Against the Grain is a collective of Toronto artists — actors, opera singers, musicians, painters, writers, dancers, and arts professionals — with a penchant for performing in unique spaces. We present classical repertoire, from Mozart, Handel and Puccini to Britten, Janáček and Kurtág… differently. Sometimes with English librettos; sometimes with modern dance; and always informally, in intimate spaces with cabaret-style seating, and appetizers and cocktails. Acclaim for Against the Grain:
"Against the Grain Theatre has [...] achieved that rarest of wonders: a production that succeeds on all levels." – John Terauds, Musical Toronto
“Opera needs exciting productions like [...] The directness is electric.” — Maclean’s
"Against the Grain Theatre has magic that carries even a shoebox production into your imagination and makes it live as art." – Stanley Fefferman, Opus One Review
"One of the most exciting companies in the country" – The Charlebois Post
"The troupe has an unbroken five-year list of hits, including 2011’s La Bohème (performed in a bar) and this summer’s sumptuous Pélleas et Mélisande (sung in an outdoor courtyard)." — NOW Magazine
"...there you are sitting in the grungy basement Black Box Theatre on Queen Street, with 80 other people sitting at 20 tables arranged for a mock wedding reception, and the power of art, of opera, of storytelling and of great music smack you in the face like a bracing wake-up call to the spirit." — The Globe & Mail
