Comicon, a Justin Timberlake show and seven other things to see, do, hear and read this week

The geekiest weekend of 2018 1Toronto Comicon returns with nearly 500 exhibitors and comic artists, plus all the panels, parties and nerd-culture merchandise your bank account can handle. This year’s headlining guests include The X-Files’ Mitch Pileggi, The Walking Dead’s Seth Gilliam, The Flash’s John Wesley Shipp, Joonas Suotamo (the new Chewbacca), and Matilda herself, Mara Wilson. Friday, March 16 to Sunday, March 18. $20–$45. Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

A choreographic tour of the Canadian songbook 2In This Body: Voices3 pairs vocalist Fides Krucker with three top-notch dancers (Peggy Baker, Laurence Lemieux and Heidi Strauss) for a distinctly Canadian blend of song and dance. It’s an emotional journey through our national musical canon, with songs by Joni Mitchell, Alanis Morissette, k.d. lang, Serena Ryder and others woven into a musical tapestry about “the wilderness of a woman’s heart.” Wednesday, March 14 to Saturday, March 18. $39–$69. Berkeley Street Theatre.

A Justin Timberlake stadium show (no football required) 3The self-proclaimed Man Of The Woods kicks off his latest world tour with a pair of dates at the Air Canada Centre. If you saw his Super Bowl LII halftime show, you know what to expect: catchy pop hits, endless showmanship and, we can only hope, the return of selfie kid. Tuesday, March 13 and Thursday, March 15. $55–$585. Air Canada Centre.

A redux of a powerful period play 4In The Monument, a soldier charged with war crimes flees a death sentence and pledges his servitude to an unknown woman. This Factory Theatre production of Colleen Wagner’s Governor General’s Award–winning 1996 play draws parallels between wartime and Canada’s colonial history, returning to the stage in a time of heightened awareness of missing and murdered Indigenous women. Thursday, March 15 to Saturday, April 1. $30. Factory Theatre.

Remnants of a lost civilization 5At the height of its reign in the 10th and 11th centuries, Egypt’s Fatimid dynasty ruled over an empire that stretched from Cairo to Sicily to Iran, fostering a diverse society steeped in the arts and sciences. This spring, the Aga Khan Museum hosts The World of the Fatimids, North America’s first comprehensive exhibition of Fatimid artifacts, including marble reliefs, ceramic lustreware and other objets d’art. The show also includes VR experiences that immerse audiences in the extraordinary but underexplored society. To Monday, July 2. $20. Aga Khan Museum.

A ruff and ready kids’ escapade 6The do-gooder dogs of TVOKids’ insanely revered (by preschoolers, at least) cartoon Paw Patrol bring their fire- fighting, crime-solving, crisis-averting ways to the Sony Centre for a sprightly pirate-themed adventure, filled with sunny anthems and high-energy dance routines. When Cap’n Turbot disappears into a mysterious cavern, the pups embark on a rescue mission that leads them to a treasure map, only to find themselves competing with Mayor Humdinger to unearth the booty. Friday, March 16 to Sunday, March 18. $22–$75. Sony Centre for the Performing Arts.

Miguel’s moody awakening 7Prince’s mantle should be safe in the hands of Miguel, a seductive L.A. heartthrob with a lush falsetto and some killer guitar chops. Though he made his name on lusty R&B jams, his latest album, War and Leisure, is the sound of a sex symbol waking up to the world outside his bedroom—to protests in Standing Rock, to flooding in New Orleans, to police shootings in too many cities to count. At Rebel this month, Miguel will couch his weightier musings in steamy love songs, filled with characteristically slinky melodies and bluesy guitar riffs. Monday, March 12. $45.50–$205.50. Rebel.

A fresh take on Les Misérables 8La résistance lives on at the Theatre Centre’s revival of that old warhorse, Les Misérables. Theatre Smith-Gilmour’s new adaptation is a humbler theatrical production rather than a mighty Broadway musical, but it still has revolutionary gusto: it imagines Victor Hugo’s novel as a call to arms in modern times and celebrates Jean Valjean’s quest to follow his conscience. Friday, March 16 to Sunday, April 1. $40. The Theatre Centre.

A photographer’s continent-crossing retrospective 9In his five-decade career, Bruno Barbey has worked on all seven continents and photographed everything from protests in Italy to protests in Paris to wars in Vietnam, Iraq and Northern Ireland. Stephen Bulger Gallery’s retrospective exhibition captures the range of Barbey’s ambition and artistry, making a case for him as one of the medium’s masters. To Saturday, April 14. Stephen Bulger Gallery.