Liam Donovan

iPhoto caption: Ping-Hsiang Wang in 'Retina Maneuver.' Photo by Hang Su. From a dancer becoming a canine to a shy theatre director practicing his swordsmanship, the shows I’ve seen so far at the 2026 SummerWorks Performance Festival use performers’ bodies to dramatize defiance. SummerWorks’ curated lineup features a handful of full-scale theatre productions, and the majority will appear during the festival’s second and final weekend at venues across Toronto.

iPhoto caption: Anna Morreale and Luca McPhee perform in 'From Stardust' at the 2025 MADGEN Theatre Festival. Photo by Dave Klassen. Theatre of the Beat is returning with the third edition of the MADGEN Theatre Festival, supporting emerging theatre producers. In April, the company selected four producers under the age of 30 to receive paid mentorship from Toronto theatre-makers including Laura McCallum of Outside the March and Kevin Matthew Wong of Why Not Theatre.

iPhoto caption: Steven Sutcliffe and company in 'Twelfth Night.' Photo by Dahlia Katz. Last year’s High Park Romeo and Juliet, directed by Marie Farsi, overflowed with giddy infatuation, reminding me that many of Shakespeare’s tragedies could — if your dog ate the final pages — easily become comedies. Gregory Prest’s take on Twelfth Night picks up the torch with another variation on the crazy things people do for love.