encoreNOW is a bi-weekly column by Paul Rellinger where he features upcoming music, theatre, film, and performing arts events and news from across the Kawarthas.
This week, Paul highlights the Pride For Peace “Spotify quitting party” at Take Cover Books in Peterborough’s East City, the Peterborough Theatre Guild’s season-opening production of Norm Foster’s Opening Night at the Guild Hall, New Stages Theatre’s season-opening staged reading of A Public Display Of Affection at Peterborough’s Market Hall, the return of the Apsley Autumn Studio Tour, Classic Troubadours Live at Lindsay’s Academy Theatre, and Globus Theatre’s staging of The Beaver Club in Bobcaygeon.
Spotify, be damned … Taylor Abrahamse leads protest charge
VIDEO: Taylor Abrahamse opening for Robert Priest at Hugh’s Room in Toronto
There’s absolutely no chance Spotify co-founder and CEO Daniel Ek will show his face on Friday, September 19 at Take Cover Books in Peterborough. That’s a good thing as the welcome mat won’t be anywhere near laid out.
Billed as a “A Pride Concert and Spotify Quitting Party,” Pride For Peace will take harsh aim at Ek’s investment of $700 million U.S. into a European company specializing in AI software for military weapons while Spotify pays most of the musicians it features a pittance for their playlisted music. Thus this call to action to make the switch to a “fairer” streaming service that sees artists fairly compensated for their creative output.
Following the news, several musicians announced they were removing their music from Spotify in protest. The indie band Deerhoof was one of the first to leave, stating, “We don’t want our music killing people”. Other artists, including Xiu Xiu and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, soon followed.
At the September 19 event, which is co-presented by Ptbo-Nogo Pride and Peterborough singer-songwriter Taylor Abrahamse, attendees will not only be helped with the transition of their playlists to a fairer platform, but will also be treated to a pride-friendly concert featuring Abrahamse, a huge multi-faceted talent whose extensive work as a voice actor is matched by their songwriting and performance.
When multi-Juno Award-winning artist Hawksley Workman describes Abrahamse as “a mega talent,” we should take notice. Abrahamse’s creative journey began as an Elvis impersonator at age five and that sense of play never went away. At age 16, Abrahamse was Canadian idol finalist and, later, a Mariposa Emerging Artist finalist.
Abrahamse has since recorded and released studio albums, has written musicals, and has collaborated with a number of artists and songwriters, both of the established and emerging variety. Having expressed their gender fluid identity in 2024, Abrahamse has made appearances at a various Canadian Pride festivals.
All Spotify-damning aside, this event marks a great opportunity to get up close and personal with a big talent that no doubt has a few surprises to come.
Advance tickets to the 7:30 p.m. event cost $15 ($5 more at the door) but, due to the small venue size, are limited. To order advance tickets, visit simpli.events/e/pride-for-peace.
Staging “Opening Night” for the Peterborough Theatre Guild’s season-opening play makes perfect sense
If you’re going to stage Norm Foster’s Opening Night, is there a better time to do so than as your season opener?
For the Peterborough Theatre Guild, it makes perfect sense. As such, the famed Canadian playwright’s very funny take on a couple’s night out at the theatre will open the Guild’s 60th season, with opening night for Opening Night on Friday, September 19 at the fabled Guild Hall on Rogers Street in East City.
The first of six plays to be staged during the 2025-26 season, Opening Night introduces us to Jack and Ruth Tisdale, who have decided to celebrate their 25th anniversary by attending a live theatre production — a first for Jack. She’s looking for a romantic night out, but he rather be at home watching sports on TV.
Backstage, the director is nervous and the actors are impossible. Add in Jack’s antics and you’ve got the recipe for what’s billed as “a laugh out loud exploration of theatre, relationships, and second chances.”
First produced in 1989 by Piggery Theatre in North Hatley, Quebec, Foster’s play brings eight actors to the stage under the direction of Margaret Monis. In choosing to open the season with this play, the Guild has chosen well.
Frequently compared to famed American playwright Neil Simon, Foster has written more than 75 comedic plays. In late 2016, his body of work saw him named an Officer of the Order of Canada.
As for the Guild’s new season, it marks a continuation of a remarkable community theatre legacy that began in 1965 and has since seen the company awarded multiple times for its work. To say the guild remains a Peterborough cultural juggernaut borders on an understatement.
Opening Night runs at 7:30 p.m. on September 19 and 20, 25 to 27, and October 2 to 4, with 1:30 p.m. matinees on September 21 and 28. Tickets are $30 for adults, $27 for seniors, and $20 for students, and are available now at www.peterboroughtheatreguild.com.
New Stages Theatre opens its new season during Pride Week with Jonathan Wilson’s “A Public Display of Affection”
VIDEO: “A Public Display of Affection” – Interviews with Jonathan Wilson and Mark McGrinder
September also marks a new season for Peterborough’s New Stages Theatre, which will continue into next June at Market Hall in downtown Peterborough.
Artistic director Mark Wallace et al have habitually pushed the boundaries in terms of both presentation and content, and the season opener follows that script in the form of a staged reading of A Public Display Of Affection during Pride Week.
Written and performed by Jonathan Wilson, the story mixes history, comedy, and poignant reflection in equal measure as it relates Wilson’s reflections of the lives, loves, and landmarks of his queer youth on the streets of Toronto after he arrived there in 1979, as a teen, from Oshawa.
A Public Display Of Affection premiered this past spring at Toronto’s Crow Theatre and received rave reviews for Wilson’s personal insights into gay life in the big city before, during, and after the AIDS epidemic. The play was recently nominated for Outstanding New Production by the Toronto Theatre Awards.
A celebrated Canadian actor and playwright, Wilson’s past works include Kilt and My Own Private Oshawa, which was nominated for a Governor General’s Award among others. Wilson played Timon in the Canadian premiere of The Lion King, wrote and performed with The Second City Toronto for six revues, and last performed with New Stages in a staged reading of Harvey Fierstein’s Torch Song during Pride Week in 2019.
Presented in partnership with Ptbo-Nogo Pride, Wilson’s staged reading of A Public Display Of Affection is restricted to those 16 years of age and older, due to strong language, including homophobic slurs, and mature and violent themes.
New Stages Theatre is staging eight productions at the Market Hall for the 2025-26 season, each with assigned seating. For more information on the new season, visit www.newstages.ca.
Meanwhile, tickets to the 7 p.m. staging reading of A Public Display Of Affection cost $30 (with a “welcome rate” of $20 and a “pay it forward” rate of $40) and are available at tickets.markethall.org/?category=20.
Enjoy fall in all its splendour, and great art too, in North Kawartha with the Apsley Autumn Studio Tour
Oh, we do love our autumn studio tours.
With the Northumberland Hills Studio Tour this past weekend and the Kawartha Autumn Studio Tour set for the last weekend of September, next in line for visual art enthusiasts is the 32nd Apsley Autumn Studio Tour on September 20 and 21.
The self-guided tour will take participants to 12 studios in North Kawartha Township to view, up close and personal, 33 artists doing what they do so well. Painting, jewellery, glass art, sculpture, fabric art, pottery, felting, metalwork — it’s all here to take in.
From the molten heat of glass furnaces to the cool feel of carved stone, and all points in between, this is a wonderful opportunity to meet artists where they’re at, and gain insight into the creative processes they’re more than willing to talk about. Toss in the beautiful fall colours and it’s a great way to spend a weekend.
Studio tour hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. Participating is as easy as downloading the free Toureka! app to your phone, which provides information about all the participating artists and allows you to map out the route. For more information about the studio tour and for a link to the app, visit apsleystudiotour.com.
Still to come in October are studio tours in the City of Kawartha Lakes and the Haliburton Highlands. For details on each of those, visit https://kawarthanow.com/autumnstudiotours/.
Classic Troubadours Live brings 1970s nostalgia to Lindsay
VIDEO: “The Songs of James, Joni, Jackson and Carole” promo
This fall marks two years since award-winning singer-songwriter Jacob Moon founded Classic Troubadours Live. The five-member ensemble has since sold out theatres across Ontario.
Lindsay’s Academy Theatre is hoping for the same result on Wednesday, September 24 when it welcomes the quintet’s tribute to the timeless music of James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, and Carole King.
The combined catalogue of that foursome is remarkable, with songs such as “Fire And Rain,” “Big Yellow Taxi,” “Running On Empty,” and “You’ve Got A Friend” barely scratching the surface of what “The Songs of James, Joni, Jackson and Carole” will deliver for the Academy Theatre audience.
Singers Alex Whorms, Ashley St. Pierre, and Selena Evangeline, joined by drummer Rob Brown and bassist Mark McIntyre, go beyond the simple imitation to honour the legacy of four of the greatest songwriters of their time. The result is a hit-after-hit concert dripping with 1970s nostalgia and rekindled memories.
Of note, Classic Troubadours Live has spawned similar tributes to artists including Sting and Peter Gabriel, Robbie Robertson and The Band, and Stevie Nicks and Sheryl Crow. The formula has clearly proven to be a winner.
Tickets to the 7:30 p.m. concert cost $50.95 and are available at www.flatoacademytheatre.com.
Join “The Beaver Club” at Globus Theatre in Bobcaygeon for a road trip to Newfoundland
An ambitious season that began in late May continues at Globus Theatre in Bobcaygeon on Wednesday, September 24 with the curtain rising on The Beaver Club.
The first full-length play by Toronto playwright Barbara Scheffler, this very funny tale chronicles the adventure of four women (played by Linda Goranson, Anna Silvija Broks, Sarah Quick, and Barb Sheffler) who have formed an unlikely friendship and undertake a road trip from Toronto to Dildo, Newfoundland.
Along the way, they confront their pasts, navigate their present, and embrace the future. Via skinny dipping, scrapbooking, the sharing of secrets and the promise of fresh starts, they form a bond, ultimately discovering life is better when you face it with others.
Described as “a love letter to Canada,” it couldn’t come at a better time in light of current events. Elbows up, ladies!
A graduate of the musical theatre program at Sheridan College, Scheffler tried her hand at writing murder mysteries while working as a performer. She wrote several scripts for Mysteriously Yours Dinner Theatre. After collaborating with her husband on several musicals, Scheffler penned Pirates Don’t Babysit!, which won the Best of Fringekids Award at the Toronto Fringe Festival.
Curtain at the Pigeon Lake Road venue is 8 p.m. from September 24 to 27 and October 1 to 4, with 2 p.m. matinees on September 27 and October 2, with another matinee added on October 4 due to demand. An optional dinner is available before evening performances, but note the dinners are already sold out for some of the dates, with limited availability for others.
Tickets are $50 for the show only or $100 for dinner and the show (plus tax and fees), and are available at www.globustheatre.com/shows-all/the-beaver-club.
Encore
- When it comes to not showing the Peterborough Musicians Benevolent Association (PMBA) enough love, I’m guilty as charged. Like clockwork, month after month, Al Black, Jo Pillon, Norm Kastner, and Don McBride bring terrific acts to The Social in downtown Peterborough, raising funds for local musicians in need of a hand up for whatever reason. Thousands upon thousands of dollars have done much good over the years. If you’ve never been, go, with your next chance being Saturday, September 20 when The Silver Hearts, joined by special guests, take to the stage at 1 p.m. There’s no cover, but bring along a few bucks as a donation.
- Full details are forthcoming, but Artsweek will be held September 28 to October 5. I’m delighted to share that news in light of the ongoing threat to municipal grant dollars provided to local cultural organizations such as the Electric City Culture Council (EC3), which organizes Artsweek. About this time a year ago, it appeared events such as Artsweek were destined to go the way of the do-do. It’s time to walk the walk. If you care, really care, about what events such as this bring to our city, do one of two things: support the events by attending or let city councillors know how you feel about any funding cuts. In fact, do both. Protesting after these events are gone is too late.
