Theatre & Book Reviews

The Reading Salon

Close To You

Close to You is a film that delves deeply into the complex and often painful ...
A Map Of Rain Days cover image

A Map Of Rain Days

The first poem in this collection, and certainly one of its most poignant, is "I ...

Winter Kept Us Warm

Published by McGill-Queen's University Press, the book tells the story of a senior student mentoring ...
GOD DAMNED AVALON

God Damned Avalon

God Damned Avalon is a collection of super-charged flash fiction from word artist Paul Edward ...

petite girl precious heart

I first met Christie Maragos at the Art Bar at the Free Times Cafe near ...

The Anatomy of Depression

Originally published in the 2024 summer print edition of Broken Pencil Magazine. “So often, I’ve ...

Beached Whales

Beached Whales by Stedmond Pardy Stedmond Pardy is a self educated, left handed poet of ...

We Atomkinder

Through genuine and succinct prose, Pascal Beer establishes a distinct voice that will resonate will ...

The Sulphur Springs Cure

As I delved into Jeffrey Round’s latest work, I initially planned a measured approach, intending ...

I Am Your Spaniel, Or, A Midsummer Nights Dream By William Shakespeare By Gislina Patterson

We Quit Theatre takes over the Cabaret space with a collection of three works, including ...

Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812

What starts out as choreographed chaos—meant as a compliment—sets the stage for a spectacular show ...
Shadow Maker, book cover

Shadow Maker, The Life of Gwendolyn MacEwen 

A meticulously researched biography penned by Rosemary Sullivan, an accomplished author, painter and scholar. MacEwen, ...

Angels In America (Part One & Two)

Immerse yourself in the transformative brilliance of Tony Kushner's seminal two-part play, Angels In America, ...
“Monster + Here Lies Henry double bill

DOUBLE BILL: “Monster” + “Here Lies Henry”

Monster opens in the profound silence of a cinema, broken by an audience member and ...
"Pervatory" by RM Vaughan, published by Coach House Press.

Pervatory

Pervatory, originally titled What We Do Here, We Do For Ourselves, opens with a scene ...
Jono Pye in front of one of his larger abstract paintings.

Jono Pye’s Digital Showcase

Rob Wilkes, of Big Sky Design, the creative genius behind the design of Jono Pye's ...

The Rocky Mountain Special

The Rocky Mountain Special, a captivating one-person play by Tiffany Thomas, unfolds the poignant journey ...
Photo of Brad Pyne

Defining Moments (Do I Have A Weird Penis?)

This review first appeared in the Fall 2023 issue of Broken Pencil Magazine, 100th issue ...

Public Poetry from a Peterborough Porch

Edited by Maria Crawford with event photos by Raymond Helkio. This past Thanksgiving long weekend, ...
Velma, Virginie & Sir Greg

Greg’s Cookies

Sky Gilbert’s latest theatre offering is the delicious Greg’s Cookies. While the the play’s program ...
Jeffrey Round, Lion's Head Revisited book cover

Lion’s Head Revisited

Lion’s Head Revisited by Lambda award-winning author Jeffrey Round is an absorbing mystery fiction novel ...

refracting giants

Directed by Leelee Oluwatoyosi Eco Davis Produced and directed by Leelee Oluwatoyosi Eco Davis, “refracting ...

Speaking Of Sneaking

Directed by d’bi.young anitaafrika Speaking Of Sneaking is conceived, performed and produced by daniel jelani ...
Missing-From-The-Village-book-cover

Missing From The Village

An investigation of Bruce McArthur by Justin Ling. This review originally appeared on MyGayToronto.com. Graciously ...
Friends, Lovers, and The Big Terrible Thing book cover

Friends, Lovers, and The Big Terrible Thing

A Memoir by Matthew Perry. This review originally appeared on MyGayToronto.com. Graciously edited by Maria ...
Zoe Whitthall, The Fake, book cover

The Fake

A novel by Zoe Whittall. This review originally appeared on MyGayToronto.com. Graciously edited by Maria ...
PAGEBOY book cover, Elliot Page. Photo by Raymond Helkio

Pageboy

A Memoir by Elliot Page. Note: This review refers to Ellen Page as well as ...
Hello Molly by Molly Shannon

Hello Molly!

A memoir by Molly Shannon. I fully expected Molly Shannon’s memoir to Hello Molly! to ...
Love & Gaslight by Vironika Wilde

Love & Gaslight

by Vironika Wilde. Vironika Wilde is a is a poet, feminist, award-winning author, nomad, queer, ...
Truth Telling by Michelle Good

Truth Telling

Seven Conversations About Indigenous Life In Canadaby Michelle Good. Whether you consider yourself a colonialist ...

The Art Of Reference.

Have you ever wanted to own a Picasso or a Tom Thomson? These are just ...
Next Time There's A Pandemic book cover

Vivek Shraya: Next Time There’s A Pandemic

We’ve had pandemics before this one, and by most accounts there will be another in ...

Zom-Fam

Kama La Mackerel is a Montreal-based, Mauritian-Canadian multi-disciplinary artist whose recent one person show at ...

Courtney Act’s Autobiography

Note: Shane Jenek uses the pronouns he/him, his alter ego Courtney Act uses she/her. This ...
Paul-Bellini-Film-Festival

Bergmanesque Double Feature

Ingmar Bergman and Paul Bellini both have a propensity for producing a large volume of ...
Poster Art by Kirsten Johnson

Who’s Afraid Of Titus?

“Art is to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.” -Cesar A. Cruz Sky regularly ...
Bianca-Del-Rio-photo-by-Matt-Crockett

Around The Globe With Bianca Del Rio

If Joan Rivers and Elton John had offspring it’d probably look a lot like Bianca ...

A Nice Day In The Park by Sky Gilbert

Sky Gilbert’s latest play “A Nice Day In The Park”, showcased for two nights at ...

Second City: solid, funny sketch comedy

Second City has consistently been putting on great shows in Toronto for 47 years, and ...

Bungalow

Playwright Sky Gilbert’s most recent work Bungalow showing at the Hamilton Fringe Festival is set ...

Diamonds on Plastic

Playwright Philip Cairns recent mounting of Diamonds on Plastic at the Hamilton Fringe Festival is ...
Photo of Sky Gilbert

Hamilton Fringe Festival: Sky Gilbert + Philip Cairns

Toronto queer playwrights Sky Gilbert and Philip Cairnes are just two of the reasons Hamilton ...

Extravaganza Eleganza: Funnier Than (Gay) Hell!

Funnier than gay hell (and believe me, a gay hell would be hysterical!) Extravaganza Eleganza ...

Hand To God

Nice Never Got Me Anything I wasn’t sure what to think when a puppet stuck ...

Shove It Down My Throat – A Theme and Variations

Shove a couple of bus tokens into your pocket and go down to Buddies to ...

Vivek Shraya: I’m Afraid Of Men

Sharp, thoughtful and to the point writing that paints a vivid portrait of Vivek’s Shraya’s ...

Irshad Manji, Don’t Label Me

“We rally for diversity of appearance but flake on diversity of viewpoint.” -Irshad Manji, Don’t ...

A Trouble of Queers: The Bricks and Glitter Cabaret

Questions answered by Brock Hessel, Vince Rozario, Kumari Giles, and Mikiki There’s always lots of ...

THE FATHER

“I can manage very well on my own”. This early line from Coal Mine Theatre’s ...

GA TING

GA TING An immigrant Chinese couple invite their son’s caucasian boyfriend to visit, in order ...

We Are Not Alone

The four-time Dora Award winner Damien Atkins has numerous credits to his name as a ...

The Waverly Gallery

Waverly Place is a little street that humbly leads from Greenwich Village, across 6th Avenue ...

The Tricky Part

Main photo by Joan Marcus. The Tricky Part written and performed by Martin Moran had ...

Martin Moran: The Tricky Part

Main photo by Joan Marcus. The Tricky Part written and performed by Martin Moran had ...

The New One

At one point, Michael Birbiglia is telling the story of being caught by a friend ...

Consumption

It’s a chilly night in Brooklyn so I’m walking with a quick step down the ...

The Play That Goes Wrong

Imagine Faulty Towers at its craziest. Then mix in broken props, collapsing scenery, forgotten lines, ...

Love Song To Lavender Menace

On the surface, Love Song To Lavender Menace is about the struggle for acceptance which ...

LURED

Sometimes theatre is tough. As I sat watching the first, and then second ‘luring’ scenes, ...

Sherry Vine, Joey Arias at The Laurie Beechman Theater

You really shouldn’t visit New York without trying to catch a Sherry Vine show. More ...

Love Labour’s Lost

This is not dinner theatre, it’s way better, it’s theatre dinner. When I hear the ...

Trainspotting Live

First, there was the book, then the play, then the movie, and now tweaking at ...

Daniel’s Husband

Do we marry for love or is it something else? It’s this very question that’s ...

Small Craft Warnings

Tennessee Williams wrote many notable plays but it’s his earlier works like The Glass Menagerie, ...

Gertrude & Alice

The remount of Gertrude & Alice kicked off Buddies In Bad Times Theatre’s 40th season ...

Cluster Fucked

What started out as a low-tech whimsical romp through a marketer's backroom quickly turned into ...

CHERI: Theresa Tova Seduces!

From her off-stage opening line to her brilliant closing line at the piano, Theresa Tova ...

The Two of Us

From acclaimed Croatian playwright Tena Štivicic and directed by the award-winning Svjetlana Jaklenec, The Two ...

LULU v.7: aspects of a femme fatale

About the He Said, He Said reviewers: Stewart Borden is film and theatre musician, culinary ...

Love and Information

Let me give you an information tidbit: love and information is a crazy ride…. a ...

A Five Star ‘Category E’ Hits Toronto!

Edmonton continues to birth artistic masterpieces and Category E is no exception. On until the ...

Dancing Alone Together

Originally published on theBUZZ Alone Together is a double bill consisting of There she was ...

I Cook, He Does The Dishes

Originally published through The BUZZ, April 3, 2018 Written and directed by Sky Gilbert, I ...

THE MONUMENT

If you’re looking for an Ed Mirvish happy fun musical theatre evening, The Monument is ...

You Love That I’m Not Your Wife

“Black box theater in New York is an amazing experience but very so often productions ...

The House on Poe Street

When twin sisters inherit the house where Poe composed The Raven, their lives take twisted ...

The Box Show

The Box Show by Dominique Salerno and directed by Sash Bischoff is a clever, fast-paced ...

Molly’s World?

Andrea Alton is magnificent as her alter ego “Molly ‘Equity’ Dykeman” in Molly’s World, a ...

Street Theatre at The Eagle

The Eagle in New York City is a gay leather bar located in Chelsea. Normally ...

Damaged Goods

Combine Who Framed Roger Rabbit with a gay South Park you’d end up close to ...

Introducing Mr Wilde or Work is the Curse of the Drinking Class

Written and performed by Neil Titley, “Introducing Mr Wilde, or Work is the Curse of ...

Street Children

Street Children by Pia Scala-Zankel is pure unadulterated street realness. Unsettling at times, Street Children ...

Black Boys

As provocative as it is entertaining, Black Boys is a camp adventure into queer male ...

Hosanna

Hosanna’s Higher Self If Requiem For A Dream, Moulin Rouge and Carrie had a rendezvous ...

Blind Date: The Nose Knows

Blind Date is a raw, intimate and honest portrayal of what it means to put ...
Sky Gilbert

Sky Gilbert Does Toller Cranston (Again)

“The love that dare not speak its name has become the love that won’t shut ...

Julie Andrews is the Devil

Julie Andrews is the Devil is a funny and charming love story about Tabitha, played ...

Lady Bunny in Trans-Jester!

Trans-Jester is a fitly, potty-mouthed, politically incorrect, mean spirited show and the most fun I've ...

Line

Israel Horovitz’s Line is an authentic New York theatre experience in part because at 45 ...

I Will Look Forward To This Later

I Will Look Forward To This Later is the story of author Wyatt Holloway who ...

Fuerza Bruta

Seriously, WTF was that?! The Fuerza Bruta experience was like watching the MOMA have sex ...

Dying Like Ignacio

An actor and his best friend, a New York police officer, have tickets to see ...

House Rules

A clever play about forgiveness, House Rules is a smartly layered story about two Filipino ...

Golden Boy by The Instigators

Golden Boy by Clifford Odets is about Joe Bonaparte whose gives up on his dream of becoming ...

The Snail

A native of Italy, Fabio Zito has a history of work that has continually been ...

Boy

"THE BLINDING POWER OF LOVE, THE ENIGMA OF GENDER, AND THE COMPLICATED MYSTERY OF HOW ...

10 Reasons To See “A Broad Abroad”

(10) To hear her secret(s) to a happy life (9) Because you love Paris in ...

Adults Only

#CoreAdultsOnly | Directed by Alex Correia, Adults Only is comprised of seven one-act plays by ...

Tea in the Afternoon

When Elizabeth, portrayed by the illustrious Tayler Beth Anderson, discovers that her grandmother has died ...

Key Change

Key Change is a raw and illuminating portrayal of prison life created by inmates from ...

MDLSX

The needed change is so profound that we call it impossible, so deep that we ...

39 Steps: Union Square Theatre

REVIEW | The Reading Salon, Raymond Helkio | The two-time Tony Award-winning 39 Steps is ...

It Runs In The Family

Pictured above: Larry Gutman, Michael Hardart* and Leonardo Altafini, photo by Bella Muccari. Set in ...

Ophelia

Ophelia is a comedy about a hot male movie star who gets cast as Ophelia ...

Gender: A Performance Project

Written by Cheryl King and Ashley Lauren Rogers, Gender is a show with an identity ...

Good Boys and True

It's 1988 and Brandon is embarking on his Senior year at St. Joseph's Preparatory School ...

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

Opening Night REVIEW: Adapted from the Directors Notes from Thomas R. Gorden If someone were ...

#KanderAndEbb

What do Liza Minnelli, Joan Rivers, Bette Midler, Rosie O'Donnell, Kathy Griffin, and Ryan G ...

All About Sex (Meat The Garcias)

A light and funny romp through a distorted family's view on business, sex and sausage ...

Love, Sex and Death in the Amazon

I can't think of a more gut-wrenching scene then watching a mother, lover or friend ...

Dracula by Three Day Hangover

REVIEW | OCTOBER 15, 2015 | With Bram Stroker’s Dracula turning 100 this year it ...

The 20th Of November

When my good friend Brock Hessel offered me a ticket I was excited to go ...