Iconic Toronto women, postpunk pioneers and more: what the Star's culture team is obsessed with this week
Our fair city has been shaped by many fabulous, fascinating women. Now, there's an exhibition where you can learn all about them and their inspiring feats. It features ladies from many fields, including science, arts and culture, politics and sports, both famous and less well-known — from Olympian Penny Oleksiak and Governor General Adrienne Clarkson to groundbreaking trans R&B singer Jackie Shane and Canadian Women's Suffrage Association founder Emily Stowe. At Museum of Toronto (401 Richmond St. W.). —Briony Smith
The U.K.'s Chameleons play the Opera House on Monday.
Mick Peek
Concert: Chameleons
Call it postpunk, shoegaze, dreampop. Whatever it is, these guys were among the first purveyors. Emerging from Manchester, England, in 1981, Chameleons blended atmospheric guitars and epic songscapes with thrilling choruses, all while being overshadowed by the likes of Echo and the Bunnymen and the Cure. On Monday, a band that Oasis, Interpol and Slowdive all mention as an inspiration return to the Opera House (735 Queen St. E.), the site of their previous, phenomenal, Toronto appearance less than a year ago. With Twin Tribes and Vandal Moon. —Doug Brod
Theatre: The Bealtaine Theatre Festival
As someone who has relatives by marriage living in and around Dublin, I'm always interested in Irish cultural imports to Toronto. The Bealtaine Theatre Festival, kicking off its inaugural edition this weekend, bills itself as 'the very best of contemporary Irish theatre, music, dance and storytelling.' On Saturday and Sunday at 8 p.m., 'The King of All Birds' — psst, according to Irish folklore, it's the wren — occupies the Ontario Heritage Centre (10 Adelaide St. E.), using film collage, music, song and vocoder to explore flight, dreams and our fascination with the sky. Check out canadairelandfoundation.com for information about the festival's other events in May. —Debra Yeo
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Album: 'Operation Mincemeat'
I saw 'Operation Mincemeat' on Broadway over the Easter long weekend and, ever since, I've been more than slightly obsessed with its cast recording. A five-person musical comedy inspired by the Second World War deception operation of the same name, this show is smart, sharp and stupidly irreverent, but also filled with tons of heart. Imagine if 'Hamilton' and 'Spamalot' had a baby; 'Operation Mincemeat' is it. In an extremely crowded and competitive Broadway season, this musical stands out. You should be hearing much more of it in the upcoming awards season. —Joshua Chong
The cast of 'Operation Mincemeat' on Broadway at the John Golden Theatre.
Julieta Cervantes/TNS
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Toronto Sun
a day ago
- Toronto Sun
EDITORIAL: When music becomes an instrument of hate
Bob Vylan performs on the West Holts Stage, during the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset. England, Saturday, June 28, 2025. Photo by Yui Mok / AP Usually, the sensible response adults should have to punk rockers who make outrageous statements on stage is to yawn and tell ourselves they'll grow out of it. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account However, when controversial acts with a history of antisemitism are given airtime at one of the largest music festivals in the world, and when that performance is livestreamed by the BBC, it cannot be swept aside as the rant of ignorant youth. Last weekend, the punk duo Bob Vylan, whose lead singer goes by the name of Bobby Vylan (real name Pascal Robinson-Foster), appeared at the U.K.'s Glastonbury festival, leading the audience in a chant of, 'Death, death to the IDF (Israel Defence Forces),' and other slogans advocating for the destruction of Israel. BBC director-general Tim Davie is under pressure to resign for allowing the continued livestream of the performance. Bob Vylan was followed by the Irish rap group Kneecap, one member of which was previously arrested on a terrorism-related charge for waving the flag of Hezbollah, deemed a terror group in both the U.K. and Canada. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Read More Britain's Chief Rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mirvis, posted on X, 'This is a time of national shame,' and slammed the BBC's livestream. 'It should trouble all decent people that now, one need only couch their outright incitement to violence and hatred as edgy political commentary, for ordinary people to not only fail to see it for what it is, but also to cheer it, chant it and celebrate it. Toxic Jew hatred is a threat to our entire society.' Those words are a warning for Canada. The U.S. has revoked visas for an upcoming Bob Vylan tour. They don't have performances booked in this country. Kneecap, however, has two performances planned in Toronto for October. Immigration officials and police must be vigilant and follow the precedent that those who advocate violence or terror are not allowed into this country. Yes, we are a nation that supports freedom of speech. That includes the right to be disgusting, disgraceful and offensive. It does not include the right to call for the death of any religious minority or support for a terror group. We don't need to import hatred. We have enough of the homegrown variant already. RECOMMENDED VIDEO Sports Money News MLB Editorial Cartoons Toronto Maple Leafs
Style Blueprint
3 days ago
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10 Memphis Restaurants Open on July 4th
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Toronto Sun
4 days ago
- Toronto Sun
KINSELLA: Jew hate abounds at big U.K. music festival
Hip hop trio Kneecap perform during the Glastonbury Festival in Worthy Farm, Somerset, England, Saturday, June 28, 2025. (Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP) 'Free, free Palestine.' Then: 'Death, death to the IDF.' Many chanted that. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account And, later on, 'Israel are war criminals,' from a group that waves around the Hezbollah flag onstage. Those things didn't happen in Iran, by the way. They happened at what is probably the biggest music festival in the world, Glastonbury. There was lots of hatred directed at Israel at Glastonbury in the U.K. over the weekend. The Libertines, Amyl and the Sniffers and plenty of others angrily denounced Israel, colonialism, and so on. It made things uncomfortable for many of the 200,000-odd people at the annual five-day music festival. But it arguably didn't break any criminal laws. However, the waving of the Hezbollah flag — allegedly by a member of the Irish rap trio Kneecap — has previously resulted in him being charged with a terror offence. And the 'death, death to the IDF' chant — led by Bob Vylan's frontman, Pascal Robinson-Foster? That is now being investigated by Somerset Police. (Robinson-Foster, for his part, issued a release saying: 'I said what I said.' And then he said his words were no more offensive than his daughter advocating for better school lunches.) Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The organizers of Glastonbury, meanwhile, issued a statement saying, 'there is no place at Glastonbury for antisemitism' — when, clearly, there was. Because, you know: They were the ones who invited Kneecap and Bob Vylan in the first place. Because they knowingly platformed hate, and only denounced it when the cops got involved. Because their event had devolved into a modern-age Nuremberg Rally, but with a rock soundtrack. It's depressing, it's maddening and — for many Jews — it is frightening. For fans of music, too, it all presents a dilemma. Like me. I have featured Bob Vylan on my podcast, the Kinsellacast , many times. So, too, Amyl and the Sniffers and the Libertines. I liked their music. What should one do when one finds out that a favoured musical act espouses hate and division? This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In the case of Bob Vylan, I wrote to them. Here's what I said: 'Hey guys. I've played your music on my show and promoted you for years. No more. Recommended video 'You've revealed yourself to be as bad as the neo-Nazis you professed to oppose. You're Jew-haters, just like them. 'I plan to say so, as well, in my book that's coming out later this year. You'll say you don't care, but I'm just one of the many people who intend to devote ourselves to ensuring everyone knows you're no better than a National Front skinhead.' I then told them to do something to themselves that is biologically impossible. But it certainly communicated what I was feeling. I've done that sort of thing before. When the lead singer of leftist punk supergroup Anti Flag was credibly accused by several women of rape, I burned all of their records and merch (the lead singer fled the U.S.). When a drunken member of Minneapolis punk outfit Off With Their Heads dragged a B.C. woman behind their tour van for five blocks — leaving her with life-altering injuries — I burned their stuff, too. Why? Because it was 'unfortunate' their tour was thereafter cancelled, their lead singer wrote in a statement. Not what happened to the 24-year-old victim. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. And John Lennon saying: 'I used to be cruel to my woman, I beat her.' And Elvis Costello calling Ray Charles 'a ni**er.' And Eric Clapton saying: 'Stop Britain from becoming a black colony…Get the foreigners out. Get the wogs out. Get the coons out. Keep Britain white. I used to be into dope, now I'm into racism.' And Pink Floyd's Roger Waters calling for Jews to 'go back to Eastern Europe, or whoever you come from.' And on, and on. Stopped listening to all of them. Stopped giving them my money. Threw out their records. Because of the nature of fame, because of the liberties we grant to celebrities, they often get away with murder (sometimes, literally, like O.J. Simpson). They get away with antisemitism and racism and violent misogyny. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Read More What are we, the powerless consumers, to do? We can organize petitions and boycotts, but those aren't easy to put together. We can call for them to be charged with promoting hate, but that almost never happens to the A-listers. So, do just this: stop consuming their stuff. Stop giving them money. Stop giving them precious minutes of your life. And, occasionally, send them a note, too. And tell them to go to do something to themselves that is biologically impossible. You'll feel better. I did.
