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 Golden Dragon / Tarragon Theatre / 8:00pm/2:30pm / $21-$24
I'd see anything written by Roland Schimmelpfennig at least once. His play Peggy Pickit Sees the Face of God, as part of Another Africa, was one of the strongest plays this past fall. The Golden Dragon takes place inside a busy restaurant where an illegal immigrant searching for his lost sister is kept a secret by the kitchen staff. Schimmelpfennig writes characters with a brutal honesty in situations that force them to display their true colours.

Now in its fifth year, the Next Stage Theatre Festival showcases the best of independent work, culled from the stages of Fringe, Summerworks, and everything in between. This year, there are ten shows running in the three spaces at Factory Theatre from January 4-15. Most of the shows have proven themselves in other venues, so choose blind to have your expectations exceeded. These six are the ones I'm keen to see.

Green Day's journey, from that of a young American punk band to the voice of a generation, is one of the most compelling stories in contemporary music. Their 2004 album American Idiot, the inspiration for the Tony-Award Nominated musical currently on stage at the Toronto Centre for the Arts, is an explosive portrait of the apathetic youth that inhabit the suburbs of middle-America.

This week in theatre rounds up the most noteworthy live theatre playing right now in Toronto. There are a number of shows full of holiday cheer that run until the New Year.

The Story / Evergreen Brick Works / 7:30pm/4:30pm / $10-$25
With temperatures lower than usual at this point in the year, there is no excuse to miss The Story, an outdoor walking tour of the Evergreen Brick Works where the nativity story unfolds at each stop. With a different Toronto based choir each night, audience members will meet shepherds, wise men, the angel Gabriel, and the iconic couple. In the style of the mystery plays of Medieval Europe, Martha Ross has created a memorable holiday experience at one of Toronto's environmental gems.

Reviews of Quidam, directed by Franco Dragone and Parfumerie, directed by Morris Panych

If you're looking for last minute gifts, theatre tickets are just a short click away. There are currently a lot of options on Toronto stages to get you in the holiday spirit. Here are two of the shows a part of this year's holiday offerings.

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.

Quidam / Cirque du Soleil - Ricoh Coliseum / 7:30pm / 60+
Toronto has been lucky enough to have two Cirque shows — Totem and MJ The Immortal World Tour — make stops in our city. Quidam is the final offering of the year from the expanding Canadian circus troupe, which currently has 23 shows touring the globe. Young Zoé, neglected by her parents and seeking excitement, enters Quidam, a world of imagination in which embracing her own individuality allows for Zoé to find her true self.