Clara Johan

Sinner is hilariious, fearless, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful.

Marla Torgerson tells the story of a young woman escaping the rigid certainty of fundamentalist Christianity. It isn’t just a story about religion, it's about anyone who’s had to leave behind the world that raised them in order to become themselves.

With razor-sharp wit, unforgettable songs, soaring vocals, a phenomenal live band, and Toronto’s own Forte Gay Men’s Chorus, Sinner is as entertaining as it is emotionally devastating.

The opening, operatic trigger warning jokes that your patriarchy-sensitive boomer dad might be offended. Honestly? He may be exactly the person who needs to see it.

Everyone else will laugh, cry, and leave with the warmth of healing old wounds, knowing they are enough, after all.

Don’t miss this one.

Pookamhura begins with a gamer scene and, just when you think this is going to be a "watch me play video games" marathon, the players emerge and the story evolves. The music is fun, dynamic and expertly-written. The emotional delivery of the songs tore at my heart and helped me connect with the characters on a deep level. I'm not a gamer and it helped me understand how the alternate reality of social video games provide a safer place for people who feel they are not welcome in their IRL (in real life) world. Trans identity is presented with authenticity and in an enlightening, powerful, vulnerable way. To belong, to be welcome, to be seen and accepted for who you truly are is a universal human desire, and Pookamhura captures that beautifully. The show is a window into the life of anyone who is told they should not be who they are, the ugliness of rejection, delivered in song with an entertaining, memorable metaphor that manages to be funny and empowering at the same time. I left more aware and more connected.