Movies
Paul Hot Fuzz and Shaun Of The Dead’s Simon Pegg and Nick Frost reunite for this amusing look at two sci-fi geeks who try to get an alien (voiced by Seth Rogen) back home. See interview with Pegg and Frost and review.
Jane Eyre Charlotte Brönte’s novel about an orphan-turned-governess gets yet another adaptation, this time starring Mia Wasikowska (Alice In Wonderland, The Kids Are All Right). See review.
Stage
Spotlight.Italy See some of the best of Italian dance and theatre in Canadian Stage’s mini festival, on at the Berkeley Street Theatre. See reviews of two shows that close Saturday.
Nohayquiensepa (No One Knows): A Requiem For The Forcibly Displaced This ensemble piece about death in a Colombian town gets a brilliant staging that’s emotionally gripping. Performances Saturday night and Sunday afternoon at the Theatre Centre. See review.
Community
Solidarity with Arab democracy While pro-democracy forces digest the meaning of the U.N. imposition of a no-fly zone in Libya, come and show your support for resisters in Libya, Bahrain and the wider Arab world at a rally hosted by a coalition of groups including the Canadian Arab Federation, Canadian Peace Alliance and more. 1 pm. Yonge-Dundas Sq. See listing.
Poor People’s Assembly With the provincial Liberals stalling an increase in social assistance rates via an 18-month review, CUPE Ontario, OCAP and other groups host a meeting to strategize around a fight-back plan. 2 pm. Free. Davenport Perth Neighbourhood Centre. See listing.
Healthy Water Healthy Cities The Great Lakes are our commons, but that doesn’t mean we give them any respect. Join the Council of Canadians at a forum celebrating World Water Day. Speakers include Robert Lovelace from the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation, Karen Buck of Citizens for a Safe Environment and more.10 am-4:30 pm. Free. Metro Hall. See listing.
A Story of Pigs and Rice: How Haitians were Robbed of their Own Food Supply The destruction of the Creole pig by U.S. officials, and substitution of a species more vulnerable to Haiti’s environment is a key example of colonial control over the economically troubled country. Hear U of T Caribbean expert, Melanie Newton, probe foreign moves that disempower Haitians. 2-4 pm. Free. OISE. See listing.
Art
Steve Reinke and Janet Werner In his video The Root Problem Of The World, part of the Off-Screen program of the Images Festival, Reinke riffs on the ideas of Joseph Beuys through a lecture the German artist gave at NSCAD in 1970 and the subsequent preservation of the blackboard he wrote on as an artwork (now owned by the AGO). Also at Birch Libralato is Werner’s painting show, Beauty Takes A Holiday, portraits of semi-human characters whose body parts have been replaced by objects. Reception at Birch Libralato. See listing.
Tim Zuck MacLaren Art Centre curator Ben Portis talks with Calgary-based artist Zuck in conjunction with this show spanning 25 years of his prints in a variety of techniques that complement his practice in drawing and painting. At Barbara Edwards Contemporary. See listing.
Celebrate People’s History A closing-day sale of posters honouring social movements from this exhibit, organized by radical print collective Just Seed, benefits Brooklyn-based artist Dara Greenwald, who’s recovering from cancer. At Toronto Free Gallery. See listing.
Toy Wonder To cap off March break, take in this free show curated by the DX’s youth director, Katie Weber, featuring Canadian toys by woodworkers Brothers Dressler and Fidoodle and innovators Spin Master and Monster Factory, with background info on how the designers got their cool jobs. At the Design Exchange. See listing.
Books
Toronto Poetry Slam Semi-finals Hit the Drake Underground and check out the 12 best poets of the season as they compete for a spot in the finals. See listing.
Nik Beat/Maureen Hynes/Ruth Roach Pierson/Patria Rivera Poets read from their work at Central. See listing.
