DAYTIME
The Naughty Listers
Christmas has passed, which means we should, by all rights, have a few days of guilt-free naughtiness before worrying about being nice again. With that in mind, this family-friendly holiday show features puppetry, hall-decking ditties and a comedy that involves an elf that goes rogue. Given his predicament and bizarre hiring policies, Santa invokes an emergency clause and recruits only the most impish of children on his list to help bring order to his North Pole compound.
To Jan. 1, $14. Second City, 51 Mercer St., 416-343-0011 or secondcity.com.
NIGHTTIME
Traces
Cirque du Soleil meets Stomp in an intimate production from the circus minimalists from Quebec, Les 7 Doigts de la Main (7 Fingers). The young performers are daring and full of interesting skills, but they wear their hearts on their tattered sleeves. They are not clowns spouting gibberish or Olympian-looking athletes in tights, but accessibly scruffy acrobats jumping through hoops and what have you. Basketballs, music and skateboards are involved in a story that has to do with seizing the day while showing fragility – something, in other words, relatable.
To Jan. 3, $25 to $75. Panasonic Theatre, 651 Yonge St., 416-872-1212 or mirvish.com.
ONE NIGHT ONLY
A Very Soulpepper Christmas
Come all ye faithful, and come all you Boxing Day weary. Mike Ross, the music director of the Soulpepper theatre company, leads a concert stocked with carols, seasonal chestnuts and special guests. Possible pop-ins include the Heavyweights Brass Band, who would have a romping jazzy time with Vince Guaraldi’s bopping instrumental Linus and Lucy; Patricia O’Callaghan, who would be calendar-correct in singing Deepest December; and Jackie Richardson, who is quite familiar by now with Look to This Day, a Soulpepper original.
Dec. 26, 7 p.m. $29.75 to $60. Young Centre, 50 Tank House Lane, 416-866-8666 or soulpepper.ca.
FOR THE KIDS
Tails From the City
Some find them to be a poopy menace to gardens and garbage bins, while others find the wild animals who prowl Toronto’s backyards to be adorably furry creatures with every right to share our neighbourhoods. In a new piece from playwright Marjorie Chan, six-year-old Billie is on the accommodating side of the vermin debate, especially after spending an adventurous night riding bikes with raccoons and throwing snowballs with squirrels. The production is mounted outdoors, so who knows what uninvited guests will show up?
To Dec. 30, 7:30 p.m. $12 to $30. Evergreen Brick Works, 550 Bayview Ave., wintertheatre.brownpapertickets.com.
ENDING SOON
Pompeii: In the Shadow of the Volcano
You think the ancient Romans were worried about rising temperatures? You bet your ashes they were. In the year 79, the volatile volcano Mount Vesuvius lost its cool and buried the city of Pompeii and adjacent communities in a storm of cinders, stone and poisonous gas. Thousands died, mostly from extreme heat shock. An exhibit features about 200 artifacts that tell the story of the Pompeii people, who were fans of shorts but unfortunately short of fans.
To Jan. 3, $20 to $28. Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen’s Park, 416-586-8000 or rom.on.ca.