High Life / Soulpepper - Young Centre / 7:30pm / $22-$68
Lee MacDougall's High Life is yet another successful Canadian work (internationally successful to be specific) revived to appear alongside Soulpepper's more conventional fare. In the play, four morphine addicts try to rob a bank machine — the fun is watching things spiral completely out of control. This time around, Stuart Hughes directs some of Soulpepper's best, Michael Hanrahan, Oliver Dennis, Diego Matamoros and Mike Ross.

Potted Potter / Mirvish - Panasonic Theatre / Various / $30-$70
For the muggles among us who know all the right ingredients to concoct an effective Polyjuice potion comes Potted Potter, a stage show which condenses all seven books of J.K. Rowling's wizard epic into 70 minutes. Written and performed by Daniel Clarkson and Jefferson Turner, two former Children's BBC hosts, the play traces Harry's journey with multiple costume changes, songs, and even a game of Quidditch.

The Golden Dragon / Tarragon Theatre / 8:00pm/2:30pm / $21-$24
The Golden Dragon is a more overt exercise in the magic realism that colours Roland Schimmelphennig's work. Ross Manson directs this energetic piece with an expert hand and negotiates the playwright's unconventional structure, where actors continually transition to characters beyond their gender and ethnicity. The play delights with its wild abandon for the laws of the universe. Check out my full review.

Pvt. Wars / Studio 561 / 8:00pm / $20
In Pvt. Wars, three Vietnam War veterans at an army hospital explore their physical and emotional wounds. The play follows in the traditional of examining the effects of war not on the battlefield, but in the everyday realities of the men who return home. James McLure's drama features Benjamin Blais, Joe Dinicol, and David Reale, with direction from Amos Crawley.

Rhubarb Festival / Buddies in Bad Times / Various / PWYC - $20
Buddies' annual festival of dynamic, politically-charged performance, the Rhubarb Festival, is set to takeover 12 Alexander for its second week of programming. Festival Director Laura Nanni has brought together over 100 artists for the festival's 33rd year of new work. The series programme will make your head spin with its sheer volume of emerging and queer artists. Visit our festival preview to learn more.

Image from the Rhubarb Festival

The series programme will make your head spin with its sheer volume of emerging and queer artists. Here's a look at some of the highlights:

The Gay Heritage Project / February 18 and 19 / 9:30pm/2:30pm
Developed as part of Buddies' Residency Program, The Gay Heritage Project features an-all start collection of queer creators and performers as they consider ideas of gay identity, community, and, of course, heritage. Collaborators include Damien Atkins, Ashlie Corcoran, Paul Dunn, Paul Halferty, Andrew Kushnir, and Kimberly Purtell. It promises to be an interesting exploration of the artefacts and events that could be said to define "gay heritage."

Justin Vivian Bond / February 9 and 10 / 10:00pm
One of the headliners at this year's festival, Mx Justin Vivian Bond (pronoun 'v') is a cabaret sensation from NYC. Bond is an artist, singer-songwriter, and performer whose work is infused with a questioning of gender constructs at each and every turn. At Rhubarb, Bond will perform from v first full-length solo album, Dendrophile, a collaboration with pianist Thomas Bartlett from Doveman. V will also read from v memoir Tango: My Childhood, Backwards and in High Heels. Recently the Guest Golden Globes Tweeter on Gawker, Bond is as witty as they come — it should be an entertaining show.

Mainstage Projects / Various times over two weeks
There are way too many intriguing performances on the mainstage to list, so I've included some that stand out: Adam Lazarus and Phil Luzi present a show about an off-day in the life of Norman called Bleed; Michael Rubenfeld directs Sarah Garton Stanley in a manifesto about failure called The Failure Show; Thomas Morgan-Jones and Clare Preuss explore the grips of MS in affliction, directed by Nina Lee Aquino; and Natasha Mytnowych directs Tommie-Amber Pirie, Phillip Riccio & Scott McCord in Marine Life, a play about sibling relationships at the end of the world.

CROTCH / February 16 and 17 / 9:30pm
Queer performer and choreographer Keith Hennessy makes a triumphant return to Canada with an elegy to queer art and personal heartache. You might not think the words elegy and heartache would be attached to a performance entitled CROTCH, but then, Rhubarb isn't like any festival. Hennessy is a renowned artist who links performance with community activism. He'll also be leading a workshop as part of the festival on the second weekend at Hub 14.

Mobile Works Series / Various times over two weeks / Free
The Department of Public Memory is running two interventions as part of the Mobile Works Series that expose the things we risk losing to municipal budget cuts — it could also be entitled Educating the Fords. The first on Saturday, February 12 at 2:00pm takes a trip to Scarborough to visit a bus route threatened by service reduction. On Wednesday, February 15 at 5:30pm, the team investigates the effects of cut backs at the Toronto Reference Library. If intervening ain't your thing, check out Tom & Gary's Decentralized Dance Party (a DDP) on Wednesday, February 15 at 7:30pm.

One-to-One Performance Series / Various times over three days / PWYC
Performance comes in different shapes and formats at Rhubarb this year. The One-to-One performance series pairs a single performer and one audience member at a time at The 519 Church Street Community Centre. The series includes a fortune-telling from tarot cards and canned food from David Frankovich, a conversation of all that's never said with Melissa D'Agostino, an opportunity to turn your body into a musical instrument with Kenji Ouellet, and an audio walking tour with Aynsley Moorhouse.

Young Creators' Unit Presentations / February 11, 12, 18, 19 / 6:00pm and 6:30pm
The highly-acclaimed and Dora-decorated Agokwe, written and performed by Waawaate Fobister, was once developed as part of the Young Creators Unit, during which time Fobister teamed up with director Ed Roy. This year, four promising young artists (age 25 and under) showcase their solo work: speaking of sneaking by Daniel Jelani Ellis, satan in me by cassy walker, Disease of Kings by Jamie Ebbs, and As in Happy by Michael David Lorsch.

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The Rhubarb Festival runs from February 8 to 19 at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. An evening pass is $20 with PWYC performances on Sundays.

Divisadero: A Performance / Theatre Passe Muraille / 8:00pm/2:00pm / $25-$35
A remount of the 2011 run, Divisadero: A Performance is a collaboration between Michael Ondaatje and Daniel Brooks — a pairing that's hard to beat. Ondaatje has adapted his novel Divisadero, a story that considers the influence of the past on the present, into a performance that's part musical, part poetry, part drama. It's not a play, in the traditional sense of the word, but it's bound to be thought-provoking.

In the Heights / Toronto Centre for the Performing Arts / 7:30pm/2:00pm / $50+
Dancap brings yet another Tony Award winning musical to Toronto with In The Heights. Set in a Latino neighbourhood in the Washington Heights district of New York City, the musical plays on familiar Broadway tropes as it blends together the dreams and aspirations of the characters that inhabit the heights with upbeat hip hop and Latin music. The 2008 Tony Award winner is in the city for a two week engagement.

Zero Hour / Bathurst Street Theatre / 8:00pm/3:00pm / $60+
You might not be familiar with the name Zero Mostel, the inspiration for the solo-show now back in Toronto, but you're bound to have come in contact with his work. He played Pseudolus on screen in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Max Bialystock in the original film version of The Producers, and Tevye on stage in Fiddler on the Roof. Playwright Jim Brochu, who garnered rave reviews for his portrayal the first time around, stars in the play.

Hughie / Theatre Centre / 8:00pm/2:00pm / $20-$25
The Alley Theatre Workshop brings us one of Eugene O'Neill's finest one-act plays, Hughie. In the two-hander, small-time hustler Erie and Charlie, a hotel night clerk, lament the death of Charlie's predecessor, the character for which the play is named. Hughie was the only surviving manuscript from a series of eight one-act plays that O'Neill planned in 1940. Set in the lobby of a seedy New York hotel, the play features Michael Kash and Dean Ifill with direction by David Ferry.

Visiting Mr. Green / Jane Mallett Theatre / 8:00pm/2:00pm / $40-$70
In Visiting Mr. Green, a young corporate executive found guilty of reckless driving is ordered to spend six months visiting the senior citizen he almost ran over. I'm not sure in which court room these decisions are handed down, but I'm sure it makes for decent drama. The Harold Green Jewish Theatre Company presents the play — billed as a comedy about friendship, family, and forgiveness — until February 18.

The Rhubarb Festival also kicks off this week at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. Look for a full festival preview to follow.

While the play purports to take place in 2080 in a post-apocalyptic world, little in the production conveys a sense of futurity, except for the pre-recorded portions of the play (trailers, interludes, the dumbshow, Hamlet's messages, ghosts and Fortinbras' entrance). Indeed these are the strongest aspects of production, with clear homages to the works of Taymor and Luhrmann in their texture and slickness. In person, there is so much more available to the eye. I discovered that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are in fact mutants, Siamese twins, and Hamlet's father wears a gas mask, features totally lost in the livestream.

The music is also good. The composers have done well to create a soundscape to guide the production. I think I heard echoes of Chopin's "Raindrop," and kept wishing for more music. The budget for this production was tight, with Ryerson providing the lion's share of support, both in-kind and monetary; all the actors are part of an equity co-op (each gets a share of the profits after costs are recovered). It's clear that most of the money went towards the very impressive and slick marketing of the production.

But Shakespeare is tough to do. The puppets and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are this production's mvps (played by Kevin Robinson, Devin Upham and Phil Borg, respectively). McDonald's Hamlet is too hammy for me, as are many of the other actors. Erynn Brook plays Ophelia well, making her Ophelia complicit with Hamlet to convey a stronger sense of their relationship. Ralph Small plays a sympathetic Claudius, often difficult to achieve. McDonald is strongest in those scenes with a comedic overlay and may indeed have a future in action. A nod goes to the use of silk aerials, which are particularly clever and effective in one scene.

Hamlet Live is stronger in aim than execution. Spend the extra money for the in-person show.

For information on future performances, check the schedule here.

Guest review from Sheetal Lodhia

It's a play that's set to divide Toronto audiences, not necessarily for Egoyan's direction of the piece, as the fanfare would suggest, but rather for Crimp's fractured portrait of war and a disappointing performance from the play's lead.

Alongside a chorus of helpers, the tortured household of a General at war unravels under the pressure of the father's decisions overseas. Amelia (Arsinée Khanjian) sends her son James (Jeff Lillico) to fetch his father (Daniel Kash) from the front lines, where he has obliterated a city in the name of war. We learn from a government official (Nigel Shawn Williams), that the mission was not actually to root out terrorists, but to claim the daughter of the fallen dictator, Laela (Abena Malika), for his own. Amelia plots to return her husband to his senses with a test tube cure.

Crimp's play is an indictment of the war on terror and the language used to service recent missions to Afghanistan and Iraq. His thesis (among many ideas) is that human beings are not mentally equipped for the actions and consequence of war. Each character, the General being the obvious example, bends, falls, and is crushed by the weight of war, whether in the field or not. While there are strong moments, not all of the fractured and abstract scenes coalesce.

Khanjian fails to rope the audience into the web tightly-weaved by her character Amelia, who dominates the first half of the show. She doesn't match the intensity of her wondrous performance in Palace of the End, seeming vocally dwarfed by the imposing set by Debra Hanson in the expansive Bluma Appel. The characters of the chorus (Cara Ricketts, Brenda Robins, and Sarah Wilson), there to interpret and distract, sing karaoke songs whenever things go awry — a strange inclusion in Crimp's text.

In the play's second beat, where the son and father return home, the action is better. It's in these scenes — a gut-wrenching familial reckoning — where the play reaches towards the promise of the sum of its parts. Lillico's return injects much-needed intensity into a plot that has, until then, felt like low-stakes. He's commanding, focused, and draws the right notes out of Khanjian.

Kash the General reaches the heights needed for the play's final scene. As he terrorizes those around him, with seemingly the same psychological violence exerted in the field, the awful climax reaches full pitch. Williams has some shining moments as the fast-talking bureaucrat in these scenes.

Egoyan navigates Crimp's text well, bringing clarity to some of the abstract moments in the script. His use of shattered glass punctuates the right notes, and the integration of live video is, as would be expected from the Academy-Award nominated director, a highlight. The mis-en-scene in general though — the stark set, distracting lighting, and cruel sound — doesn't service the play.

It's unbalanced, no doubt, with the missteps overshadowing the aspects that shine. The strong thrust of the second section almost makes up for how we arrived there, but not quite.

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Cruel and Tender, written by Martin Crimp and directed by Atom Egoyan, runs at the Bluma Appel Theatre until February 18.

Photos by Bruce Zinger

A Brimful of Asha / Tarragon Theatre / 8:00pm/2:30pm / $23
When's the last time you've seen a play featuring a mother and son playing themselves? In A Brimful of Asha, actor and director Ravi Jain performs alongside his mother for a look at a true Canadian story about generational culture clash. When Ravi takes a vacation to India, his parents decide to showcase potential brides. As a special treat, select Sunday performances take place at Dish Cooking Studio and include a cooking class with Asha.

The Double / Factory Theatre Studio / 8:00pm/2:30pm / $20-$28
TheatreRUN presents an original adaptation of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's novella The Double: A Petersburg Poem. The story concerns a government clerk who is obsessed with the thought that a fellow clerk has stolen his identity. The show is performed by Adam Paolozza, Arif Mirabdolbaghi, and Viktor Lukawski, an exciting and physically motivated group of theatre creators. TheatreRUN produced the award-winning Spent, for which Paolozza won a Dora Award.

No Exit / Theatre Passe Muarille Backspage / 7:30pm/2:00pm / $20-25
In Satre's hell, other people are the fire and brimstone. arts and lies productions brings us the existential philosopher's most famous play, in which three individuals, Joseph, Inès, and Estelle, consider their fate in the afterlife. Don't let the parlour setting fool you, it's eternity for this threesome. No Exit is not an easy text to make engaging — it will be interesting to see how director Rosanna Saracino approaches it.

Festival of Original Theatre / Robert Gill Theatre / Various / Free
Each year, the University of Toronto huddles up for a festival of experimental work that brings together academia and the arts for cross-disciplinary exchange. This year it celebrates its 20th anniversary and takes for its study the theme of Theatre and Learning in both theory and practice. While it may sound cerebral, there are performances to complement the discussions — Helene Vosters on Performing Peace, Checkpoint.Notes, La Maleta (The Suitcase) from Roseneath Theatre, La Danza Del Venado, and Canada Road.

Closer / Winchester Street Theatre / 8:00pm/2:00pm / $20
Pop culture mavens will surely recall the 2004 film Closer, based on the play of the same name, in which Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Natalie Portman, and Clive Owen engage in all kinds of bed-hopping. The play takes a microscope to monogamy, questioning if and how infidelity can be redeemed. The irony of the play is that, while moving closer is the goal, these characters drive away from one another with their actions.

Photo from a Brimful of Asha

As a celebration of 25 years of Burkett's Theatre of Marionettes, Penny Plain is a wonderfully rich drama. Not only does Burkett's craft take centre stage — the subtle movements of the wrist that animate feeling — but, above all, the story is a layered and thoughtful warning about environmental negligence.

The inhabitants inside the boarding house of Miss Penny Plain and her dog Jeffrey react to the world's decline at the hands of a global virus. The impending doom inspires her lodgers to live out their final days before it all ends: Jeffery the dog wants to explore the world as a gentleman, Evelyn desires a child all her own, and Jubilee wants to be free from her domineering mother. Penny, meanwhile, just wants some companionship, which she finds in the form of an orphan named Tuppence.

While the environment slowly springs up into the house (an indication that humankind is no longer in control), the characters navigate the Brave New World and their position in it. It's a dark and chilling text, tempered with comedic moments, which reaches towards something we already know to be true: "nature is changing."

The most inventive of these threads is the inclusion of Geppetto and Pinocchio — a parallel to the relationship between creator and humankind which illustrates that that which is created cannot always be controlled. Geppetto and his son have one of the most poignant moments in the play during their reconciliation. And the father's delivery of a child of the new world to Evelyn is a glimmer of strange hope.

Not all of the storylines add value to Burkett's examination of morality under dire conditions. The relationship between Jubilee and her geriatric mother is a toxic one full of crude humour and obnoxious screeching, and the American couple, while a fun caricature, balloons beyond believability.

On a two-level set which he also designed, Burkett jumps and jogs across the wooden platforms to make the world take shape through thousands of miniature gestures. It's no secret, but Burkett's technical skill and ability to manipulate marionettes is astounding. The narrative runs full throttle — he speeds ahead and trusts that the audience will catch up.

The stand-out moment in the show comes without strings attached when Burkett uses hand puppets to narrate a moment from Penny's childhood. From dialogue to tone, the vignette is superbly crafted in its description of heartbreak. Kevin Humphrey's lighting finds the right hues for Penny's world, and John Alcorn punctuates the right moments with sound and music.

In Penny Plain, Burkett peels back an outer layer to reach down and find our vulnerabilities. The result is an engrossing portrait of civility in the face of death, which is anything but ordinary.

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Penny Plain, written and performed by Ronnie Burkett, runs at the Factory Theatre until February 26.

Pedestrian as the subject may seem, Christopher Shinn's play, indeed a play about characters looking to fill a void, features anything but a traditional approach to a conventional topic. Mutual Co-op's production, directed by Aaron Willis, comes close to delivering a picture of this suffering, but is held back by Shinn's structure — it's beautifully written but feels unsure.

In a cafe in NYC, Stephen (Ben Lewis) and his roommate Petra (Tatiana Maslany) anticipate the arrival of Stephen's ex-boyfriend Mark (Indrit Kasapi), who plans to crash on their couch over the holidays. Stephen, still very much in love, must temper his desires in light of Mark's new religious philosophy, which we sense very early is a guise to hide his sordid past.

Each member of the apartment expresses interest in a new partner. Mark befriends a youth of the street, Tan (Brendan McMurtry-Howlett), who reawakens his drug-induced past. Petra, meanwhile, starts dating a professor (Mike McPhaden) she meets at the exotic club where she works. And Stephen, also wanting a piece of the action, returns to a self-absorbed fling.

Each of these relationships features a high degree of sexual negotiation — someone chases, while the other one retreats. The most developed of these characters, Stephen, is a neurotic writer whose disposition as a hopeless romantic leaves him lonely. Shinn is speaking through Stephen, so it's no wonder this character is the most rich. His ex-lover Mark is less interesting. While Shinn's ambiguity as it relates to Mark's past is alluring, his religious dogma stonewalls a truer picture of the past relationship. In a play as cynical as this, the religious about-face, with which Kasapi struggles to capture, borders on caricature.

The narrative loses traction when the storylines branch out from the main threesome. Stephen's dalliance with Darren (Richard Lee), who he doesn't really like, serves only to indicate he's spiraling out of control. In Willis' play, the two scenes feel tacked on to the main action. The developing relationship between Petra and the professor present what could be the most interesting pairing, but somehow doesn't live up to its potential.

Willis does his best to negotiate the bed hopping. He has obviously spent a lot of time working individual scenes to reach the core of each interaction, and it pays off with some poignant moments. Where it doesn't quite coalesce is in linking each thread together.

The cast does an admirable job of reacting to text that continually shifts. Lewis has a handle on Stephen's neurosis, finding a quiet and endearing charm in the character's landscape. And Maslany offers us something similar — she balances Petra's intellectual self-confident with her romantic vulnerability. In supporting roles, McMurtry-Howlett and McPhaden stand out. In each of their appearances, the actors provide a much needed charge.

Christopher Shinn is one of the hottest American playwrights on the scene. Other People offers a window into his world. While it's chock full of biting dialogue, the narrative dips too far before it can settle on firm ground.

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Other People, written by Christopher Shinn and directed by Aaron Willis, runs at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts until January 28.

Caroline, or Change / Berkeley Street Theatre / 8:00pm/2:00pm / $18-$45
As far as accolades go, Caroline, or Change is one of the most decorated new musicals of the young century — it has won a Tony, Olivier, Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel and Obie award. Caroline is a maid for a Southern family. When the loss of their mother hits the family hard, especially the young son Noah, Caroline must soldier on amidst the upheaval around them. It's one of the strongest new musicals in recent memory.

The Penelopiad / Buddies / 8:00pm/2:00pm / $28
In a co-production between Nightwood Theatre and Buddies in Bad Times, Kelly Thorton directs a production of Margaret Atwood's The Penelopiad. The play, originally a novella, is a revision of Homer's Odyssey. In The Penelopiad, Penelope looks back on events during the Odyssey, life in Hades, her relationship with her parents, and the murder of her twelve handmaidens by her husband Odysseus. The play closes this week so it's your last chance to see it.

Cruel and Tender / Canadian Stage / 8:00pm/2:00pm / $35+
Martin Crimp's Cruel and Tender marks a turn to the stage for Atom Egoyan and features, for the first time on-stage, a collaboration with his partner Arsinée Khanjian who plays Amelia, a woman eagerly awaiting her husband's return from battle. With direction from one of Canada's most accomplished film directors, a script from one of Britain's most acclaimed living playwrights, and Khanjian on stage, this one has the makings of a strong show.

Red Snow/ Theatre Passe Muraille / 7:30pm/2:00pm / $15-$30
2012 marks the 75th anniversary of the Rape of Nanking, and Diana Tso's play Red Snow explores the violence that still reverberates. A woman's recurring nightmare of Chinese opera drives her to search for her family's silenced story connecting her with three generations of hatred and love. Toronto ALPHA and Aluna Theatre present this work on-stage until Saturday.

Hamlet Live / Annex Theatre / 8:00pm/2:00pm / $5-$40
In this version of the Bard's Denmark tale, it's 2080 and solar flares caused nuclear meltdowns leading to mass death. It's hard to predict how the post-apocalyptic world will colour the Hamlet on offer at the Annex Theatre, but, if you'd like to skip the snow-trek, the play is available on live stream. The production team promises multiple cameras and live editing, so you have to applaud the experimental nature of mixing theatre and social media.

Photo of Denyse Karn and Kelly Thornton of The Penelopiad by Tanja-Tiziana

It's a highly imaginative play that presents a cross-section of the building in which the Chinese restaurant operates. Ross Manson directs this energetic piece with an expert hand and negotiates Schimmelphennig's unconventional structure, where actors continually transition to characters beyond their gender and ethnicity. A few false endings and stylistic choices interrupt the overall drive, but The Golden Dragon delights with its wild abandon for the laws of the universe.

The five member crew of The Golden Dragon restaurant (David Fox, Lili Francks, Tony Nappo, Ansuree Roy, and David Yee) work like a well-oiled machine servicing patrons beyond the kitchen walls. On this day, however, the tooth ache of one of their own sends the kitchen into a frenzy. In floors above and units adjacent, we are introduced to the tenants of the building — which include a couple newly pregnant, a husband recently cheated on, and a drunk shop owner — all with connections to the restaurant below. Like options on a menu chosen at whim, each vignette provides a slice of information about the community.

The dynamic alley theatre setting allows Manson to transition effortlessly with quick lighting changes. The piece never gets bogged down with the movement from scene to scene. The playwright's signature touches, the insertion of spoken stage directions and the portrayal of characters so far from the actor's own self (the most exaggerated being David Fox playing a young female flight attendant), are handled with sincerity from a willing cast.

Schimmelphennig adds another dimension to the plot through the introduction of Aesop's fable of the Ant and the Grasshopper. It starts off familiar enough, with the ant extolling the virtues of hard work, but becomes more perverse as it unfolds. The fable bleeds into the established storylines to wonderful effect.

The ensemble works well to bring the material to life. Roy proves that she doesn't have to write the play to be the stand out element; her characters command the stage. Fox and Nappo have genuine fun playing flight attendants. Fox especially is a joy to watch — he jumps into the challenge head first.

Manson could have done without the Brechtian theatrics before the play proper. It's difficult to tell actors to be themselves, as there will inevitably be some element of performing when the conditions force it. With no intermission, there are a few false endings where things seem poised to conclude — these are small drops in tone and pace.

The set and costumes from Teresa Przybylski greatly serve the rotating scene and character changes. While the set feels ultimately utilitarian, it's the vibrant lighting design from Rebecca Picherak that divides the grey block into different playing spaces. There is also the most inventive use of fake blood in recent memory, used initially to punctuate a comedic moment and later repeated to portray a gruesome scene.

With a fragmented narrative and images that reach beyond the confines of what's seemingly possible, The Golden Dragon won't be everyone's cup of soup. But the strength of Schimmelphennig's explorations can't be beat under direction from Manson — it's the highlight of Tarragon's season thus far.

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The Golden Dragon, written by Roland Schimmelphennig and directed by Ross Manson, runs at the Tarragon Theatre until February 19.

Penny Plain / Factory Theatre / 8:00pm/2:00pm / $38-$55
Ronnie Burkett is a name familiar to theatregoing audiences. He's a world-renowned puppet artist who continues to delight with stories told through his signature marionettes. This year marks the 25th anniversary of his Theatre of Marionettes, celebrated by an international tour of Penny Plain. The story is billed as a drawing room comedy about the outside chaos that invades Penny Plain's tranquil sanctuary.

Cabaret / Hart House Theatre / 8:00pm/2:00pm / $10-$25
Hart House Theatre takes you inside the heart of the smoky club scene in Berlin amidst the rise of Nazi Germany. Cabaret established itself back in the day as a musical with all the right elements and specifically, two memorable characters in the Emcee and Sally Bowles. The cabaret functions as a place to forget your troubles and, hey, there's even a song about a pineapple.

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.

Kim's Convenience / Soulpepper / 8:00pm / $32-$51
The unequivocal hit of the 2011 Toronto Fringe Festival, Kim's Convenience gets a well deserved remount, at Soulpepper no less. The connection with Soulpepper, who is not exactly known for producing new Canadian work, is Ins Choi and Weyni Mengesha are who Soulpepper Academy alumnus. The play, about a family forgiving the past, is set in a Regent Park Korean convenience store.

Photo of Kim's Convenience

There are surprises in The Blue Dragon, the newest of his work to arrive in Toronto, but they're not just the dazzle of stage machinery — although there's plenty of innovation on that front. Lepage's play has overtly funny moments, not necessarily a feature of his work, which spring from the layered relationships of the three characters.

But above all, the play feels distinctly mature. This is not to say that Lepage's work has lacked maturity in the past, but the revisiting of Pierre Lamontagne years after his appearance in The Dragons' Trilogy, places the piece in a middle-aged, fall-season sort of mood.

Pierre (Henri Chassé), a Canadian expat hoping to save his art gallery under pressure from Chinese authorities, rekindles a longtime relationship with Claire (Marie Michaud), an old fling who is in China to adopt a child. Pierre's latest lover, Xiao Ling (Tai Wei Foo), rather than stand between them, helps connect the two again.

In one of Lepage's most linear-based narratives, the journeys of the three characters, like the three streams of the river found in the calligraphy symbol referenced at the outset, converge together. The loneliness of being a foreigner is brought into conflict with the beauty of the landscape. This very human exploration sees its way to a playful conclusion.

While Pierre is the subject of Lepage and Michaud's tale, the desires of the two women — one a successful advertising professional in her 40s yearning for a child and the other an energetic and emotional artist — feature mostly strongly. Claire's plight specifically, a new visitor seeking salvation in a land not her own, provides an inroad to Lepage's portrait of China.

As with all his work, Lepage utilizes innovative stagecraft in his direction, transitions between scenes and projections that define space, to evoke intimacy when needed and vast distance to emphasize loneliness. Transport is a prominent feature of the design with scenes depicting trains, bikes, boats, and airplanes. The stage pictures are mesmerizing, and they connect with the rich detail of the tattoo and chinese characters stenciled throughout.

The scene between Michaud and Tai Wei Foo in the nightclub with the rotating bar is among the best. There is usually a nightclub scene, with loud music and bright visuals, in a Lepage play, but the mismatch of Xiao Ling's youthful enthusiasm and Claire's more seasoned carelessness makes for a surprising tenderness between the two characters. While played well by Chassé, Pierre blends slightly into the background; his sadness is not quite as compelling as that of the two women.

The Blue Dragon features the hallmarks of a Robert Lepage production with its stunning visuals and thoughtful metaphors. It's the light comedy, linear storyline, and playful ending, not necessarily what you'd expect from the Canadian theatre guru, that make this one worth seeing.

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The Blue Dragon, directed by Robert Lepage, runs at the Royal Alexandra Theatre until February 19.

Photos by Erick Labbe courtesy of Mirvish Productions

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.

Next Stage Festival / Factory Theatre / Various Times / $10-$15
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. Check out our festival preview.

Kim's Convenience / Young Centre - Soulpepper / 8:00pm / $32-$51
The unequivocal hit of the 2011 Toronto Fringe Festival, Kim's Convenience gets a well deserved remount, at Soulpepper no less. The connection with Soulpepper, who is not exactly known for producing new Canadian work, is Ins Choi and Weyni Mengesha are who Soulpepper Academy alumnus. The play, about a family forgiving the past, is set in a Regent Park Korean convenience store.

The Blue Dragon / Mirvish - Royal Alex / 8:00pm/2:00pm / $39-$99
You don't want to miss whatever Robert Lepage's current project is...ever. Whether it's a piece that creates a sublime theatregoing experience or one that overdoes it with visual boundary pushing, Lepage's plays are never dull. They reflect a unique and unparalleled theatrical aesthetic in this country. The Blue Dragon focuses on an expat Canadian who engages with two women in Shanghai — one from his Western past and one from his Asian present.

The Penelopiad / Buddies / 8:00pm/2:00pm / $28+
In a co-production between Nightwood Theatre and Buddies in Bad Times, Kelly Thorton directs a production of Margaret Atwood's The Penelopiad. The play, originally a novella, is a revision of Homer's Odyssey. In The Penelopiad, Penelope looks back on events during the Odyssey, life in Hades, her relationship with her parents, and the murder of her twelve handmaidens by her husband Odysseus.

Photo from Hypnogogic Logic at the Next Stage Festival

Tomasso's Party / Rooftop Creations
There's a lot to get excited about with Tomasso's Party. Jules Lewis, author of the acclaimed novel Waiting for Ricky Tantrum, brings us his first play, a picture of two lovers whose relationship is marred by jealousy and insecurity. With dramaturgy from Iris Turcott and direction from Dora Award winner Nigel Shawn Williams, Lewis' play couldn't be in better hands. Simon Bracken, who gave one of my favourite Fringe performances in The Particulars and In General, stars alongside Leah Doz as the couple.

LOVESEXMONEY / Theatre Brouhaha
Theatre Brouhaha gets an extension on LOVESEXMONEY, a play about Olivia, a girl who decides to sells her virginity online. The move doesn't go over so well with her boyfriend Jim, who tries to stop her from completing the transaction with Simon, the customer. Playwright Kat Sandler, along with performer Daniel Pagett, are the winners of Fringe's 2012 New Play Contest for Help Yourself (onstage in summer 2012). So for now, LOVESEXMONEY is a sneak peak of the up and coming Theatre Brouhaha.

Living With Henry / Beyond Boundaries
Studio 180's highly compelling production of The Normal Heart proved that a play about HIV/AIDS is just as relevant today as it was when Larry Kramer was writing. Christopher Wilson's Living With Henry follows in the same tradition with a portrait of Michael (Ryan Kelly), who lives with the reality of being HIV positive. Directed by Donna Marie Baratta, the musical explores Michael's relationship with Henry, the personification of his condition, and the family members concerned for his wellbeing. One of the bonafide hits of Fringe 2011, Living WIth Henry is a thoughtful new dramatic musical.

The Washing Machine / Red Betty Theatre
Playwright Radha Menon examines how an Anglo-Indian woman attempts to wash away the stains of her past in The Washing Machine, directed by Sasha Kovacs. After the death of her husband and child, Isabelle returns to India from England ready to update the sacred grounds of her family plantation with a tennis court and washing machine. Featuring Ronica Sajnani, who appeared in Deepa Mehta's Water and Dora-award winner Steve Cumyn, The Washing Machine is as multi-cultural as it is multi-generational.

Hypnogogic Logic / Uncalled For
They have become one of the most successful comedy troupes on the Fringe Circuit, and now Uncalled For's Hypnogogic Logic is gifted a spot as part of this year's festival. The show explores the lighter side of our darker hours with a comedic take on the dream world that awaits when eyes close. Winner of the Just For Laughs Best Comedy Award at the Montreal Fringe 2010, Hypnogogic Logic also made audiences laugh this summer in Toronto. If you're looking for comedy, this is the show to check out.

Modern Love / Theatre Caravel
With credits in a number of successful projects this past year (Tout Comme Elle and Swoon), and an upcoming role in the Toronto premiere of Daniel MacIvor's Was Spring at Tarragon, Jessica Moss continues to impress with energetic and thoughtful performances. With Modern Love, she also showcases her writing, which considers connectivity in the modern age. The question that stands at the centre of Moss' piece is with our ultra-connectedness to online platforms (600 friends and counting), why is it so hard to make real connections?

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The Next Stage Theatre Festival runs from January 4-15. Visit the Fringe website for tickets, event times, and the complete festival lineup.

The touring production, serving to launch Dancap's newest season, is an energetic rock opera which slam-dances its way through the early part of the decade. In an age full of flimsy musical translations of material that achieves any measure of commercial success, American Idiot rises above the crowd under direction from Michael Mayer and a leave-it-on-the-floor performance from a stellar cast.

The story follows Johnny (Van Hughes) and his friends Will (Jake Epstein) and Tunny (Scott J. Campbell) as they attempt to break out of the confines of suburbia. With a child on the way, Will is forever chained to his couch, never to make it to the big city. Tunny, eventually tired of the noise of the big city, enlists in the army and is shipped to the Middle East, while Johnny finds salvation through his friendship with St. Jimmy (Joshua Kobak), the personification of "rage" — excessive drugs and partying.

With a musical based on previous content, the hallmark of success is whether or not the translation holds up as a piece on its own, and whether or not it elevates the original material. The latter of these qualities it achieves in spades — the music takes on deeper meaning spoken by the characters Billie Joe Armstrong intended to speak this language. To see Johnny, the Jesus of Suburbia, wreck himself to oblivion and sing Boulevard of Broken Dreams adds incredible dimensionality.

Told in this way, a number of interesting themes — the crisis of masculinity, love vs. rage, and the search for place — combine to make American Idiot a piece of theatre, not just a translation of the album. Mayer deserves much credit for fleshing out the stories of the three boys, using very little dialogue between songs. It's impressive how many plot points and connections he and Armstrong find in the album.

There are one or two scenes that feel off the mark. In the rendition of Wake Me Up When September Ends, Mayer has the cast slowly assemble as if they are watching the two towers fall. At the song's climax, the chorus too hits the ground and begins to fall upwards. It's a haunting image, but, save for the September reference, seems strangely tied to the 2004 song most closely associated with Hurricane Katrina. As well, Mayer utilizes a dream sequence, as Tully lays injured in the field, to inject some over-the-top aerial theatrics.

Save for these two scenes, the story clips along at a breakneck pace. Steven Hoggett choreographs a varied and energetic programme before an astounding set, designed by Christine Jones and featuring video and projections from Darrel Maloney. The adolescent playground is meticulously crafted.

The exuberant cast ensures that the tension, anger, and emotion of Green Day's music hits its mark. Hughes, who also played Johnny on Broadway, carries the show with a bang on interpretation. Hometown boy Scott J. Campbell brings depth and a strong voice to Tunny, and Gabrielle McClinton shines during the all-female number in what is, thematically, a very male dominated show.

American Idiot is loud, brash, unapologetic, and flashes the middle finger more than any other musical. It successfully combines what will become a classic rock album with a compelling theatrical narrative. Now if only tickets were more reasonably priced ($62-$180 and only two nights for the under 30 special), the show's true demographic could come out in droves.

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American Idiot, directed by Michael Mayer with music by Green Day, runs at the Toronto Centre for the Arts until January 15.