Five for Twenty (Or Less)

Spring is here! Finally! (Fingers crossed). The weather is doing new, exciting things, and so is Toronto theatre. It’s a time for growth and good feelings. Check some of it out, on the cheap, with this week’s inexpensive theatre select. 

AlterNatives by Dvora Levinson (act2studio works) Four people meet on a train headed west in the late thirties. Questions of identity, nationalism, and the clash of cultures arise. Opens April 11 and runs to April 13. $15-$20., The Red Sandcastle Theatre, 922 Queen St. E. (at Logan) 416-979-5000 x6297 act2@ryerson.ca

Blue Planet by Andri Snaer Magnason (Young People’s Theatre). On a planet run by children, a newcomer upsets the balance by granting the kids’ biggest wish, at a price. Previews Apr 8-10. Opens Apr 11 and runs to May 2. $10-$20. 165 Front E. 416-862-2222, youngpeoplestheatre.ca.

COBA Rehearsal Collective of Black Artists presents a sneak peak at the upcoming production Evoque – Passions Deep Within, plus a venue tour and Q&A with artists. Apr 10. $5 full program, performance only free. Daniels Spectrum, 585 Dundas E. cobarehearsal2013.eventbrite.ca.

Love Takes The Worry Out Of Being Close: Public Assemblies In Bed With Queers by Reena Katz (HATCH). Talk politics with LGBTQ people in this performance installation based on John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s bed-ins. Opens Apr 9 and runs to Apr 13. Finale $15, stu/srs $12; bed-ins free. Harbourfront Centre, Studio Theatre, 235 Queens Quay W. 416-973-4000, harbourfrontcentre.com.

Spring Awakening by Frank Wedekind (George Brown Theatre School). A group of 19th-century German teens explore their budding sexuality and deal with the consequences. Opens Apr 9 and runs to Apr 20. $18, srs $12 stu $7. Young Centre for the Performing Arts, 50 Tank House Lane. 416-866-8666, youngcentre.ca.