887
A tough ticket when it premiered at 2015's Panamania Festival, Robert Lepage's solo show 887 examines his childhood amidst the rise of the FLQ in the 1960s. A smashing success amongst the critics, the play wins with technological tricks and ideas on the less obvious origins of the separatist movement.
April 7 to 16. $35 to $114. Bluma Appel Theatre, 27 Front St. E., 416-368-3110 or canadianstage.com.
PJ Harvey
"PJ" stands for "Polly Jean," and Polly Jean stands for no feeble stuff. The British rocker-poet's latest LP is last year's The Hope Six Demolition Project, a potent alt-rock discussion on war and poverty, and her first album since 2011's Mercury Prize-winning Let England Shake. Endlessly compelling and re-inventive, Harvey gets heavy at Massey on Thursday. April 13, 8:30 p.m. $49.50 to $79.50 Massey Hall, 178 Victoria St., 416-872-4255 or masseyhall.com.
Most Races Show on Earth!
Do you see what they did there? Featuring a cast of multicultural comics, this touring show brings together Drew Thomas, Daniel Tirado, Sheng Wang, Rob Haze, Adam Devine and Montreal-based Palestinian comedian Eman El-Husseini for an evening of race-based jocularity (and at least one pun). April 12 and 13 7:30 p.m. $20 to $25. Adelaide Hall, 250 Adelaide St. W., 647-344-1234 or ticketfly.com.
Toronto Silent Film Festival
Not willing to stay silent on the silent era any longer, organizers of the no-talkies event offer a program of film with live musical accompaniment, with highlights that include a Saturday afternoon showing of the long-lost second reel of 1927's Battle of the Century, a Laurel and Hardy classic in which pies fly by the thousands.
April 6 to 11. $10 to $20 ($70 to $85, festival pass). Various independent theatres. torontosilentfilmfestival.com.
Louis Lortie
Will the Canadian virtuoso indulge us with his specialty? Here's Chopin. An afternoon program, which closes out Koerner Hall's piano concert series, features the Polish composer's 12 Études, Op. 10, 12 Études, Op. 25 and 24 Preludes, Op. 28. April 9, 3 p.m. (sold out). Koerner Hall, 273 Bloor St. W., 416-408-0208 or performance.rcmusic.ca.
Brad Wheeler