Plum Viewing
Welcome to the latest edition of Plum Viewing, my weekly round-up of arts and culture to enjoy online.
Hello lovely readers. Well I promised you tons of options this week, so here we go! We are taking a cross Canada tour, then popping south to soak up a bit of New York (of course) and finishing across the pond where we’ll catch up with our British friends. Should be fun!
So with that, here are this week’s picks…
Let’s start on Canada’s beautiful east coast in Halifax (where I was lucky enough to go to university but I digress…).
The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia has kindly allowed us to enjoy their space from wherever we are in the world with a series of virtual tours. I have already been for a few visits and I have to say it was just delightful. My favourite: Ned Pratt (son of Christopher and Mary Pratt — Newfoundland’s Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera!). You can treat yourself to a visit here.
And, for anyone traveling out east, you can enjoy An Exhibition Highlight: Featuring Kent Monkman, Ursula Johnson and Jordan Bennett IRL. That’s reason enough to get in the car!
For our Toronto readers, you have lots to look forward to this week, not least of which is Crow’s Theatre’s radical retelling of William Shakespeare’s As You Like It, which kick-starts the theatre’s 2021/22 season. Here’s how they describe this production, “The title As You Like It holds a double meaning that famously teases, this is a play to please all tastes. Acclaimed Indigenous creator Cliff Cardinal has promised to do something just like that.” The cast will be announced at the beginning of each performance and the show runs until October 10. You can get your ticket here.
Let’s stay in Toronto and go from the east end to uptown where we’ll pop into the Royal Conservatory of Music.
On Oct 7, Andrei Feher, Music Director of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, will lead the Royal Conservatory Orchestra in a program that includes: Aaron Copland: Overture from Fanfare for the Common Man; Joan Towers: Overture from Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman; Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony №3 in E flat Major, op. 55.
And for those of us not in Toronto, we will not miss out on the fun because the RMC is also streaming this concert for free. We can enjoy it here: RoyalConservatory.Live.
Okay, let’s hop on the train from Toronto to Montreal to enjoy an old classic from Cirque du Soleil, Kurios: Cabinet of Curiosities. Created and directed by Michel Laprise, it premiered here in 2014. It’s a 60 minute production that looks at a late 19th-century world inventor who invents a machine that defies the laws of time, space, and dimension in order to reinvent everything around him. It’s meant to be a tribute to the power of the human imagination and like all Cirque performances, it is also a tribute to what the human body can do. Wow, just wow. Enjoy it here.
Now, because we’re so close and at this stage in our journey, it’s time for a bit of a fashion fix, let’s go to New York (oh god, I live for the day when this can happen!).
The Fashion Institute of Technology is hosting a conversation with Gabriela Hearst on Monday, Oct 4 at 6 pm ET. For anyone not familiar with Hearst, she was recently named creative director for the fashion house Chloe and she was a pioneer in sustainable fashion. Her designs are beautiful, in every sense and she is such an inspired thinker on the topic of climate change and the role fashion should play. We can watch it here.
Okay, now we’ll leave downtown and head to the Upper West Side and check in with our friends at Dizzy’s Club and enjoy their gorgeous view of the Manhattan skyline (it really is something to see!). Tonight (Friday), we have the pleasure of enjoying a performance by jazz pianist Joey Alexander. Seven years after his U.S. debut at Jazz at Lincoln Center, Alexander is marking his return, now an accomplished, Grammy-nominated bandleader. We’ll be treated to a special, intimate performance alongside bassist Kris Funn and drummer Kush Abadey. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased here. Mr. Fairs and I will be tuning in!
And, to end, we’ll take a quick trip across the pond and visit our old friend, the National Theatre. I am so happy I stumbled on this — my Sunday afternoon is officially sorted!
Just posted on the National Theatre At Home website is the recent performance of Under Milk Wood, starting the uber talented Michael Sheen. Under Milk Wood is of course the masterpiece written by Dylan Thomas and first performed as a 1954 radio drama, commissioned by the BBC. It was later adapted for the stage and then a film. To see Michael Sheen, who has such respect and reverence for Dylan Thomas, bring his beautiful words to life is just marvelous. Here’s the trailer.
After watching this, I’m sure you’ll agree but, if you need further convincing, here is Michael Sheen performing Thomas’ famous poem, ‘Do not go gentle into that good night’. My god. Haunting.
You can rent the National Theatre’s Under Milk Wood here.
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.