This week in theatre rounds up the most noteworthy live theatre playing right now in Toronto. It includes just-opened shows as well as productions that are about to close.

The Situationists / Buddies in Bad Times Theatre / 8:00pm/2:30pm / $26
The Situationist International was a group of Marxist revolutionaries that attacked capitalist structures for being the major barrier towards the fulfillment of human desire. Harnessing the alternative panache of this radical group, Sky Gilbert's newest play considers the role of sex in revolutionary acts. With a topic that relates directly to the artistic impulse of the theatre--to queer and question from an alternative voice--The Situationists is sure to be a provocative look at the complex relationship between sex and politics. Opens Wednesday.

This Party's a Riot / Second City / 7:30pm/10:30pm (Sat) / $24 - $29
Second City's troupe takes the pulse of current irrationality and sends it up for all its worth in This Party's a Riot. They aren't starved for material. Between Ford nation and Sheen winning, the current state of things is ripe for commentary from one of Toronto's funniest tickets. Thankfully, Second City helps us make sense of it all...OK maybe not all, but a good 10% of it.

Project 3/2/1 / Dancemakers Studio 313 - Distillery / 8:00pm/4:00pm / $25
One of Toronto's best dance companies invites you to join in on a fluid, unpretentious evening of dance. Project 3/2/1 poses the question, What happens when you make a dance that has a new cast every night? The answer: lots of stubbed toes? With three choreographers, two from Quebec and one from Ontario, and six dancers presenting roles on an alternating basis, the troupe promises no two shows will be the same.

Diving Normal / Toronto Free Gallery / 8pm/2pm / $15-$20
Red One Theatre Collective is committed to presenting "immediate" and "visceral" site-specific shows that challenge traditional dramatic structures. Their latest presentation, a co-production with Tuning Puck Co-op, is Ashlin Halfnight's Diving Normal. This one has interesting written all over it. Halfnight graduated from Harvard, spent two years playing in the NHL, and then eventually picked up an MFA in playwriting at Columbia. How many playwrights can claim a similar journey? A hit from the 2006 New York Fringe Festival, the show opens at the Toronto Free Gallery on April 12th.

The Simian Showcase / The Imperial Pub / Friday 8pm Saturday 8pm/11pm / $10
Self-billed as "Toronto's Geekist Theatre Company," Monkeyman Productions presents The Simian Showcase, a collection of four short plays about video games, steampunk, and LARPing. If you know what LARPing means, then this is the night for you. If you don't partake in much Live Action Role-Playing (I put google to work), a play about steampunk inspired time travel might be more your bag. Its setting at The Imperial Pub also implies that you might be able to sip a beverage while watching. Regardless, four plays (Chun Li, Double or Nothing, Howard, and Test) for the price of one is a good deal.