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What to see, do, hear and read in Toronto this July

What to see, do, hear and read in Toronto this July

Including an east-end jazz festival, a hometown show by a Canadian rock icon and an exhibition on the art of light

"Life is a sliding scale between devastating and weird": Ally Pankiw on her new dramedy, I Used to Be Funny

“Life is a sliding scale between devastating and weird”: Ally Pankiw on her new dramedy, I Used to Be Funny

The writer and director for hit series like Schitt’s Creek, Black Mirror and Feel Good talks comedy, trauma and how her new Toronto-set project came together

"People will always be able to hear Toronto in my music": Charlotte Day Wilson on her new album, Cyan Blue

“People will always be able to hear Toronto in my music”: Charlotte Day Wilson on her new album, Cyan Blue

The R&B singer discusses the city’s signature sound, her skating skills and collaborating with artists like Badbadnotgood and Daniel Caesar

What to see, do, hear and read in Toronto this June

What to see, do, hear and read in Toronto this June

A celebration of love in all its forms, a one-woman show about mortality, a sparkling tribute to the queen of rock and more

"No cinema in Toronto comes even close to the Revue": Three Toronto directors on the city's ascendant film scene

“No cinema in Toronto comes even close to the Revue”: Three Toronto directors on the city’s ascendant film scene

Friends Matt Johnson, Brandon Cronenberg and Andrew Cividino rate and roast one another ahead of the Canadian Screen Awards

What to see, do, hear and read in Toronto this May

What to see, do, hear and read in Toronto this May

A revival of Jesus Christ Superstar, a tribute to Gordon Lightfoot, a night of comedy with Gerry Dee and more

Inside the Latest Issue

The July issue of Toronto Life features the monster cottages of Muskoka versus the resistance. Plus, our obsessive coverage of everything that matters now in the city.

"Not all trans stories are rooted in pain": Meet the directors of the Hot Docs tribute to R&B legend Jackie Shane

“Not all trans stories are rooted in pain”: Meet the directors of the Hot Docs tribute to R&B legend Jackie Shane

Documentarians Lucah Rosenberg-Lee and Michael Mabbott on Shane’s 1960s success and disappearance, working with Elliott Page, and better representing the experiences of trans people

"It's always there—the dark feeling in my stomach that the world's going to hell": A Q&A with director Caitlin Cronenberg

“It’s always there—the dark feeling in my stomach that the world’s going to hell”: A Q&A with director Caitlin Cronenberg

The newly minted filmmaker talks growing up on her dad’s movie sets, the story behind her new eco-thriller and feeling like the least important person in the room

"I'm the hardest-working queen on the planet": A Q&A with Priyanka, Canada's first lady of drag

“I’m the hardest-working queen on the planet”: A Q&A with Priyanka, Canada’s first lady of drag

The inaugural champion of Canada’s Drag Race has a new show, a new movie and a new single. World domination is hard work. She’s up for it

How actor Paul Sun-Hyung Lee spends a day off in Toronto

How actor Paul Sun-Hyung Lee spends a day off in Toronto

Including family breakfast at a ’50s-style diner, shopping for sci-fi collectibles and coaching his son’s baseball team

"Being from Toronto gave me a global perspective": A Q&A with Don McKellar, co-creator of Crave's The Sympathizer

“Being from Toronto gave me a global perspective”: A Q&A with Don McKellar, co-creator of Crave’s The Sympathizer

The Canadian screen star talks making the leap from theatre to TV, adapting Viet Thanh Nguyen's famous novel and getting Robert Downey Jr. to play multiple characters

What to see, do, hear and read in Toronto this April

What to see, do, hear and read in Toronto this April

An evening of synth-driven indie rock, a Scottish fashion show, a multimedia exhibition of Indigenous art, and more

"Christianity was a radical, socialist, queer idea from the get-go": A Q&A with Anthony Oliveira on his biblical new novel, Dayspring

“Christianity was a radical, socialist, queer idea from the get-go”: A Q&A with Anthony Oliveira on his biblical new novel, Dayspring

The comic book writer and author talks growing up queer under Catholicism, finding humour in the Bible and learning self-acceptance from X-Men

5 reasons families love vacationing in Belize

5 reasons families love vacationing in Belize

What to see and do in this Central American paradise

Created forBelize

"It’s 2024 and we only just saw Indigenous representation at the Oscars": A Q&A with Little Bird creator Jennifer Podemski

“It’s 2024 and we only just saw Indigenous representation at the Oscars”: A Q&A with Little Bird creator Jennifer Podemski

The actor-turned-producer talks growing up in Toronto, filming in an apocalyptic Manitoba winter and working with Sixties Scoop survivors

Law & Order Toronto recap: Crack pipes, politicians and plenty of shady dealings

Law & Order Toronto recap: Crack pipes, politicians and plenty of shady dealings

A very Toronto breakdown of episode four, “Crack Reporter”

Law & Order Toronto recap: Paint brushes and poisonings

Law & Order Toronto recap: Paint brushes and poisonings

A very Toronto breakdown of episode three, “The Real Eve”

"You have to become Alice—the audience knows if you're faking it": A Q&A with Tirion Law, lead ballerina in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

“You have to become Alice—the audience knows if you’re faking it”: A Q&A with Tirion Law, lead ballerina in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

The National Ballet of Canada soloist talks warm-up routines, cheat meals and how to tell a story using body language

Law & Order Toronto recap: Condo shootings and cold cases

Law & Order Toronto recap: Condo shootings and cold cases

A very Toronto breakdown of episode two, “Good Neighbours”

What to see, do, hear and read in Toronto this March

What to see, do, hear and read in Toronto this March

Including a festival of light-based artwork, pop princess Olivia Rodrigo and an exhibition on women artists throughout history

Law & Order Toronto recap: Crypto kings and con artists

Law & Order Toronto recap: Crypto kings and con artists

A very Toronto breakdown of episode one, "The Keys to the Castle"

"I don't think novels have messages": A Q&A with Sheila Heti

“I don’t think novels have messages”: A Q&A with Sheila Heti

Heti's new novel, The Alphabetical Diaries, is an experiment in imposing spreadsheet rigour on the messiness of a daily journal. Here, she talks autofiction, favourite Toronto bars and using mushrooms for pre-publication anxiety

What to see, do, hear and read in Toronto this February

What to see, do, hear and read in Toronto this February

Including an indie powerhouse's most emotional tour yet, an exhibition on reclaiming Indigenous culture and a new adaptation of a classic play by Anton Chekhov

“At home, our theatre doubles as our bomb shelter”: A National Ballet of Ukraine dancer on touring across Canada

“At home, our theatre doubles as our bomb shelter”: A National Ballet of Ukraine dancer on touring across Canada

Award-winning dancer Nikita Sukhorukov talks about performing in wartime, representing Ukraine abroad and raising money for refugees

Deep Dives

Sex worker and Anora consultant Andrea Werhun’s journey from strip clubs to Hollywood

Sex worker and Anora consultant Andrea Werhun’s journey from strip clubs to Hollywood

Andrea Werhun’s dream was to be a writer, but there was a lot more money in sex work. She told herself she’d quit soon, then spent years working as a stripper. In 2022, Sean Baker hired her as a consultant on his Oscar-sweeping film. Now she’s stepping into her own spotlight

Dancing Queens: Patrons, staff and performers share their wildest memories of Crews and Tangos, Toronto’s most storied drag bar

Dancing Queens: Patrons, staff and performers share their wildest memories of Crews and Tangos, Toronto’s most storied drag bar

Crews and Tangos has been enforcing the rules of the Village for more than 30 years: wear what you want, kiss who you want, but don’t forget to tip the drag queens. With a condo development looming, we asked around for tales from the iconic spot

Lady Parts: Inside Meredith MacNeill and Jennifer Whalen’s new show, Small Achievable Goals

Lady Parts: Inside Meredith MacNeill and Jennifer Whalen’s new show, Small Achievable Goals

The Baroness von Sketch Show alumnae have elevated joking about women’s issues to an art. Their new show takes aim at menopause. How funny is that?

Almost Famous: Inside the Beaches’ rise to rock stardom

Almost Famous: Inside the Beaches’ rise to rock stardom

A viral earworm about a breakup turned the Beaches into Toronto’s hottest export. Now, the panty-throwing, stage-diving, all-girl rock band is seducing fans around the world

Quality Trash: Meet director Ron Oliver, Hallmark’s king of schmaltz

Quality Trash: Meet director Ron Oliver, Hallmark’s king of schmaltz

Over two decades and dozens of made-for-TV Christmas films, Oliver has become the Hallmark Channel’s most prolific, flamboyant and unapologetically sappy director

Aural History: Backstage stories from the legendary Budweiser Stage

Aural History: Backstage stories from the legendary Budweiser Stage

Since its first show (Bryan Adams, May 1995, sell-out crowd), Budweiser Stage has been synonymous with summer and stars both celestial and musical. As the venue kicks off its 30th season, we asked performers and staff for their best, wildest, most indelible memories of the amphitheatre by the lake

How Carley Fortune is reinventing the romance novel

How Carley Fortune is reinventing the romance novel

In just two years, she’s published two runaway bestsellers, sold film rights to Prince Harry and Meghan, finished a third book—which hits shelves this month—and is well into her fourth. Here, she talks anti-romance snobbery, what makes a good sex scene and how sudden fame has changed her life

The wildest stories from the legendary 888 Dupont art squat

The wildest stories from the legendary 888 Dupont art squat

The rent was dirt cheap, the rules were nonexistent and the parties were legendary. Now, with demolition underway, former tenants share their favourite memories of the city’s most storied artists’ space

The fabulous, terrifying, chaotic life of Josh Richards, TikTok's reigning influencer

The fabulous, terrifying, chaotic life of Josh Richards, TikTok’s reigning influencer

TikTok turned Josh Richards from an ordinary small-town teen into a multimillionaire, CEO and venture capitalist. How to make a fortune via bedroom eyes, 10-second lip syncs and a signature ’do

"We lived in a shelter downtown, and Honest Ed’s was the only store I knew": Shania Twain on her years dreaming big in Toronto

“We lived in a shelter downtown, and Honest Ed’s was the only store I knew”: Shania Twain on her years dreaming big in Toronto

Before she became a global phenomenon, Shania Twain was flipping burgers, hawking jeans and fronting cover bands in Toronto. Today, the queen of country pop is touring the world with a new album, but she’s still nostalgic about the city that made her

What to Do

The Best of the Fests: What to see, do and hear in Toronto this festival season

The Best of the Fests: What to see, do and hear in Toronto this festival season

This July, the streets are brimming with music, art, theatre and other forms of summer revelry. Here, a roundup of the best bets of the month