Plum Viewing
Welcome to the latest edition of Plum Viewing, my weekly roundup of arts and culture to view online.
Hello lovely readers! We made it to another Friday. Well done us! And, we have reasons to be optimistic. In Montreal, some of the larger concert halls and theatres now have an opening date (March 26), in New York, Broadway is planning various openings this summer, and of course our friends in Australia are back enjoying live concerts and plays in droves. God bless them! We will all be donning our fancy gladrags again soon and heading to the theatre! Until then, here are this week’s picks. Happy viewing!
Let’s start with Factory Theatre because I have been waiting for this. Always amongst the first out the gate, Toronto’s Factory Theatre has not disappointed with their 2021 season. On March 25, they will launch their Satellite Season: Canadian Stories in Orbit with You can’t get there from here, a brand new collection of audio dramas. It features five commissioned audio works from some of Canada’s most creative minds (Anusree Roy, Matthew MacKenzie, Yvette Nolan, Keith Barker, and Luke Reece). Each will focus on familiar Toronto landmarks and neighbourhoods, which can be enjoyed as you wander through the city or to entice you to make Toronto your first visit post-lockdown. Released once a week over the course of 5 weeks, the first will be available on March 25 and every week for the next five weeks, free of charge. You can learn more here.
Montreal’s Les Sept Doigts (The 7 Fingers) is a ridiculously talented group of circus performers (this is the city that brought the world Cirque du Soleil after all!). Les Sept Doigts’ new show, Out of Order, set in a post-apocalyptic big top, has never made it in front of live audiences. Courtesy of Vancouver’s The Cultch, we can now enjoy until March 21, before it heads overseas (virtually, of course!). You can find it here.
On Tuesday, March 25 the 92Y is hosting a free summit on the State of Democracy. The line-up is wonderful (and basically, my podcast list!). Here’s a sample: Jill Lepore, Yuval Levin, Danielle Allen, Hari Sreenivasan, and many, many more. Starting at 12 pm ET, it is a full day of insightful discussion on democracy: where we are and where we’re going. And, it’s available for free. You can learn more and register here.
On March 26, Jazz at Lincoln Center is airing Voices of Freedom, a concert featuring up and coming singers honoring jazz legends like Betty Carter, Billie Holiday, Abbey Lincoln, and Nina Simone. All under the direction of the great Wynton Marsalis, this will be one not to miss! Tickets are $20 and can be reserved here.
This week, Lincoln Center Theater is launching Private Reels, a peek into their extensive archive. The series is available to stream for free and kicks off with the Off Broadway production of Christopher Durang’s comedy “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike,” which went on to win a Tony Award for its Broadway run. Led by David Hyde Pierce, Kristine Nielsen and Sigourney Weaver, this is a cast truly at the top of their game. It’s available until April 11. You can reserve your ticket here.
See you next week my lovely readers!
And, and 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.