This is a charming and beautiful french-canadian theatre in the middle of Papineau street. There is…read moretwo rooms there, and we just happen to see a performance that was playing in both. The good: cute bar scene at the entrance with lovely tables and chairs. The decor to the way to the spectacle rooms are great. Staff is friendly. Seat comfortable. Wide enough to sit someone overweight sort of comfortably. Very intimate and charming. The bad: there is not much bad, except that the bathrooms are far from everything else, and surrounded with show posters, which kills the decor for the rest of the place. It was a very nice place, and me and my wife are planning on going again.

Espace Libre is known as the experimental theatre in Montreal. I saw my first show there, a mime…read more"short" followed by a sort of documentary theatre piece (Le corps qui parle), this evening. Both pieces were excellent and I really enjoyed myself. The theatre is conveniently located near métro Frontenac. You will need to circle around to the rear of the building to find the door. Seating is first-come, first-served. We were warned to arrive early for the best seat selection, but unfortunately the doors were not opened until a few minutes before the start of the play, so our early arrival was no advantage. The theatre isn't huge, though, so I don't imagine that there would be any particularly bad seats. The theatre is designed for the possibility of many configurations, so the seating is of a temporary nature -- padded benches on risers. I didn't find it particularly comfortable, but perhaps that was more a function of the show not having an intermission so there was no chance to stretch. Tip: Don't be surprised, the washrooms are co-ed. (But the stalls have doors that close, never fear). We had no problems reserving tickets by phone (with a credit card). Tip: we were offered a great deal of $5 (for a $32 ticket) if anyone in our group was 35 or under, so if you are a young-ish person, be sure to ask if there are any deals available. Oh, et en passant, the pieces were in French. I believe that the resident company (Théâtre du mouvement) makes an effort to have at least one show in English during their season.

I went to the Tohu as part of a corporate event which ended with a clowning art show (I discovered…read morethis art last year and since then I'm a fan). The architecture of the building is very interesting, you can easily organize events there. In one of the spaces, there was also a small exhibition of abstract art, always useful while waiting for the show to begin. The seats were comfortable and the room well sounded, I really enjoyed the experience ... The only real downside with this place, for me as a user of public transport, is its geolocation.

Such a wonderful big innovative space for Quebec to stretch it's crazy circus-loving wings. I wish…read moreit was walking distance from a metro because then I would want to be all over this action all of the time, but it's a short bus ride on the 193 from Jarry and well worth the trip. The TOHU complex is a hopeful and inspiring example of transformation - once a quarry, then a dump, now LEED Gold Certified and focused on contributing to the new joyful life of this St Michel neighbourhood. TOHU hosts events like the biggest dance competition in North America, and like the pre-preview of Marie Chouinard's new work that I had the pleasure of witnessing last night, not to mention all manner of circus training and spectacular death defying performance. Check out the website for show info and find a reason to adventure out to Tohu, I think you'll dig.