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.

Peter Grimes / Four Seasons - COC / 7:30pm/2:00pm / $54-$100+
While the new production of La Bohème may be the better known of the two operas at the COC this fall, Benjamin Britten's Peter Grimes is a contemporary masterpiece that should resonate with audiences. The production features Ben Heppner in the title role under director from Denni Sayers. It's a fitting opera for a Canadian company, with its psychologically-driven portrait of an alienated fisherman living in a village by the sea.

Dinner at Seven-Thirty / Buddies in Bad Times / 8:00pm/2pm / $18-$31
Inspired by The Waves from renowned queer author Virginia Woolf, Dinner at Seven-Thirty dramatizes a party between six childhood friends who revisit memories and significant events from times past. Theatre Rusticle presents movement based theatre — their interdisciplinary work traces the journey of the six individuals from childhood to death. The ensemble features Hume Baugh, Andrya Duff, Thomas Morgan Jones, Ron Kennell, Viv Moore, Lucy Rupert, and William Yong.

The Killing Game / Annex Theatre / 8:00pm / $18-$22
Eugene Ionesco's The Killing Game is one of the playwright's final works. When a small town is beset with the plague and bodies start piling up, the citizenry slowly starts to devolve into a gossipy, angry mob. Ionesco's satiric style, a mix of tragedy and absurdism, is a fitting vehicle to examine a small town under extreme crisis. The production from arts&lies features a large cast of 18 and lots of death.

De Colores Festival Of New Works / Wychwood Theatre / 8:00pm / $13-$15
The Alameda Theatre Company presents a festival of new work that provides support for Canadian Latin American artists. The festival pairs playwrights with experienced dramaturgs for one-on-one development. This year's plays include Paradise Red by Bruce Gibbons, Solaz by Jefferson Guzman, Have You Lost Something? by Flavia Hevia, and Marine Life by Rosa Laborde (previously presented at this year's SummerWorks Festival).

Night of the Living Dead Live / Theatre Passe Muraille / Various Times / $28-$80
The film that gave rise to our contemporary zombie craze, George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead, revolutionized the American horror film in 1968. Christopher Bond, the brains behind the Toronto hit Evil Dead, The Musical, is the writer and director of a new stage version of the landmark film and it's telling that Romero himself is on board as Executive Producer. True to the original, the play is presented entirely in black and white.

Photo from Night of Living Dead Live