Concert: Sparks
Not many bands that formed in 1971 are still releasing music as vital and fun as their heyday’s best. But most bands are not Sparks, led by brothers Ron and Russell Mael, whose demented art rock — complete with mirror-shattering falsetto and lyrics imploring number-one fan Morrissey to lighten up — gleefully incorporates glam, disco and synth pop. They’re at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre (190 Princes’ Blvd.) on Wednesday to promote their thrilling new album, “MAD!” —Doug Brod
TV: ‘Irish Blood’
Combine beloved American actor Alicia Silverstone (“Clueless”) with a murder mystery/family drama made and set in Ireland and you get a hit. The six-part show, which streamed its finale earlier this week, was promptly renewed for a second season after becoming Acorn TV’s No. 1 series of all time. And it’s not just Ireland that gets bragging rights. Toronto studio Shaftesbury co-produced the drama while veteran Canadian actor Wendy Crewson plays the mother of Silverstone’s Fiona Fox, a divorce lawyer who gets more than she bargained for when she flies to Dublin to confront her absentee father. —Debra Yeo
Movie: ‘Aftersun’
Paul Mescal continues his pale, pale launch directly into the stratosphere with a huge fall, which includes the buzzy period piece “Hamnet” and the gay romance “The History of Sound” with fellow Man of the Moment Josh O’Connor. This is the perfect time to revisit (or discover) Mescal’s devastating, Oscar-nominated turn as a dad struggling with both his mental health and creating a fun tropical vacay for his daughter. Directed deftly and soulfully by Charlotte Wells and loosely based on her own experiences, “Aftersun” (now streaming on CBC Gem) contains one of the most haunting and beautiful endings of all time. You will never listen to “Under Pressure” the same way again. —Briony Smith
Theatre: ‘King Gilgamesh’
The Dora Award-winning play returns to Soulpepper (50 Tank House Ln.), following its acclaimed Canadian premiere in 2023 and successful runs across North America. This interdisciplinary show, blending spoken word with live music, weaves the ancient Mesopotamian story of Gilgamesh with a semi-autobiographical retelling of the unlikely friendship between creators and performers Ahmed Moneka and Jesse LaVercombe, both immigrants to Canada. With a narrative that twists and turns, “King Gilgamesh” is charming, quirky and comic — and always deeply moving. —Joshua Chong
