., Dec. 6
Where: In theatres
Genre: Thriller
Why you should watch: Could the role that finally wins Amy Adams her Oscar be that of a dog? In Nightbitch, directed by Marielle Heller (A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Can You Ever Forgive Me?) Adams stars as a frazzled and fed-up stayat-home mom who begins to suspect that she’s turning into a dog. This biting and slightly surreal take on motherhood has the benefit of an amazing cast.
INDEPENDENT and INTERNATIONAL FILMS
The Substance
What: Movie, 140 mins.
When: Fri., Sept. 20
Where: In theatres
Genre: Drama
Why you should watch: The buzziest film to come out of this year’s Cannes is a campy and disturbing candy-coloured horror about aging. Starring Demi Moore, in what might be the role of a lifetime, as a former actress turned fitness influencer who is about to be traded up for a younger model. But then she discovers a treatment that will allow her to relive her glory days, at a bloody cost. Directed by Coralie Fargeat (Revenge) and also starring Margaret Qualley and Dennis Quaid, The Substance is a wildly entertaining film reserved exclusively for those with strong stomachs.
A Different Man
What: Movie, 112 mins.
When: Fri., Sept. 20
Where: In theatres
Genre: Drama
Why you should watch: A Different Man, directed by Aaron Schimberg (Chained for Life), is a psychological thriller starring Sebastian Stan (I, Tonya), Renate Reinsve (Worst Person in the World ) and Adam Pearson (Under the Skin). The film follows a man who undergoes reconstructive surgery and becomes obsessed with the actor cast as him in a play about his life. With an offbeat and unsettling approach, Schimberg’s film is sure to be a tense, eerie exploration of identity and perception.
Exhibiting Forgiveness
What: Movie, 117 mins.
When: Fri., Oct. 18
Where: In theatres
Genre: Drama
Why you should watch: Exhibiting Forgiveness, directed by painter Titus Kaphar, making his directorial debut, follows a successful painter who chan-
nels his troubled childhood into his artwork but struggles to confront his past when his estranged father reappears to ask for forgiveness. Starring André Holland and Andra Day, and featuring Kaphar’s own artwork, Exhibiting Forgiveness looks to be a nuanced and beautifully composed exploration of the legacies of family and the work of maintaining connection.
Anora
What: Movie, 139 mins.
When: Fri., Oct. 18
Where: In theatres
Genre: Drama
Why you should watch: This year’s Palme d’Or winner, Anora is a frenetic and funny dive into the nightlife in New York’s outer boroughs. Directed by Sean Baker (The Florida Project, Tangerine) the film stars Mikey Madison (Better Things) as Anora, a sex worker who gets swept up in a romance with Vanya, a Russian rich kid. Their affair ignites tension among his family, leading to a frenzied and unpredictable odyssey. With Baker’s affection for American sub-cultures and Madison’s wildly compelling performance, Anora is a must-see.
A Real Pain
What: Movie, 90 mins.
When: Fri., Oct. 18
Where: In theatres
Genre: Comedy
Why you should watch: A Real Pain is an independent film directed by and starring Jesse Eisenberg. The story follows the anxious David (Eisenberg) and his unpredictable, foul-mouthed cousin Benji (Kieran Culkin) as they tour Poland after the death of their grandmother. As they travel, they try to balance their own demons and the tension between them with the enormity of reckoning with the reason they are in Poland: the legacy of the Holocaust. Eisenberg’s second directorial effort appears to be a thoughtful and funny showcase for the two stars idiosyncratic performance styles.
FREE FILMS
Silent Movie Day Screening: The Patsy
What: Movie, 88 mins.
When: Fri., Sept. 27
Where: Media Commons Theatre, Robarts Library.
Genre: Comedy
Why you should watch: For Silent Movie Day, take advantage of a free screening at Robarts Library of The Patsy – not the Jerry Lewis flick-- by legendary director King Vidor. The film stars Marion Davies as a starry-eyed teenager determined to steal her older sister’s glamorous boyfriend. The Patsy is a charming comedy about persona, sibling rivalry and the manic longing particular to teenagers.
FREE MOVIES AT THE LIBRARY
What: Movie, various runtimes. When: All fall
Where: Toronto Public Library branches.
Genre: Various
Why you should watch: If there is one institution in this city that works well (last year’s cyberattack notwithstanding), it’s the Toronto Public Library (TPL). Chances are, you don’t live too far from a branch that offers free public screenings this fall. Some standouts include The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019), on Oct. 24 at the Palmerston branch; the Ken Loach drama The Old Oak (2023), on Nov. 26 at Riverdale; a talk on time travel in the movies by astronomer Tom Vassos on Sept. 25 at the Reference Library; and a screening of the 1942 horror classic Cat People at Don Mills on Oct. 11 (tea will be served). Check the TPL website for screenings in your neighbourhood.
FESTIVALS
Toronto Palestine Film Festival
What: Festival
When: Wed., Sept. 25 – Wed., Oct. 2
Where: TIFF Lightbox
Genre: Various
Why you should watch: More urgent than ever, Toronto’s festival of film, music, visual and performing arts from Palestine returns this fall at the TIFF Lightbox. Standouts include the opening night film The Teacher by Farah Nabulsi, about an educator’s determination to teach his students amidst the occupation, and Bye Bye Tiberias by Lina Soualem, a thoughtful documentary about Hiam Abbass, an actress who returns to her village in Palestine after
many years away. There will also be a selection of short films by local Palestinian filmmakers, a concert by Nai Barghouti and an art exhibit by Ibrahim Abusitta and Malak Mattar on display at TIFF. All films will be available to watch online during the festival.
Motorcycle Film Festival
What: Festival
When: Fri., Oct. 4 – Sat., Oct. 5
Where: Paradise Theatre
Genre: Various
Why you should watch: If you think Toronto has a film festival for everything, you’re right — even one for motorcycle lovers. The Toronto Motorcycle Film Festival a rousing mix of films for die-hards and casual viewers alike. Highlights include Falling, a doc about extreme riding, and The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride, chroniclin a global charitable ride.
Reelasian Film Festival
What: Festival
When: Sun., Nov. 13 – Thurs., Nov. 24
Where: In theatres
Genre: Various
Why you should watch: Toronto’s showcase of contemporary Asian cinema is back for its 28th year with features, shorts and events. One of the city’s most
vibrant and community-oriented festivals, it features expert panels, talent labs, pitch competitions and, of course, incredible films you won’t be able to see anywhere else.
CLASSICS
Hellboy and Jaws
What: Movie, 122 mins. and 124 mins.
When: Wed., Sept. 25 and Sat., Oct. 12
Where: Fox Theatre
Genre: Comedy
Why you should watch: Celebrate comics this fall at The Fox with two related screenings. In honour of Comic Book Day on Sept. 25, the Fox screens a director’s cut of Guillermo Del Toro’s 2004 adaptation of Mike Mignola’s moody and intelligent comic series, Hellboy. And on Oct. 12, join graphic novel author Paul Gilligan as he launches his new graphic memoir, Boy vs. Shark , about a kid obsessed with the movie Jaws followed by — you guessed it — a screening of Jaws (1975)!
Do You Like Gore? A Lucio Fulci
Retrospective
What: Movie, 97 mins.
When: Sat., Oct. 19 – Fri. Oct. 25
Where: The Revue Theatre Genre: Comedy
Why you should watch: Horror aficionados know the most glorious gore can be found in the Italian genre, giallo. And one of the most revered giallo filmmakers is Lucio Fulci. This fall, the Revue is spotlighting eight films from the auteur’s grisly oeuvre, including 4K restorations and 35mm prints. If you’re new to the director, start with City of the Living Dead (Sept. 22) and The Beyond (Sept. 23). But a fair warning: these are not for the squeamish! If you’re looking for slightly lighter Halloween fare, check out the Revue’s screenings of John Carpenter’s Prince of Darkness (Oct. 24) or Mel Brook’s Young Frankenstein (Oct. 31).
STREAMING
His Three Daughters
What: Movie, 103 mins.
When: Now
Where: Netflix
Genre: Drama
Why you should watch: The thoughtful, intimate drama His Three Daughters was a hit at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, and you don’t have to wait another year to see it.
Directed by Azazel Jacobs and starring Natasha Lyonne, Elizabeth Olsen and Carrie Coon, the
film follows three sisters who reunite in their father’s home as he lives out his last days. Nuanced, challenging and deeply felt, His Three Daughters could very well be the best thing to appear on Netflix all year.
The Knowing
What: Series, 4 episodes, 60 mins.
When: Now
Where: CBC Gem
Genre: Documentary
Why you should watch: One of the most anticipated Canadian titles to stream this year is Tanya Talaga’s piercing and personal documentary series The Knowing. The series follows Talaga as she investigates the disappearance of a family member and examines the history and ongoing legacy of the residential school system. The Knowing thoughtfully blends lyrical narration, archival footage and first-hand experience to tell a wide-ranging story of survival and solidarity. And if you still haven’t got your documentary fix, check out Paid in Full: The Battle For Black Music by Idris and Sabrina Elba, now steaming..
Abbott Elementary, Season 4
What: Series, 22 Episodes, 22 mins
When: Wed., Oct. 9
Where: Paramount +
Genre: Comedy
Why you should watch: The fourth season of beloved comedy Abbott Elementary returns after its Emmy-winning and record-breaking third season. This mockumentary — set in an underfunded, elementary school in Philadelphia with predominantly Black students and staff — is heartwarming and addictive, judging by the rabid fans it has amassed over its short run. If you need something a little more hopeful this fall, this is your show.
Dune: Prophecy
What: Series, 6 Episodes.
When: November
Where: HBO/ MAX
Genre: Sci-Fi
Why you should watch: Denis Villeneuve’s Dune films were massive hits but only covered a small section of Frank Herbert’s expansive Dune universe. This fall, HBO Max premieres a series dedicated to the Bene Gesserit, a powerful clan of female soothsayers that manipulate the forces of the imperium from behind the scenes. Starring Emily Watson, Mark Strong and Olivia Williams, the series traces the origins of the sect. A teaser trailer promises Villeneuve’s signature muted palette and grand scale.
The Wild Robot
Comedy
What: Andrew Phung and Friends: A Night of Improv, part of Comedy Is Art Festival
When: Fri., Oct. 25, 7:30 p.m.
Where: The Theatre Centre, 1115 Queen St. W. Why you should go: Phung returns to his roots with a night of live improv comedy at the Comedy Is Art festival, alongside yet-to-be-announced special guests.
Andrew Phung interview
Andrew Phung: Comedy is for everyone
‘Run the Burbs’ star says comedy was a ‘low-barrier’ art form for him
By William Molls
Andrew Phung is thrilled to be performing live comedy again.
You’d be forgiven for assuming the star of CBC’s Run the Burbs and Kim’s Convenience might be feeling a bit jaded about the state of the industry after CBC chose not to renew Burbs for a fourth season — a move that Ann Pornel claimed in the Toronto Star was a “death knell” for Canadian TV.
His role as Kimchee in Kim’s Convenience led to him becoming a five-time Canadian Screen Award winner. CBC’s decision not to renew Burbs came on the heels of yet another Screen Award nomination — just as the show was finding an audience in the United States on CW and Hulu.
That disappointing news came only a few months after the Just for Laughs comedy festival — a behemoth in the industry for over 40 years, for better or worse — declared bankruptcy, closing off yet another avenue for up-and-coming Canadian talent to possibly find wider, mainstream audiences — even if it was usually as the opening acts for the more famous U.S. stars headlining the festival.
Yet Phung’s enthusiasm for comedy is dauntless, most especially when discussing his favourite sketch and stand-up performers in Canada right now.
Talking about his Burbs co-stars, Phung repeatedly compares the show’s cast to assembling the Avengers of Canadian comedy. He recalls
a moment in the first season when he found himself remarking on the “dynamite lineup” he was surrounded by.
“It was myself, Jonathan Langdon, Aurora Browne, Ali Hassan, Chris Locke, Dakota Hebert, and we were celebrating Candy Palmater,” a veteran performer who had a recurring role on Burbs and tragically passed away in 2021. The show’s second season is dedicated to her memory.
It’s clear throughout our conversation how much Phung enjoys not just performing comedy but also sharing the spotlight with other talented performers.
“I keep a Rolodex of funny people I see out in real life. When I finish the improv show, I’ll pop in for, like, the last 20 minutes of the stand-up show, just to see who’s doing what. Or, with improv, I’m like, ‘Oh, I’ve never played with you before,’ and I’ll make a note of who that person is,” Phung says.
Phung has been reviewing that Rolodex ahead of bringing Andrew Phung and Friends to the Comedy Is Art festival at the Theatre Centre in October.
“When they asked me to do it — they’ve asked me for a couple of years now — whenever I looked at the lineup, I was always like, ‘This lineup is so good,’” Phung says.
But it was performing his Friends show at Edmonton’s Improvaganza festival in June that reminded him how much fun performing live comedy can be. “So, when this opportunity came, I was feeling it, and I was ready to hop back in.”
The Theatre Centre festival’s message — that comedy is worthy of support, like any other kind of performance art — is one that resonates personally, Phung says. “Comedy is art. Comedy changed my life. It was a low-barrier art form I could access,” he says. It was attending free improv classes at the Loose Moose Theatre in Calgary as a teenager that opened up the world of performance art to him, Phung says. “If I had asked my parents for money to take, like, a drama class, they would have given me a hard ‘No,’ right? But, with comedy and improv, we did it for free. They trained us for free.” Phung describes how he and his friends would ride the bus from Calgary’s suburbs to get stage time at Loose Moose. “We were called ‘The Asian Invasion’ because the theatre had never seen so many Asian kids show up to do comedy.”
“There’s no barriers to it,” Phung says. “It was really the only art form that we could participate in where there were no barriers. I’ll say, all these years later, those improv classes changed my life, and they changed the lives of all those kids because we’re all working in the creative sector in some way, shape or form.”
There’s a sense of urgency to the festival’s message this year, Phung says. “I think that comedy, right now, is coming in a time where we need it the most, where the world is very serious. Things in the world
aren’t very good, and comedy has a way of processing that.”
It’s also a time when many Canadian performers are feeling the pressure to leave for greener pastures and the allure of achieving mainstream success in the United States.
“We have this thing in Canada where we love supporting comedians — once they leave the country and make it big. When they come home it’s like, ‘Oh, they’re Canadian!’ But let’s support them while they’re here,” Phung says.
Kim’s Convenience introduced stars like Phung, Simu Liu — now an internationally recognized member of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Shang Chi — and Star Wars and Avatar star Paul SunHyung Lee to mainstream audiences. “But people don’t realize Paul Sun-Hyung Lee had been grinding it out in Canadian theatre, television and film for decades.”
Phung graciously points out, despite CBC not renewing Burbs, they still deserve credit for New Wave of Standup on CBC Gem, which has featured rising Canadian stand-up stars like Zabrina Douglas, Tamara Shevon and his Last One Laughing Canada co-star, Brandon Ash-Mohammed.
“Let’s just shout each other out. Let’s recognize there’s not enough opportunities for all of us, so let’s go out there and share everyone’s stuff: their work, their shows, their content,” Phung says. “Let’s be each other’s biggest fan.”
What: Comedy Is Art Festival
Where: The Theatre Centre, 1115 Queen St. W.
When: Tue., Oct. 22 to Sat., Oct. 26
This year’s edition of the Theatre Centre’s Comedy Is Art festival is a star-studded showcase of Canadian comedy talent ready to fill that Just for Laughs-sized hole in your comedy schedule. Highlights include:
What: Heat Wave Comedy
When: Thurs., Oct. 24, 7:30 pm
Why you should go: Clif Knight hosts a special, festival edition of his regular stand-up showcase, featuring Bita Joudaki, Danish Anwar, Foad HP, Lou Laurence and Nathan Hare.
What: Bitty-Bat and ‘Gender? I Hardly Know Them’
When: Fri., Oct. 25, 9:30 pm
Why you should go: Bitty-Bat promises “strange and hilarious” physical comedy from “not quite a vampire, not quite a bat” Emily Jeffers. Meanwhile, “Gender? I Hardly Know Them” is the top-tier queer sketch comedy duo Elena Belyea and Syd Campbell.
What: Tim Blair presents Diaspora Darlings and Hacket & Langdon
When: Sat., Oct. 26, 9:30 pm
Why you should go: The hilarious Tim Blair (CBC’s TallBoyz) closes out the festival with a stacked sketch showcase: Diaspora Darlings is an all-African comedy group that includes fellow TallBoy Guled Abdi, and Hackett & Langdon is the elite double act of Brandon Hackett and the immeasurably funny Jonathan Langdon (Run the Burbs).
The Closer
Doug Ford’s war on Toronto
Cynical premier happy to sell out his city for votes province-wide
By Michael Hollett
Doug Ford and his family have been waging war on Toronto — the city they have claimed to serve — for decades, and he’s had his hands around Toronto’s throat since he barged into office as premier back in 2018, using Toronto-bashing as a wedge issue to win support from the rest of the province.
His recent attack on bike lanes, though in effect province-wide, is another stick in the spokes of autonomy for Toronto as Big Daddy Dougie continues to insist, he knows what’s best for the city — one he traverses in a massive black Escalade SUV — a city that rejected him when he ran for mayor in 2014.
The so-called People’s Premier made it clear he wasn’t going to take any shit from a bunch of downtown artsy twats when, within a year of taking office in 2018, he smashed his way into an in-progress, 2019 Toronto civic election, slashing what was to be a 47-person council to 25 — mid-campaign. The expansion of council was the result of a years-long process designed to increase representation, diversity
and, ultimately, democracy, in Toronto. But kicking Toronto in the crotch plays big in Belleville, Burk’s Falls and Bracebridge, so too bad if the most grassroots level of civic engagement — local council races — is cynically dispatched just as the communities are most engaged working for their candidates. And there was a huge financial cost to candidates who were not backed by party machines.
Ford’s lack of regard for democracy was further demonstrated by his “Golden Ticket” approach to city hall, his strong mayor powers giving the mayor a veto over council decisions that he brought in hoping buddy John Tory would get to use them. This tool has proven so vile and anti-democratic that almost no mayors in Ontario, certainly not Olivia Chow, are prepared to use it.
Now, as Ford grabs at populist pleasure points like Homer Simpson skipping through a field of chocolate daisies, all designed to supercharge his base so he can call an early election before Pierre Poilievre gets in and fouls the Conservative brand, going after
bike lanes is a gimme for gearing-up his city-hating, car-loving base. And as he relentlessly proceeds in his efforts to clear both Ontario Place and the Ontario Science Centre to make way for his buddies’ mega-projects despite citizens’ and city hall’s objections, Ford defiantly defends imposing his will on a city that doesn’t want this destruction, saying emphatically, “It’s called Ontario Place” as if to suggest his efforts are one more attempt to not have those city fucks tell the rest of the province what to do.
How cynical is it to wage war on your hometown to win favour with city-bashers across the province? No more cynical than a teetotaller chasing votes by increasing access to booze at the same time as attacking support services for people with addictions — safe injection sites — even though his own family has been wracked by substance abuse. Booze and drugs may have destroyed and damaged lives in the Ford family, but that’s not Dougie’s problem when there are votes to grab — consequences be damned.
Ford’s massive smile and bearpaw-sized handshake hide a cynical politician not afraid to take a chainsaw, metaphorically and literally, to the city he grew up in to win votes from the rest of the province. His vote-lust will only grow more demonic as he sniffs a chance to stay in power next year, gaining the chance to finish handing over massive swaths of Ontario to be bulldozed by his buddies.
While Mayor Olivia Chow has managed to navigate Ford and his ego to wrestle some concessions from the premier, like off-loading to the province the expressways he loves so much, his patronizing and paternalistic attitude towards her and the city is hard to endure as he makes it clear Chow and council are permitted to operate at his fiat.
I wrote a cover story in NOW Magazine in 2011 called “Rob Ford’s War on Toronto” detailing how the then-mayor and his then-councillor brother Doug were selling out the city to appease suburban, downtown-hating voters. Those were the days of Ford muttering, “Subways,
subways, subways” and calling it a transit plan as he tore up a funded Transit City while the brothers’ idea of urban visioning was putting up a Ferris wheel and mega-mall on the waterfront. A year later, I was in then-mayor Ford’s office for a meeting with him, and he was giddy to show me around. I was stunned to see three NOW magazine covers on the wall, all of them slamming him. Apparently, the mayor missed the point. But the biggest NOW cover on his wall, blown up to massive proportions, was the one depicting him in an army helmet with the headline “Rob Ford’s War on Toronto.” Unapologetic — he was proud to be seen as kicking Toronto’s ass. And like his troubled little brother, Big Brother Doug is happy to toss the needs of Toronto into the flames of an election campaign if it can win him votes. It’s a dangerous time for the city as Ford chases votes at Toronto’s expense and a time when we must be prepared to fight rather than crumble under the premier’s relentless attacks.
