The Show

May 3 to 19 at the Emily Carr University of Art + Design

It’s an art lover’s dream, and for two weeks it’s the largest art gallery in the city: a massive exhibit of every imaginable medium being used by more than 300 graduating students—the culmination of years of study. We’re talking giant, mind-blowing installations; thought-provoking paintings, photographs, and sculptures; and even film and animation. Best of all, the public gets a behind-the-scenes look inside the facility’s shiny new $122-million building on East 1st Avenue. The night to hit is Friday (May 3), when DJs and food trucks liven up the site, and there will be four themed lounges at a sprawling show that has surprises around every corner. Set aside some time to do it right.

The Great Leap

To May 19 at the Goldcorp Stage at the BMO Theatre Centre

The title is apt—not just for this border-jumping story of basketball in Beijing and beyond, but for the exciting team giving extra momentum to this play by rising playwright Lauren Yee (of the fun, fantastical King of the Yees). Meg Roe directs, Alessandro Juliani provides the score, Chimerik provides the multimedia projections, and Jiovanni Sy and Milton Lim star in this story of Chinese coach Wen Chang and a kid with mad B-ball skills from San Francisco’s Chinatown. Think Hoop Dreams meets Tiananmen Square, and you’ll get somewhere close to its comedic, multilayered mashup of underdog sports, international diplomacy, and family drama.