The days are getting shorter, but fear not: We’ve got plenty to keep you busy this season. Herewith, the cultural highlights that await this fall.
STAGE
Across the country, theatres are rolling out fall seasons chock-full of world premieres, Canadian reworks of the hottest plays on Broadway and a bevy of high-impact musicals.
Artists are experimenting with forms, genres and – now more than ever – what it means to create work in this era of “elbows up” nationalism. It’s a theme sure to influence new plays and productions from coast-to-coast. Here’s theatre critic Aisling Murphy on what’s coming to Canadian stages this fall.
MUSIC
There was no song of the summer this year, but there was a September to remember. Albums from Doja Cat, Anne Murray, David Byrne, Buckingham Nicks, Christone (Kingfish) Ingram, Ed Sheeran, Sarah McLachlan, Spinal Tap, Cardi B, Lola Young, Meredith Moon, Geese, Nine Inch Nails, Wednesday, Jeff Tweedy, Mariah Carey, Neko Case, Robert Plant, Sloan and Patrick Watson all dropped last month.
And October, of course, opened with the release of Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl.
The tap is still not off. The coming music calendar includes records by an audacious Winnipegger, rejuvenated classic rockers back in the saddle, a Cancon supergroup, an 80-year-old Lido Shuffler and more. Here’s music critic Brad Wheeler with the lowdown.
FILM
It was a cruel, cruel summer.
Even with Superman, the Fantastic Four and the brave dino-hunters of Jurassic World at our disposal, the summer movie season just wrapped as the worst one on offer since 1981, adjusted for inflation and excluding the pandemic-era years of 2020 through 2022. That makes the next few months a crucial test for the power of theatrical exhibition – and in terms of potential out-and-out blockbusters, well, things look grim until December, when James Cameron will save us all with a new Avatar film.
But in terms of quality cinema – the kind of films that don’t rely on superheroes and franchise exploitation – the fall looks bright (if not particularly profitable). Here are 10 of the most intriguing titles coming to a theatre near you (and hopefully taking their sweet time to make it to streaming). Here’s film critic Barry Hertz with more.
CONCERTS
Last month, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission sued Live Nation and Ticketmaster for tacitly co-ordinating with ticket brokers and allowing them to illegally acquire concert seats, allegedly costing consumers billions of dollars in inflated prices and additional fees.
Live Nation Entertainment CEO and president Michael Rapino, meanwhile, says concerts are “underpriced,” and that “music has been underappreciated.”
And while ticket prices are certainly not cheap, there’s a lot on offer this fall. Here’s Brad Wheeler with what’s in store.
TELEVISION
While the television schedule never stops these days, fall’s still the most jam-packed time of year for new and returning shows.
Notable freshman dramas and comedies such as Sterlin Harjo’s Reservation Dogs follow-up The Lowdown (Disney+) and The Office spin-off The Paper (StackTV) have already made their debuts, while favourites pulpy political thriller The Diplomat (Netflix, Oct. 16) and postapocalyptic romp Fallout (Prime Video, Dec. 17) will return soon.
Here’s TV critic J. Kelly Nestruck with 10 more promising comedies, dramas and docu-series hitting the figurative air this fall.
VISUAL ARTS
Surely this is a coincidence. After several years spent rediscovering, reclaiming and celebrating female artists – Joyce Wieland, Kaija Sanelma Harris, Shelley Niro – the fall art season is all about the boys. In Toronto and Montreal in particular, big male careers – think Jeff Wall, Kent Monkman and David Altmejd – loom large. Here’s visual arts critic Kate Taylor with what to see this fall.