Arts, Culture and Entertainment in Montreal
Since 1988, Repercussion Theatre’s annual Shakespeare-in-the-Park production has toured green spaces in and around Montreal every summer, bringing together the Bard’s best plays, local talent, outdoor theatre, and the curious masses for an event that takes age-old themes and makes them incredibly accessible for new audiences. This year’s production is Measure for Measure—one of Shakespeare’s […]
On July 13, Montrealers celebrated the second annual Spice Isle Cultural day in Little Burgundy’s Vinet Park. This gathering of music, dancing, culture, food, and fun is an upbeat tribute to the three Caribbean islands that make up the spice isles: Carriacou, Petite Martinique, and Grenada (pronounced GreNAYda, for any unseasoned ears). The festival isn’t […]
Here are my choice Montreal arts and culture highlights for the second half of July 2019: MUSIC Top acts at the Bell Centre include 1990s teen pin-ups Backstreet Boys (July 15), classic rockers Heart (July 16), British hard-rock legends Def Leppard (July 17) and South African stand-up comic Trevor Noah (July 26), host of The Daily […]
This 11th year of The Ethnic Show has six very different comedians from diverse ethnic backgrounds bringing hilarity and energy every night. Cristela Alonzo is this year’s host and she does a fine/funny job. One has to give her full credit since she is the first Latina woman to create, produce, write, and star in […]
Head writer and director Carly Heffernan is bringing some girl power to Montreal’s Just For Laughs Festival with She the People. It’s a female cast sketch comedy show featuring Second City alumnus. As they say, it’s a girlfriend’s guide to sisters doing it for themselves. Check out my telephone conversation with Carly and why you will […]
By Richard Burnett The last time rock legend Steven Van Zandt performed in Montreal solo, with his band Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul, was in October 1987 when he opened for U2 on their Joshua Tree Tour at Olympic Stadium for more than 66,000 screaming fans. Los Lobos was also on that bill. “Really? […]
2019 JUNO-award winner for Comedy Album of the Year (Good Friend, Bad Grammar), Dave Merheje is one of Canada’s finest when it comes to jokes. Having grown up in a first-generation Lebanese-Canadian family, Dave’s personal life has a huge influence on his humour. Dave got his breakthrough into Canada’s professional comedy community as one of […]
If there is a time for fun and distraction, at what point does that time run out? Is it decided by fate or personal choice? Cabaret is energetic, sexy and tender, fun and tragic musical of the fall of pre-war Berlin. It is lascivious and bold, with lots of passion from the cast. It is […]
Here are my choice Montreal arts and culture highlights for June 2019: MUSIC Many top touring acts headline various Montreal concert venues this month. American a cappella group Pentatonix (June 11) and Montreal’s very own Corey Hart (June 15) headline the Bell Centre, while Cincinnati rock band The National (June 21) play at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier at Place des […]
Now in its 29th year, the St-Ambroise Montreal Fringe Festival showcased its local programming at Club Soda on Monday evening. Throughout the three-hour showcase, 63 companies each had two minutes to promote their show on stage. The Fringe’s annual programming is selected entirely by lottery with no restrictions on what can be performed by festival […]