The trees are bare but not so the calendar. I need longer days to dive into a trio of tease, dangling to entice me off my writing perch. Damn deadlines:I want to see all of this.

I groan a little whenever tourists are asked to name a famous Canadian and they come up with Justin Bieber.

Couldn’t they come up with Robert Lepage instead?

Actor, playwright, director of stage, opera and film and all round visionary, this guy is his own planet and we are all just visiting.

His latest creation is a reworking of his 1991 solo show, Needles and Opium, currently on stage at the Bluma Appel Theatre in Toronto, until Dec.2nd. Critics are throwing around the”masterpiece” label and I don’t doubt it. If you need a different twist on drugs in our culture than Ford’s tragicomedy, this play, weaving together stories of love, loss, addiction and resurrection, is a great start.

There are only a few more days to catch the National Ballet’s Innovation program, a series of short ballets by four electric choreographers. This is the kind of offering that makes Toronto a dazzling place to live. If the last time you were at the ballet was for the Nutcracker, think again. You want beautiful people? Beautiful bodies? Stunning movement? These artists make their peers in other art forms appear as amateurs. Forget your troubles and impending blizzards.

This is the hottest ticket in town.

Finally, on the big screen, opening Friday, comes two films that are truly the best way to slide into the holiday season. If December is the month when cynics and misanthropes lock the doors, then make room for Philomena, the nearest to perfect film I saw at TIFF earlier this year ( more here on Philomena later this week) and Hawking, exclusively at TIFF Bell Lightbox.  The latter is a portrait of the famous scientist narrating the story of his own life- saved, he says, by love. Forget Frosty, Rudolph, Santa and that irrepressible Will Ferrel elf: this guy will make you believe in miracles.

And don’t forget the Bowie exhibit at the AGO. The gallery extended the show due to popular demand but it closes Friday and tickets are going fast. Book ahead for a timed slot.

See what I mean? The cultural map of this town keeps on exploding and I’m dizzy with distractions.  See you in line.

For more:
Films to watch out for this year, see: It’s a wrap: TIFF 2013
Before winter sets in, see: an ode to fall.