Theatre, Film And Photography Festivals Shine Across Ontario

By Neil Armstrong
As the weather gets warmer in Ontario, there are more festivals worth seeing including the Shaw Festival, Stratford Festival, CONTACT Photography Festival, Inside Out Annual 2SLGBTQ+ Film Festival, and several that are upcoming.

On May 23, the musical, “Funny Girl,” opened at the Festival Theatre at the Shaw Festival’s 64th season to resounding applause.
Sara Farb, actor, playwright and singer, makes her debut as Fanny Brice in the Shaw’s production of this bittersweet musical comedy. Her musical chops and personable personality shine on stage.
She is joined by Qasim Khan as the smooth-talking gambler Nick Arnstein, Damien Atkins as Florenz Ziegfeld Jr., Patty Jamieson as Mrs. Brice, and African Canadian singer Alana Bridgewater as Mrs. Meeker, and actor Janelle Cooper as Mrs. Strakosh.
“Fanny Brice has everything it takes to be Broadway’s next big thing: the voice, the charm and more than a little chutzpah. But does she have “the look?” This touching comedy explores her unlikely rise to stardom with the Ziegfeld Follies as well as her turbulent love life with gambler Nick Arnstein. One of the greatest musical scores of all time, Funny Girl includes classics like “Don’t Rain on My Parade”, “I’m the Greatest Star”, “People” and much more,” notes a synopsis.
This love letter to theatre also features Matt Alfano, Camille Eanga-Selenge, Sharry Flett, Élodie Gillett, Jeff Irving, Jaden Kim, Graeme Kitagawa, Lawrence Libor, Allison McCaughey, Madelyn Miyashita, Cheryl Mullings, Jade Repeta, Travis Seetoo, Jeremiah Sparks, Mikayla Stradiotto, Gabriella Sundar Singh, Taurian Teelucksingh, Jacqueline Thair and Shawn Wright.
The festival’s season began on April 2 and runs until December 23, 2026.
At the Stratford Festival’s 74th season, seven of twelve productions opened May 25-30, including “The Tempest,” “Guys and Dolls,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “Death of a Salesman,” “Something Rotten,” “The Hobbit,” and “Waiting for Godot.”
Five more shows will open later in the season: “The Importance of Being Earnest,” “Othello,” “The Tao of the World,” “The King James Bible Play,” and “Saturday, Sunday, Monday.”

The CONTACT Photography Festival continues throughout the Greater Toronto Area with exhibitions by Dawit L. Petros at the Image Centre until August 1; “A Place of Ours” by Delali Cofie at United Contemporary until June 13; “Hints of Orange” by Jamaal Owusu-Ansah at the Black Canary Expresso Bar until June 5; and Kalmplex X’s “Toronto Time Capsule: Laundry Mat Portraits” opens at She Said Gallery on May 29 and runs until June 11.

The Inside Out 36th Annual 2SLGBTQ+ Film Festival opened on May 22 and runs until May 31 at TIFF Lightbox.

It featured the world premiere of “In The Closet,” a humorous and heartfelt docuseries following Black non-binary comedian, writer and filmmaker Ajahnis Charley as “they raid their non-binary besties closets looking to affirm both their identity and their hotness.” It is produced by the National Film Board of Canada.

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