Centaur Theatre's experimental theatre showcase Wildside Festival returns for a 21st year with a special emphasis on stories about women and non-binary identities. There are six boundary-pushing shows to check out, and here are two of my picks:
And if you catch a late show, consider sticking around for the Offside, free cabaret-style gigs in the Centaur gallery, with local storytellers, comics and musicians performing. Friday night is a nod to Iggy Pop, the subject of one of the Wildside shows.
Montrealers love comic Sebastian Maniscalco's tales of growing up Italian-American in Chicago and now, his experience as a new dad. Check out his tour by seeing one of his many shows this weekend at Place-des-Arts.
Got a story to tell? Check out Story Slam, a monthly event held by Throw Poetry Collective at the cozy Cagibi Café in the Mile End (the best place to get warm, imho). Sign up for the open mic, which starts at 7pm, and see the full show at 8pm. The feature speaker is an experienced spoken word artist from London, Inali Barger.
Calling owners of young puppies to the Doggy Café Samedi Puppy! On the first Saturday of the month, you can your young pup in to get socialized and meet other dog owners. However, dogs of any age are accepted. The Café is on St Denis, below St Joseph near Laurier metro.
Further down the street, Mycoboutique, store that retails everything mushroom, has collected a series of art inspired by fungi! Check out drawings, sculptures, photographs and more at the Mycorama art show Friday and Saturday.
The No-Pants Subway Ride first started when a group of pranksters embarked on the New York City subway sans trousers in 2002. Now a global event every January, join the Montreal group at 2:30 pm at Sherbrooke Metro station. The route, which you can check out here, will take the pants-less to Berri-UQAM, then to Angrignon and eventually back to Berri, where a group photo will be taken!
If you would like to strip, but preferably while singing, please consider hopping onstage at Café Cléopatre's monthly Bareoke on Saturday night. You can sing, and take off as much or as little as you want.