Forget the Box is a conversation. We encourage opinion and discussion in our op-ed articles and videos. As such, views expressed in such content and related reader and viewer comments do not necessarily reflect those held by everyone involved with FTB or our affiliates or sponsors. If you agree or disagree, join the discussion in the comments below. Quebec has a problem with Islamophobia. If you have any doubts, you need look no further than the political party that leads it. The Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) was elected for its first term on a promise of cracking down on religious minorities ..read more

It’s Sunday night, and the snow is falling like Hallmark movies and Christmas cards, all of which I’m well over by this stage of the season. I’m sorting through my wardrobe to find a summer dress that can be winterized long enough to get me to Chef Molotov Fiona Genevieve‘s Jardin d’Hiver. It’s her first Montreal pop-up, and I’m honoured to be here. While the term “adventurous eater” serves up questionable imagery, I consider myself “adventur-ish”; I’ve been known to throw a peach into a stir-fry, and was pretty sure I invented strawberries with basil when I made some jam once. All that to say ..read more

If we’re all burned out, then the system isn’t working, is it? We exist beyond our ability to grind! Take an afternoon off, call in sick, go to a show, go look at art. Fuck the man: It’s your life, make it matter. Like life before colour TVs Opening this Thursday, the Duran Mashaal Gallery is presenting the exhibition B&W. Showcasing international artists using various modalities, the pieces will be connected by the minimalism of being black & white. I’m not even playing when I say bring your colour blind friend: they dig it when the colours don’t muddy up their view. B&W @ Duran ..read more

When I first walked in to the International Wrestling Syndicate (IWS) event Praise the Violence the night of Saturday, January 21, 2023, I was prepared for the worst. I imagined a den of toxic masculinity: sexist dudebros who abuse women behind closed doors all gathered in one place to fuel their excessive need for violence as muscle-bound costumed men pretended to beat each other bloody for their delight. What a found wasn’t that at all. The audience was as varied in gender as it was in age, and when the fighters or performers- how they prefer to be known depends on the wrestler – gathered ar ..read more

The Bluest Day of the year is over. We’re cruising into February without once having scary windchill. The days really are getting longer. All the things we wished were open and available this time last year, are here and poppin’. It’s the small things, Montreal; don’t forget to count them. Did you say intestine? MAI (Montreal, Arts interculturel) always has interesting offerings, and Rock Bottom is no exception. The multidisciplinary piece explores what happens to the body when we hit our own rock bottom. It’s billed as “a movement performance that forms an intestine with the gut feelings of E ..read more

Jason C. McLean and Dawn McSweeney discuss the World Economic Forum happening at a ski resort in Davos, Switzerland and the abundance of local shows in Montreal. Follow Dawn McSweeney @mcmoxy on Twitter and Instagram Follow Jason C. McLean @jasoncmclean on Twitter and Instagram ..read more

January 19, 2023 My darling, We’re in the thick of this winter thing. Both burnout and the blues are tearing through workplaces and social circles. We’re all pale and grumpy. We know it will pass, but all too slowly. Without the artists and performers, we would have nothing but malls, and binge watching to get us through this hard time. Thanks to them, we have reasons to put on outfits and brave the weather. Thank God for the artists, the arts, the events. May Spring speed itself to us. Have some laughs and call me in the morning I knew we had comedy clubs, but as someone who usually only gets ..read more

Talisman Theatre’s Wildfire is currently playing at La Chapelle, and I took the opportunity to peep the play. The credits and awards that this group has attained in their various endeavours already gave a clue about the calibre I could expect. For example, this is the English version (translated by Leanna Brodie) of David Paquet’s Le Brasier, which itself received both the BMO Award, and the Sony Labou Tansi International Francophone Theatre Award, and it’s been placed in the internally renown directorial hands of Jon Lachlan Stewart. At its core the story is one of generational trauma hauntin ..read more

When I was asked to review Holly Rhiannon’s witchy YA book, A Time When Demons, it sounded like just what the doctor ordered. Fiction is important. When studies cite the importance of reading (which include, but are not limited to, stress relief, along with improved concentration and memory), it’s based on fiction (this is your brain, this is your brain on fiction). Now think about what you’re usually reading: probably mostly comments and texts, atrociously written at that. Next in line is most likely articles, be them summaries or editorials, skillfully written (sometimes), but still non-fict ..read more

Johnny Legdick is an atypical stage musical. The show’s style is childish, complete with rhyming lines, a Snidely Whiplash-esque villain, and toys that serve as props and henchmen. The music and the show itself is far from it, with adult dialogue and costumes and the kind of true-blue guttural rock music die-hard fans have been starved for since the spread of the falling-asleep-at-the-mic sound popularized by bands like Coldplay. It’s campy and cheesy and raunchy – an adult fairy tale reminiscent of Dr. Seuss – and I loved every minute of it. The show’s premise is simple: Johnny Legdick is a m ..read more