Building Utopia: Performance and the Fantasy of Urban Renewal in Contemporary Toronto

Laura Levin, York University
Kim Solga, The University of Western Ontario

Article comments

This article is reprinted in Theatre and Performance in Toronto, ed. Laura Levin. Toronto: Playwrights Canada Press, 2011.

Abstract

Toronto markets itself as a city in renewal, a “creative city” of the future full of arts and culture. Alongside the official pitch, a number of street-level underground initiatives reimagine Toronto's utopic future in a different way by means of site-specific performances. But do these grassroots performance schemes necessarily create a more inclusive, more equitable city?