Musician Goran Bregovic leads an all-occasions orchestra into Massey Hall for a performance on March 4.
Goran Bregovic & his Wedding and Funeral Band
An electric guitarist from Sarajevo, the 66-year-old maestro Goran Bregovic leads an all-occasions orchestra into Massey Hall. The big room will shake with a trans-Balkan extravaganza that includes Gypsy brass, Hungarian singers and an atmosphere of "We'll rest when we're dead, but probably not even then" celebration.
March 4, 8 p.m. $49.50 to $89.50. Massey Hall, 170 Victoria St., 416-872-4255 or masseyhall.com.
Toronto Irish Film Festival
The Irish know famine, as do supporters of the Toronto Maple Leafs, a Stanley-Cup starved franchise of late that was once known as the St. Patricks. The opening night film of this year's TIRFF is Puck of the Irish, a Brendan Shanahan-endorsed documentary that explores the link between hurling and hockey.
March 3 to 5. $15 to $20. TIFF Bell Lightbox, 350 King St. W., 416-599-8433 or toirishfilmfest.com.
Cirkopolis
A circus directed by Christopher Nolan? That was gossip king Perez Hilton's observation after seeing Cirque Eloize in New York, and whatever you think of the man's profession, that's certainly too intriguing an observation to dismiss. The company brings its new show Cirkopolis to Toronto, choreographed by Dave St Pierre. Catch the high-wire act while you can and then maybe go home and throw on Inception to see how Perez's analogy holds up.
To March 18. Bluma Appel Theatre, 27 Front St. E., 647-438-5559 or sonycentre.ca.
R. Murray Schafer's Odditorium
The Canadian composer R. Murray Schafer calls his hybrid genre of drama, dance and musical curiosity a "theatre of confluence." We call it highbrow carnival and an auditory isn't-that-something. Schafer and us, we'll agree to agree.
March 2 to 5. $50 to $60. Streetcar Crowsnest Theatre, 345 Carlaw Ave., 647-341-7390 or soundstreams.ca.
Goethe Films: Heimat Now
German for "homeland film," the escapist Heimatfilm genre rose from the ashes of the Second World War, an era in which themes of identity and territory were gently examined with sentimental tones and bucolic images that soothed shell-shocked psyches. The style's recent revival is celebrated with five features, including Schultze Gets the Blues, a quirky comedic drama about zydeco-polk music and a midlife crisis.
March 7, 9 and 14. $10. TIFF Bell Lightbox, 350 King St. W., 416-599-8433 or goethe.de/toronto.com.
Brad Wheeler