SCRUTINY | From Men In Tights To Lorcan Blood Wedding – A Midsummer Night’s Dream At The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse

By Michelle Assay on December 9, 2025

A forbidding, clinically white stage is not what comes naturally to mind for A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the candlelit Sam Wanamaker Playhouse.

SCRUTINY | Performances And Dazzling Production Values Elevate Mirvish’s We Will Rock You

By Paula Citron on December 8, 2025

The production of We Will Rock You currently playing in Toronto is definitely entertaining, well performed, holds up well and is certainly dazzling to watch.

SCRUTINY | Aszure Barton & Ambrose Akinmusire’s A a | a B : B E N D Offers A Powerful Merging Of Concert And Dance

By Paula Citron on December 5, 2025

A a | a B : B E N D, the joint creation of New York–based Canadian choreographer Aszure Barton and American composer and trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, is a daring piece

SCRUTINY | Back To Basics Approach Creates Moving Production Of The Sound Of Music At Mirvish

By Paula Citron on December 2, 2025

An unsentimental approach to The Sound of Music at Mirvish reveals the musical’s original spirit, and in doing so, it got to me in ways I had not anticipated.

SCRUTINY | Alex Pauk’s Esprit Orchestra Creates A Luminous Concert Of Sound

By Ludwig Van on December 2, 2025

Esprit Orchestra is in Toronto unique in producing a distinctive sonic style that can be heard and enjoyed in all of their concerts, including this opening to their 43rd season.

SCRUTINY | Lester Trips (Theatre)’s Public Consumption Moderates the Algorithm

By Ludwig Van on December 1, 2025

Lauren Gillis and Alaine Hutton return with a comment on #MeToo, obscenity and AI with Lester Trips (Theatre)’s Public Consumption, presented by Factory Theatre.

SCRUTINY | Opera By Request’s Salome Dazzles With Vocal And Dramatic Talent

By Anya Wassenberg on December 1, 2025

Opera by Request presented Richard Strauss’ Salome — a tale of lust, depravity, obsession, and sin, where redemption is offered, and summarily ignored.

SCRUTINY | Double Dixit: Lotti & Handel: Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra & Chamber Choir Offer A Double Bill Of Psalm 110

By Anya Wassenberg on December 1, 2025

Psalm 110 inspired both Antonio Lotti and George Frideric Handel, both works contrasted in this concert by Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir.

SCRUTINY | South Korean Pianist Seong-Jin Cho Dazzled in Toronto Recital

By Denise Lai on December 1, 2025

South Korean pianist Seong-Jin Cho came to Koerner Hall for the third time for a solo recital, and again sold out the house months before his appearance.

SCRUTINY | Kanika Ambrose’s Moonlight Schooner Offers A Nuanced Portrait Of Windrush Caribbean Lives And Loves

By Anya Wassenberg on November 27, 2025