Arts & Culture in Toronto

Since opening as the Bonita Theatre in 1911, Toronto.com reports, the city's oldest movie house has undergone numerous transformations, most recently screening Chinese and Hindi films throughout the 80s and 90s and Tamil-language films in the current millennium. Projection Booth Cinema became its latest incarnation in August 2011, specializing in independent and world cinema under the curatorial guidance of Jonathan Hlibka, Nadie Sandhu, and Euan Mowat. Grinder Coffee, the theatre's next door neighbour, concocts gourmet concessions, meals, and coffee for moviegoers before they saunter down the theatre's wood-to-concrete floor and sink into one of 295 seats, lined with marine blue corduroy.

As 5.1 Dolby digital surround sound orbits the audience, 35mm and digital projectors showcase premieres of films that eschew traditional Hollywood fare, including a monthly horror film series in partnership with Fangoria Magazine and weekly Bollywood film reels discovered in the theatre basement during renovations. Local artists also showcase their work each Wednesday followed by coffee and discussion sessions with the audience, where they can ask guest moviemakers about the creative process or how to talk actors out of staying in pirate character during visits to the dentist.

Cofounder and artistic director of Les Coquettes Cabaret, Catherine Skinner—known onstage as La Minouche—takes the art of public seduction seriously. In a video posted to the troupe's YouTube channel, she notes, “You'll see a little bit of dancing, a little bit of singing, a little bit of aerial circusry, and a little bit of very tasteful striptease.” Setting comedy and titillation aflutter in a blizzard of double entendres, the troupe puts on shows that appeal to adult audiences of any age or gender. The aesthetic might evoke a Burtonesque gothic setting, the seven sexy seas of the pirate age, a neon-flooded nightclub of the '80s, or the future's inevitable dress code of sentient hairpieces. The company thoroughly impressed Kelli Korducki of The Torontoist, who praised the performers' "undeniable song and dance chops," adding that "cabaret patrons may come for the scantily clad dancers, but they will certainly stay for the talent.”

The Historic Palace Theatre's own in-house production company, Curtain Up Productions, performs beneath the gilded proscenium of a venerable historic auditorium. The playhouse and movie theater was considered the jewel of downtown Lockport on its 1925 opening and still bustles today under the watch of volunteers committed to its preservation.