What to see, do, hear and read in Toronto this February
Including an indie rock antidote to winter and a quirky play about the apocalypse
A joyful night of symphonic festivity
Mark Rowswell moved from Canada to China in the ’80s, adopted the stage name Dashan and became one of his new country’s most beloved comedians. This month, he hosts the TSO’s Lunar New Year celebration. Honouring the Year of the Snake, the show features performances by guzheng master Wu Fei and virtuoso violinist Stella Chen. Naomi Woo, the first woman to direct NYO Canada, conducts. Feb. 8, Roy Thomson Hall
A deep dive into the origins of a tech legend
Tech whiz stories often start with late-night coding in dorm rooms or fateful garage start-ups, but in his new autobiography, Microsoft founder Bill Gates is focusing on his childhood. In the first entry of a promised three-part series, the billionaire explores his early family relationships and friendships, his rebellious teenage years, and the loss of Paul Allen, the boyhood friend with whom he started Microsoft. The business and tech mogul traces the formative experiences that shaped who he is today, offering an insightful (if somewhat hagiographical) self-portrait. Out Feb. 4
An indie rock antidote to winter
Before Sophia Regina Allison—a.k.a. Soccer Mommy—released her fourth studio album, Evergreen, in October, she gave fans a sneak peek: if they went to a park and shared their location, they could snag a free preview. Her upcoming gig offers another, equally intimate chance to hear the lush record, which the artist describes as feeling like lying in the sun among flowers. The album includes “Abigail,” a song dedicated to a character—and potential love interest—in the farming video game Stardew Valley. It’s a warm antidote to the February blues. Feb. 4, the Concert Hall
A comical deconstruction of growing up Christian
Comedian Taylor Tomlinson is on a winning streak. After blowing up on TikTok, she had one of the top 10 highest-grossing comedy tour of 2023, released three Netflix specials and continued her gig as the head of After Midnight, the only major American late-night show hosted by a woman. Her Save Me tour features some of her most personal material yet, including her conservative Christian upbringing and her sexuality. Jan. 30 to Feb. 1, Meridian Hall
A drama about identity, power and politics
Crow’s latest zeitgeist-bottling production follows English professor Anita Knight as she prepares for a high-stakes job interview. She’s seeking a leadership role at Yale’s fictional Centre for Reparative Thought and Justice—a not-too-fanciful organization whose title flicks at the culture clashes raging on university campuses. As Anita’s spouse and friends help her along, the ideological battles in her work begin to bleed into her own tidy life. Written by award-winning playwright and Vogue journalist Liz Appel, the show’s world premiere stars Rachel Leslie of Broadway’s Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Jan. 7 to Feb. 9, Crow’s Theatre
A week-long exhibition for motorheads
Canada’s annual auto show is returning to the Metro Convention Centre, this time with even more toys. For those under the legal driving age, Mattel has a booth for Hot Wheels and Lego has one for Technic. For the road-ready, there are exhibits from Alfa Romeo and Rivian, rare and exotic cars, outdoor test drives with experts, racing simulators, and an indoor EV test drive track (exhaust? what exhaust?). The capstone event is the Canadian Car of the Year Awards—a red-carpet affair for the top 2025 releases in several categories, including best electric car and best utility vehicle. Feb. 14 to 23, Metro Convention Centre
A rocker’s return to his roots
It’s been 14 years years since Jack White ceased to be one half of the White Stripes, the Detroit rock band he fronted with Meg White. Since then, he’s been more preoccupied with avant garde musical projects than with his signature stomping stadium rock. But his sixth studio album, No Name, is a delightful return to form. The record is a powder keg of head-banging, heavy-riffing, stripped-back blues rock, and White’s taking it on a year-long global tour that stops in Toronto for two nights this month. Feb. 7 and 8, Massey Hall
An award-winning book’s dramatic adaptation
In André Alexis’s novel Fifteen Dogs, the gods Hermes and Apollo meet for a drink on King Street and wager on whether an animal bestowed with human intelligence would be more or less miserable than the average human. To test their theories, the deities endow 15 dogs with human consciousness and language. So begins the tale that won Alexis the 2015 Giller Prize and was adapted for the stage by Crow’s Theatre in 2023. Mirvish is now hosting a second run, complete with the show’s original cast. Jan. 28 to Feb. 16, CAA Theatre
A quirky play about the apocalypse
Sometime in the all-too-near future, when humanity has failed to prevent climate change from wreaking total ecological disaster, one urban family is just trying to enjoy a normal day at home. Their seemingly simple pursuit becomes rather difficult as a monster storm rages outside. Meanwhile, three travelling wildlife reporters stalk animals that are on the verge of extinction. In this new mixed-medium show by award-winning Belgium-based theatre group the Chaliwaté Company, the insanity of our times becomes fodder for dark comedy told through lo-fi practical effects, puppetry, video and mime. Feb. 21 and 22, Meridian Arts Centre
A collection of dazzling stonecut prints
Kenojuak Ashevak is known as the grandmother of Inuit art. Before her death in 2013 at 85, she won the Governor General’s Award and received the Order of Canada for her stunning prints depicting arctic animals and objects in bold, bright colours. A new exhibition highlights 14 of Ashevak’s works, including The Woman Who Lives in the Sun, from the archive of Toronto collector Ronald M. Haynes. Opens Feb. 15, AGO
A dystopian novel with timely implications
Known for chronicling the UK’s modern anxieties, Scottish author Ali Smith imagines an equally discomfiting future in her latest novel. It follows two children who are ostracized from a dystopian surveillance state and live alone in a strange city. Under these grim conditions, the young protagonists run wild with words, playing with synonyms and homonyms as a way to reject the state’s dominance over their minds. The book takes its title, Gliff, from a Scottish word meaning “transient moment” or “faint glimpse.” It’s also the name of a horse in the novel that’s scheduled for slaughter. Out Feb. 4
Anthony Milton is a freelance journalist based in Toronto specializing in long-form magazine writing. He previously worked as an assistant editor at Toronto Life, where he launched the Front Row newsletter. He regularly contributes all sorts of stories to the magazine, including deep dives on sports, business and housing as well as short-form commentary on our ever-changing city, from its obsession with cherry blossoms to its maddening NIMBYism. His work has also appeared in Maclean’s, Ricochet, TVO, the Trillium and more.
