The big news this week in theatre (well, other than that) was the announcement of the newly revamped New World Stage International Performance line-up for 2007. World Stage disappeared from the radar for a while when Ontario decided DuMaurier wasn't allowed to sponsor it anymore - the last time it was here it existed on a much smaller scale, consisting of solo shows. But now, it's back and bigger than ever with 17 full productions taking over the Premiere Dance Theatre and the newly re-named Enwave Theatre (formerly the Harbourfront Centre Theatre, formerly the DuMaurier Centre Theatre...) as well as various other locations in and around Harbourfront Centre. Here's a rundown of the most exciting-sounding shows on the bill:

Mabou Mines Dollhouse - this adaptation of Ibsen's A Doll House is opening the festival and getting tons of buzz. All of the female characters are played by actresses that are about 6 feet tall, while all the male characters are played by little people. Provocative, or vaguely offensive? You decide.

Trudeau: Long March/Shining Path - this is just so Canadian. It's an opera about Pierre Elliott Trudeau with a libretto by George Elliott Clarke. He totally wrote it because they have the same middle name.

Sizwe Banzi est mort (Sizwe Banzi is Dead) - theatre students around the city are already salivating over this one. World-renowned theatre director/god Peter Brook returns to Toronto with this Bouffes du Nord production of an Apartheid-themed play.

Zaryzykuj Wszystko (Risk Everything) - a Polish production of consummately Torontonian playwright George F. Walker's 1997 play is supposed to be a multimedia extravaganza.

As always, prices can be somewhat steep for World Stage shows, but if you have a valid student ID and show up 13 minutes prior to a performance, you can get a $13 rush seat for any spot that is available.