2025 Dora Awards nominations: The complete list of nominees
Nominations for the 2025 Dora Awards, recognizing the best of Toronto theatre, opera and dance, were revealed Wednesday morning, with the Canadian shows 'Mahabharata' and 'Life After' earning the most nominations. The announcement marks the end of a jam-packed performing arts season in the city. This year's nominations were spread among 81 shows, representing some 59 companies.
The winners of the 45th Dora Awards, administered by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts, will be announced on June 30 at Meridian Hall. The ceremony will be hosted by Peter Fernandes, a Dora-winning actor who's nominated again this year for his starring role in 'Fat Ham.'
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Winnipeg Free Press
12 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Influencer culture pilloried in prose
Part mystery, part satire and even part horror, second-generation Chinese-Canadian writer Liann Zhang's debut novel is a bizarre but entertaining look at the world of social media influencer culture. Julie Chan is a supermarket cashier with no friends who steals food from work to keep herself fed. One day, she receives a disturbing phone call from her estranged twin sister, Chloe, a rich influencer with followers in the millions. Sensing something is wrong, Julie travels to Chloe's New York City penthouse and finds her sister dead on the floor. As she's about to report the death to the police, Julie quickly makes the rash decision to switch places, ditching her sad, anonymous life for her twin's more comfortable and glamorous one. Julie Chan is Dead With unwitting help from Chloe's manager, Julie seamlessly continues her sister's social media life, interacting with fans, receiving lavish gifts and going to trendy parties. At first, no one in Chloe's world suspects the truth, and everyone writes off any strange behaviour as her just being '#sad' and '#grieving.' But it doesn't take long for her aunt and cousin to figure out what's going on, and Julie soon finds herself being blackmailed. In order to pay off her scheming family members, she becomes a lot more obvious with paid endorsements on her channels, while watching her numbers drop on each platform. Thankfully, Julie has her new influencer friends to cheer her up. A group of mostly indistinguishable twentysomething white women, the Belladonnas are led by Bella Marie, whose level of fame and wealth seems almost unattainable for a social media personality. But, of course, Julie soon learns her new friends may be hiding some sinister secrets. Toronto- and Vancouver-based Zhang was only 16 when she had her own brush with internet fame, gaining over 20,000 followers on a skincare-themed Instagram account. The author, who now has a degree in psychology and criminology, says this book was inspired by the fellow influencers she met through group chats. Clearly she has some strong, negative feelings from this experience, as most characters are quite unlikable — even Julie, who quickly embraces her new personality. Zhang takes some fun shots at influencer culture, and that cynical humour drives the first half of the novel. But it does get dragged down by some very predictable turns. Then a huge twist comes that makes the second half seem like a different book altogether. It quickly delves into cult-horror territory — think Rosemary's Baby or The Wicker Man but with trite self-help affirmations and beauty tips. The shift may be a bit jarring for some readers, but Zhang's cutting humour is amped up, along with the overall pace, which all leads to a ridiculous, over-the-top finale. While it has some flaws, Julie Chan is Dead is a fun, memorable debut. Hardly an influencer, Alan MacKenzie is struggling to find 600 subscribers for his YouTube channel.
Winnipeg Free Press
13 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Lady of Fire and other shapes of landscapes to come
Opinion In the early spring, well before out-of-control wildfires tore through northern Manitoba and Ontario, well before the snow had even melted, I went to see Marcel Dzama's Ghosts of Canoe Lake in its final days at Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art. The works comprising the exhibition were inspired by the iconic Canadian landscape paintings by the Group of Seven, but if the Group of Seven's beloved jack pines were on fire. The destruction wrought by climate change was top of mind for the Winnipeg-born artist when he created these works — 'It was my fear of what we're doing to the environment and how we're just throwing away one of the most important and beautiful things,' he told me in an interview before the exhibition opened — and one cannot paint modern landscapes without grappling with modern anxieties. But no painting from Ghosts of Canoe Lake captures Manitoba's current reality better than Lady of Fire, an arresting, large-scale diptych of a flame-haired woman in a swirling red dress. Her head is thrown back and her eyes are wild as she basks in an inferno that is swallowing up the landscape behind her. Stare at it long enough and you'll notice there are ghostly figures in the flames, and the terrible snarling faces of fanged, demon-lions. The sky in the painting is inky and dark, but we know from the photos of Lynn Lake — or the photos from Jasper, Alta., in 2024, or the photos from any of the record-breaking Canadian wildfires of 2023 that sent landmark-obscuring smoke down into New York City, where Dzama lives, or the photos from Lytton, B.C., in 2021, or, or, or — that a dark sky doesn't necessarily mean it's nighttime. ● ● ● From 1920 to 1933, the artists who made up the Group of Seven — whose ranks eventually swelled to more than seven — were captivated by Canada's wild and vast landscapes. Their art movement was rooted in nationalism following the First World War; they are widely credited with creating a legible Canadian art identity distinct from European styles. But of course, Canada's landscapes weren't just documented — or was it, let's be clear, discovered — by settler artists. Indigenous artists have been making art about the land since time immemorial and continue to do so, with many contemporary Indigenous artists documenting human-made changes to the landscape and environment. There are too many examples to list here, but I think of Inuk artist Tarralik Duffy's works that comprised Gasoline Rainbows, her solo exhibition at the Winnipeg Art Gallery. She creates pop art inspired by China Lily soy sauce bottles and jerry cans — nostalgic, ubiquitous and plastic, jarring on the northern landscape. 'There's something that's so permanent about southern packaging. Everything that we had as Inuit in the past would just go back to the earth, and then these things have a permanence that is dangerous — as dangerous as the fuel in the can,' she told me at the time. So many Indigenous teachings tell us that we are meant to be stewards of the land, caretakers for subsequent generations. We inherit it, then we pass it on. People will no doubt continue to deny that the devastating wildfire season Manitoba is in is the result of climate change. Forest fires are a natural part of a landscape's life cycle, they will protest, not accounting for the fact that there are more storms (which means more lightning), drier conditions, hotter temperatures and shorter winters. Bigger fires. Some day, those landscapes will only exist in paintings. The Lady of Fire will have reduced them all to ash. ● ● ● In 2010, American writer Nora Ephron published her last book, I Remember Nothing: And Other Reflections. Two lists close the book: What I'll Miss/What I Won't Miss. It doesn't explicitly say, but it is explicitly clear: they are lists about being alive. Ephron knew she was sick when she made these lists; the rest of the world, including those close to her, did not. Her illness was a viciously guarded secret, an idea that some people had trouble squaring with the woman for whom 'everything is copy.' She died two years later. It's too easy to take things for granted — especially things such as trees, or landscapes or seasons. Our summers moving forward will look less and less like the summers of our past without some dramatic intervention. So this is my version of Ephron's list. What I'll Miss (When Summer Is Just Always This) MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES No painting from artist Marcel Dzama's recent Ghosts of Canoe Lake exhibition better captures Manitoba's current reality than Lady of Fire. Clear blue — true blue — skies Sunshine the colour of butter The perfume of cedar and moss in the bush Stands of shimmering jack pines reflected in a lake Cool mornings The idea of cool mornings Fresh, rain-scented breezes Spiderwebs bejewelled in dew Bees Wednesdays A weekly look towards a post-pandemic future. The idea of bees Birdsong The smell of campfire as comforting instead of foreboding Summer Jen ZorattiColumnist Jen Zoratti is a columnist and feature writer working in the Arts & Life department, as well as the author of the weekly newsletter NEXT. A National Newspaper Award finalist for arts and entertainment writing, Jen is a graduate of the Creative Communications program at RRC Polytech and was a music writer before joining the Free Press in 2013. Read more about Jen. Every piece of reporting Jen produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print – part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Global News
a day ago
- Global News
Whoop-Up Days could be bigger than ever, tourism expert says
The 2025 Whoop-Up Days programming has been announced, with headlining acts such as Trooper and Chad Brownlee set to take the stage in Lethbridge, Alta., this August. Organizers say they've made a concerted effort to ensure Canadian and even local talent is at the forefront this year, while also making the show better than ever. 'We try to make it a little bit better and a little bit bigger each year and this year, I think we've done that,' said Paul Kingsmith, director of event development at Lethbridge and District Exhibition. He says the 'stay local' movement that was born out of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and statements against Canada has simply helped their cause, as opposed to directly sparking it. 'It's nice that it worked out that way, that maybe there is more of a local focus this year, but it's something that we'd been thinking about for quite a while.' Story continues below advertisement For Dominika Wojcik, the senior director of communications at Tourism Lethbridge, Whoop-Up Days could be an even bigger boost for other businesses in the city this year. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'With a festival experience like this, (visitors) can come, they can enjoy the day at Whoop-Up Days, they can have some fun on the midway, check out the acts. But then they can also go out to dinner, they can also go shopping and checkout Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden, which is just down the street from (the fair grounds). I think it's a really great opportunity for people to come and see more than just what's here and it's a huge gateway for that,' she said. In fact, Wojcik says it could be the biggest year ever. 'Maybe Whoop-Up Days is that excuse now to stay home because we know there's something fun and exciting going on. We have some great acts that were just announced, so, I really think that this year we could see a really high number and maybe double what we saw last year.' The height of Whoop-Up Days attendance was in 2023 when admission was free. Over 75,000 people walked the midway that year, but it tapered off significantly last year with around 40,000 buying tickets as the event returned to a paid model. Even so, the economic impact cannot be overstated. Paired with the summer festival is the Lethbridge and District Pro Rodeo, which is a financial driver for the entire city, according to its executive producer. Story continues below advertisement 'We're probably anywhere between $11 million and $15 million in a six-day, five-day event. Of course, bringing in the pro rodeo makes it even more so by having all those competitors coming in and staying in our hotels and spending money on fuel and all those types of things. So, it's huge,' said Kynan Vine. He says communities often overlook the value of rodeos. 'There's probably not many other events happening every single year in Lethbridge that have an impact in the tens of millions of dollars.' This year, Whoop-Up Days runs from Aug. 19-23, with a special first-of-its-kind wrap-up day on the 24th, a Sunday. The 'Whoop-Up Wrap-Up' will have a limited amount of programs for the final day. Returning this year is the 'Free 'til 3: fueled by Gas King' initiative from Aug. 19-21, giving free access to the fair before 3:00 p.m. every day. The midway will once again be operated by West Coast Amusements, with over 30 rides and games, including some never-before-seen attractions. The Whoop-Up Day parade will kick things off at 9:00 on Aug. 19, snaking its way through Lethbridge. For more details on the programming, including every artist performing, information can be found at
