Plum Viewing
Welcome to the latest edition of Plum Viewing, my weekly roundup of arts and culture to enjoy online.
Hello lovely readers. First of all, I owe you an apology for not sharing Plum Viewing for the past two weeks. There is a reason: Mr. Fairs and I actually went on holiday. That’s right. We left the city and spent a gorgeous week in the middle of nowhere. It was heaven. Here’s a photo of the sunsets we were greeted with every evening. We are indeed blessed with a beautiful country!
But, I am back now and here are this week’s picks…
My boyfriend (aka Alan Cumming) has a new memoir, Baggage: Tales From a Fully Packed Life. He has been promoting it across American media and my favourite interview to date is this one with CBS Morning. But, the one I’m most excited about is happening on Nov 4 in London: a conversation in front of a live (and lively!) British audience with Graham Norton. This, dear readers, will be fun! Alan and Graham (I write this as if we are ALL old friends… a girl can dream!), are indeed old friends and as gossipy and camp as each other. I can not wait to see this. Tickets are 10 GBP (approx. $14 Cdn) and can be reserved here.
Against the Grain (AtG) is back with their very popular Opera Pub Evening. Oh goddess, these are such fun! Here’s how they describe the evenings: “AtG’s Opera Pubs are improvised, wild nights that offer up your favourite operatic arias and ensembles, performed by both established and emerging opera talent hosted by the extraordinary David Eliakis. Opera Pubs are the perfect introduction for newbies and a welcome break for opera vets who want to see something “a little different.” What’s more fun than opera and a beer with friends?” Mr Fairs and I have enjoyed many great evening indulging in one of his favourite things (a good English pub) and mine (opera, of course!). For those of you lucky enough to be in or around Toronto to enjoy it, you can learn more here Opera Pub — Against the Grain Theatre
And, if you’d like a taste of what to expect, take a look at this. Against the Grain Theatre’s Opera Pub
And, another treat for Toronto folks (you guys are having a great cultural week indeed!). The uber talent performer Feist is back with a new album and new residency at TOLive. Titled, MULTITUDES, here’s how it is described: “Featuring all new music written and performed by Feist, accompanied by Todd Dahlhoff and Amir Yaghmai, the Canadian artist creates an intimate, radically communal, and topsy-turvy production that muddies the roles between audience and performer, observer and its subject. We are welcomed to sit back and watch, or raise our voices in collective anonymity. Anything goes.”
I have it on good authority from one long-time Plum reader (merci Julia!) that this event is the perfect return to shows and that the evening itself is ‘magic’. Praise does not come higher than this! It runs until October 30 at Toronto’s Merdian Hall and you can find tickets here.
And, for those of us not lucky enough to be in Toronto, we can console ourselves by revisiting Feist’s musical catelogue here. Such an incredible artist!
Okay, Plum Viewing is generally politics free because well, you know where to go to scratch that itch. But, we’ll make a small exception here. Robert Costa is the co-author, along with Bob Woodward, of Peril, the third book on the Trump presidency. Costa is speaking at New York’s 92Y on the one year anniversary of what has been described as the most contentious election is recent history (an understatement, indeed!).
Taking place on November 8 at 7:30 pm EY, the event is being livestreamed. Tickets are $20 and can be reserved here
Just in time for Halloween, Crow’s Theatre in Toronto is back with Ghost Quartet . Mr. Fairs and I were lucky enough to see this two years ago when it first premiered and what a fun evening it was! The show, which runs for 80 minutes, can best be described as a weird and wonderful musical journey that you truly hope never ends. It was amazing and I absolutely loved every minute of it. I’m thrilled that the wonderful team at Crow’s has brought this gem of a musical back, with the original cast. It starts tonight and runs until Oct 31. There is unlimiting viewing with your ticket purchase and you can buy it here Login
And, a reminder. A couple of weeks ago I shared news about Partial, an online gallery for Canadian artists. Featuring over 500 artists from across Canada, our simple goal is: more art on more walls. Then, I shared that we were launching a new service, an art sommelier service, an online consultancy where you can work with a curator at Partial to help you find a piece of Canadian art that’s perfect for you. Well, I am very happy to share that this service is indeed a hit! We have had so many requests — it’s wonderful! It’s being offered free of charge until Nov 15. Please consider trying this great service and sharing with your friends. And, of course, feel free to contact me directly for more information. We’ll be launching virtual artist studio tours and our own version of “Cocktails with the Curator” soon as well. Stay tuned and for now, happy art browsing!!
Ok, that’s it. See you next week!
And, an ask: While we’re enjoying these wonderful performances, let’s remember that for the arts organizations producing this incredible content, this is their livelihood; not a hobby. If we can, now is our time to continue to support our incredible arts community!
And, if you’d like to receive Plum Viewing weekly, send me a note at maggiefairs@gmail.com and I will add you to my mailing list.