Feathers of Fire: A Persian Epic
Upon its world premiere at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 2016, the elaborate puppet show Feathers of Fire was hailed as "cinematic wizardry" by Francis Ford Coppola, who is not only a filmmaker but a former summer-camp counselor. Kids and anyone in favour of being bedazzled are the audience for a "live animation" shadow-casting spectacle based on the 10th-century Persian epic Shahnameh (The Book of Kings).
March 10 (8 p.m.), March 11 (3 and 8 p.m.) and March 12 (3 p.m.). $45 to $85. George Weston Recital Hall, 5040 Yonge St., 855-985-2787 or http://www.tocentre.com/events/feathers-fire.
Out of the Depths: The Blue Whale Story
In 2014, nine rare blue whales became trapped in ice off the coast of Newfoundland and died. When a behemoth washed ashore, New Yorker magazine asked, "What do we do with this whale?" Well, if you're the Royal Ontario Museum, you de-flesh the 15-ton beast and recover the bones, and, after a two-year de-greasing process, you display the awe-inspiring animal to the public.
March 11 to Sept. 4. $19 to $30. Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen's Park, 416-586-8000 or http://www.rom.on.ca/en/visit-us/buy-tickets.
Bloodshot Bill
One-man bands can be seen as novelties, but with the Montreal rockabilly hero Bloodshot Bill, the stakes (and hell) are raised. His retro-rock is greasy, his antics are genuine and his heart longs for the 1950s. Sharing a bill with Toronto's gut-bucket blues duo Catl, an eccentric entertainer helps in a sendoff to the Silver Dollar Room, a storied venue on its last legs.
March 10, 9 p.m. $10 to $12. Silver Dollar Room, 486 Spadina Ave., 888-732-1682 or http://www.ticketfly.com/event/1426674-bloodshot-bill-catl-toronto/?utm_medium=726600.
Feminism and Difficult Women with Roxane Gay
The American writer Roxane Gay's new collection of short stories is Difficult Women, a club to which she might belong. But that is no slight. "We have this idea that, as women, that we're supposed to make nice and play nice," Gay said in an interview this week. "And I really want women to feel permission to be themselves and that includes a range of emotions." On Thursday, the gifted author speaks with radio host Garvia Bailey.
March 16, 7 p.m. Free (sold out). Toronto Reference Library, 789 Yonge St., 416-395-5577 or https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/feminism-difficult-women-with-roxane-gay-tickets-29829332336.
Everything is Great Again
With its latest sketch revue, the Second City troupe makes light of a dark situation: The rise of angry populism, the fashion of outlandish leaders and, probably, the end of the world. You can resist and you can laugh – these two things should never be mutually exclusive, as the Mercer Street satirists thankfully keep reminding us.
March 22 to July 15 (currently in previews). $26 to $57. Second City Theatre, 51 Mercer St., 416-343-0011 or http://www.secondcity.com/shows/toronto/everything-is-great-again.
Brad Wheeler