Sylvie Bouchard and Marie-Josée Chartier performing Photuris Versicolor for Dusk Dances.John Lauener
Dusk Dances
Dusk, it has been said, is the time when men whisper of matters about which they remain silent in the full light of the sun. This kind of exclusivity and intrigue extends to Dusk Dances, an annual program of site-specific short creations and adaptations done outdoors in city parks in twilight. It's a family affair, with music and workshops accompanying the work of dancer-maker Susie Burpee and others. July 28 to 30, 7 p.m., PWYC at Bayfront Park, Hamilton; Aug. 1 to 7, 7 p.m. (additional matinees Aug. 4 and 7, 2 p.m.), PWYC at Withrow Park, 725 Logan Ave. Suggested donation for all performances $10. duskdances.ca.
Drake
When he's not designing the Bridle Path lair of his dreams, Aubrey (Drake) Graham is kept busy otherwise minding his hometown empire. He arrives in his favourite area code with a Summer Sixteen tour co-headlined by his rapping pal Future. The concerts take place at Air Canada Centre on Sunday and Monday, but the hip-hop social butterfly might pop up at a show from Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa at Molson Amphitheatre on Friday, or on Saturday at the OVO Fest at Echo Beach. July 31 and Aug. 1, 6:30 p.m. $49.50 to $179.50. ACC, 40 Bay St., 855-985-5000 or ticketmaster.ca.
Summerworks
There's much to choose from at the annual event of new works in theatre, dance, music and live art, including Daughter, a button-pusher from Adam Lazarus about the complicated relationships between fathers and daughters; Bleeders, the final instalment in D'bi Young Anitafrika's Afro-futurist dub-opera The Orisha Trilogy; and Tomorrow's Child, an audio-only sci-fi story that begins with the audience blindfolded and wheeled into the theatre on swivel chairs. Aug. 4 to 14. $15. Various venues. summerworks.ca.
Kevin Breit
The actor Hugh Laurie once said of Kevin Breit that he "never plays the same thing once," and one might add that he never seems to play with the same band twice consecutively. Inquisitive, idiosyncratic and creatively restless, the stringed-thing virtuoso appears with the Upper York Mandolin Quartet and singer Rebecca Jenkins at Hugh's Room, where gentle voices, strange strums and unexpected twinkles will be in service of song. July 29, 8:30 p.m. $25 to $30. Hugh's Room, 2261 Dundas St. W., 416-531-6604 or hughsroom.com.
Father Comes Home From the Wars (Parts I, II and III)
Making its Canadian premiere is Suzan-Lori Parks's ambitious Civil War saga, winner of both the Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama and the Obie Award for Playwriting in 2015. The play, an adaptation of Homer's The Odyssey, is told in three parts, all performed together in one evening. At question is the notion of a slave's freedom as an empty promise, coming only at great cost. Aug. 6 to 27 (in previews now). $32 to $96. Young Centre, 50 Tank House Lane, 416-866-8666 or soulpepper.ca.
Brad Wheeler