Raymond Helkio 
Have you ever wanted to own a Picasso or a Tom Thomson? These are just two of the subjects from paintings by Jono Pye who is jointly showing works along with David Bateman at The Secret Handshake Gallery in Kensington Market. Prices range from $500 to $50 a painting, with postcard sized prints from $5. […]
We’ve had pandemics before this one, and by most accounts there will be another in our lifetime. Statisticians generally agree that, in any year, the probability of experiencing a pandemic ranges from two to four percent. This translates into a “47-57 percent chance of another global pandemic as deadly as COVID in the next 25 […]
Kama La Mackerel is a Montreal-based, Mauritian-Canadian multi-disciplinary artist whose recent one person show at Buddies In Bad Times Theatre pushes back against the boundaries that define gender identity.
Note: Shane Jenek uses the pronouns he/him, his alter ego Courtney Act uses she/her. This review was originally published on My Gay Toronto. Shane Jenek, a cutie pie Aussie whose alter ego Courtney Act, has risen to fame as a drag queen, singer and television personality. Credits include Australian Idol, session two of RuPaul’s Drag […]
Ingmar Bergman and Paul Bellini both have a propensity for producing a large volume of cinematic works. While Bergman is considered one of the most influential filmmakers in popular media, Bellini has created his own underground following of intellectuals, groupies, misfits and actors to rival even Ingmar. Case in point, the Bellini Film Festival wraps […]
“Art is to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.” -Cesar A. Cruz Sky regularly pumps out plays that provoke, entertain and challenge the status quo and this is no exception. Who’s Afraid Of Titus? is director Sky Gilbert’s latest play and perhaps one of his most provocative and salacious offerings. Written around the 1590’s, […]
If Joan Rivers and Elton John had offspring it’d probably look a lot like Bianca Del Rio. But behind the gorgeous make-up and costume is the quirky Roy Haylock, a theatre veteran whose latest offering, Unsanitized promises a sensational experience of political incorrectness, mayhem, and peppered with laugh-out-loud moments. Bianca is no stranger to the […]
Fans of Sky’s work will quickly recognize the witty writing, the exploration of a developing relationship between two people, and the sometimes intermixing of classical music.
Second City has consistently been putting on great shows in Toronto for 47 years, and it is now 60 years since a motley crew of comedians started in Chicago, mocking the ‘second city’ status of Chicago to New York. Their current show, The Second City Totally Likes You is directed by Kirsten Rasmussen who also directed […]
Playwright Sky Gilbert’s most recent work Bungalow showing at the Hamilton Fringe Festival is set in Steel Town but it could easily apply to most cities whose rapid growth leads to gentrification which ultimately pits those who have, against those who do not. We are introduced to two different sides of a semi-detached bungalow. Neighbours […]
Playwright Philip Cairns recent mounting of Diamonds on Plastic at the Hamilton Fringe Festival is a smart, witty and tightly written romp through the mind of Doris Nightshade, an older woman whose kept relationship one day forces her into the arms of her long-time female friend and confidant.
Toronto queer playwrights Sky Gilbert and Philip Cairnes are just two of the reasons Hamilton Fringe Festival should be on your summer bucket list. On until July 28, the festival provides incredible value by giving theatre lovers access to a massive spectrum of works designed to enlighten, entertain and provoke. Bungalow and Diamonds on Plastic are two such works whose subject matter […]
Perhaps one of the smartest queer (or otherwise) comedy shows I’ve seen in a decade because instead of being dotted by funny moments, it’s a seamless laugh-fest from begging to end… if Saturday Night Live had sex with Kids In The Hall during a musical, Extravaganza Eleganza would be the offspring.
Nice Never Got Me Anything I wasn’t sure what to think when a puppet stuck his head through the curtain and starts giving us a foul invective on the history of humanity. I wasn’t sure what to think as two teens are having a perfectly normal conversation while their puppets are having very graphic sex. […]
Shove a couple of bus tokens into your pocket and go down to Buddies to see this show. Shove It Down My Throat is Johnnie Walker’s latest play, which centres around the real-life Luke O’Donovan’s case. Luke was at a party, got queer-bashed/stabbed, stood up for himself by knifing 5 of his assailants back, and […]
Sharp, thoughtful and to the point writing that paints a vivid portrait of Vivek’s Shraya’s search for safety in our masculine-dominate culture. The personal stories that makeup I’m Afraid of Men are compelling and framed from the perspective of a person whose gender expression ever-shifts against, and with, conventional norms, serving to challenge the status quo as well as each of our roles within it.
“We rally for diversity of appearance but flake on diversity of viewpoint.” -Irshad Manji, Don’t Label Me Pulling from her own experiences as well as that of Bruce Lee, Ben Franklin and Audre Lorde, Irshad Manji dismantles how the labels we use to define others, ultimately define and limit ourselves. Don’t Label Me deconstructs […]
Questions answered by Brock Hessel, Vince Rozario, Kumari Giles, and Mikiki There’s always lots of great finds at the Rhubarb Festival including an instalment of The Bricks and Glitter Cabaret. The Reading Salon asked the organizers about this years event and why should book your ticket now! What is the “A Trouble of Queers: The […]
“I can manage very well on my own”. This early line from Coal Mine Theatre’s latest offering sums up the sentiment of so many aging parents but also sends shudders through their trying-to-be-accommodating adult children. It also provides the basis for the 90 minute journey down the rabbit hole of Alzheimers that is The Father. […]
GA TING An immigrant Chinese couple invite their son’s caucasian boyfriend to visit, in order to come to terms with their son’s suicide. The son had never come out to his parents and they had never met the “roommate” so this was going to make for an interesting ride. And it delivers. The visit starts […]
Whether you believe in UFO’s or not, this show makes a compelling case for life in outer space, but that’s not why you should see it. From the start, Damien dismantles any notion of a fourth wall, speaking directly to the audience, maintaining eye contact throughout the ninety-minute show, shifting the experience, and it was an experience, from voyeuristic to participatory.
Waverly Place is a little street that humbly leads from Greenwich Village, across 6th Avenue to arrive at the grand northern border of Washington Square. Waverly Gallery is a small gallery at the humble end of the street. The story centres around gallery proprietor Gladys (played incredibly by the great Elaine May). The play opens […]
Main photo by Joan Marcus. The Tricky Part written and performed by Martin Moran had its debut Off-Off-Broadway in 2003, and since then has toured through the United States, Canada, South Africa and India. Moran’s memoir of the same title has won numerous honours, including a Barnes and Noble Discover Prize and a Lambda Literary […]
Main photo by Joan Marcus. The Tricky Part written and performed by Martin Moran had its debut Off-Off-Broadway in 2003, and since then has toured through the United States, Canada, South Africa and India. Moran’s memoir of the same title has won numerous honours, including a Barnes and Noble Discover Prize and a Lambda Literary […]
At one point, Michael Birbiglia is telling the story of being caught by a friend while he is frantically rummaging through various types of pretzel bags for his wife’s latest hunger craving. He turns to his friend and shouts “Yes, I’ve got a lot of secrets!”. This should be the catchphrase of his latest solo […]
It’s a chilly night in Brooklyn so I’m walking with a quick step down the tree-lined streets until I arrived at the setting for tonight’s show, a hundred-year-old Victorian mansion. Known as the Beverly Social Club, this mansion was originally built for a doctor but in the 1920s it was home to the Brooklyn Democratic […]
Imagine Faulty Towers at its craziest. Then mix in broken props, collapsing scenery, forgotten lines, inept stagehands, all while an Agatha Christie mystery breaks out, and you have The Play That Goes Wrong. Not one for slapstick, I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it that much, but I have to admit I was won over. The […]
On the surface, Love Song To Lavender Menace is about the struggle for acceptance which is explored through the relationship between Lewis, Glen and their beloved LGBT bookshop, Lavender Menace is underscored by the blooming gay rights movement. While the play is set in Edinburgh, the struggle to take up space in a homophobic […]
Sometimes theatre is tough. As I sat watching the first, and then second ‘luring’ scenes, I got increasingly uncomfortable. But I realized that a) I’m supposed to be reacting this way, and b) I was thinking of how much the actual gay Russian victims suffered, having been lured to a room on the promise of […]
You really shouldn’t visit New York without trying to catch a Sherry Vine show. More than a drag show, Sherry musical talent and writing put her at the top of the entertainment food chain. Sadly, it’s going to get tougher to see her perform with her upcoming stint in Los Angeles so when we saw […]
This is not dinner theatre, it’s way better, it’s theatre dinner. When I hear the words “dinner theatre”, I immediately think of mediocre food along with a cabaret or some okay’ish performance. Shake & Bake has decidedly tried to not brand itself that way, and for good reason. It isn’t that at all. It’s so […]
First, there was the book, then the play, then the movie, and now tweaking at its highest level yet…the incredible Trainspotting Live – an immersive experience. The trip begins well before the show. You climb 4 sets of grungy stairs, then after a stop at the bar, you wait in a long dark smoky graffiti-covered […]
Do we marry for love or is it something else? It’s this very question that’s at the core of Daniel’s Husband. This insightful analysis of gay marriage gives compelling reasons why we may, and may not, want any part of it. The story follows Daniel and Mitchell’s seemingly perfect life, except for one thing. Daniel wants […]
Tennessee Williams wrote many notable plays but it’s his earlier works like The Glass Menagerie, A Streetcar Named Desire and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof that are produced, so it’s a treat when some of his more brazen characters get a chance to take the stage. Small Craft Warnings, directed by Barnaby Edwards and Marcus […]
The remount of Gertrude & Alice kicked off Buddies In Bad Times Theatre’s 40th season and it was like walking through a Picasso painting, amazing. The smart set is made up of seemingly decorative items that later serve as functioning props for the characters. The set design is genius in that it’s all powered by […]
What started out as a low-tech whimsical romp through a marketer’s backroom quickly turned into a thought-provoking dark comedy. Cluster Fucked is an unpretentious Masterclass on data and how it’s used to track, influence and alter how we operate as individuals and collectively as a culture. Devised as a theatre piece, the play is a […]
From her off-stage opening line to her brilliant closing line at the piano, Theresa Tova is mesmerizing and seducing. Tova is playing Lea, an aging ex-courtesan, who takes the audience on an elaborate journey through life, love, sex, growing old, age-appropriate dressing, and scarves. Her dialogue is brilliantly written (by Sky Gilbert) and is putty in […]
From acclaimed Croatian playwright Tena Štivicic and directed by the award-winning Svjetlana Jaklenec, The Two of Us had its North American premiere at this year’s Fringe Festival in Toronto. The story follows two women as they navigate family, friendship and love in a post-war Croatia. On the surface, The Two of Us is an examination of […]
LULU V.7 invites audiences into an absurdly beautiful and wildly twisted world of love, sex, art and death. Surreal scenography, sublime movement choreography and imaginative costuming combine to create a world that was as vibrant as it was dark and foreboding.
Let me give you an information tidbit: love and information is a crazy ride…. a fun journey through a myriad of characters, scenes, and subjects. A hundred personalities are portrayed by 8 talented actors playing everything from a child who can’t feel pain, a couple experimenting on chicken brains, to a man who no longer […]
Edmonton continues to birth artistic masterpieces and Category E is no exception. On until the end of the month, this horror-comedy is produced by Maggie Tree Collective and has garnered many awards including five Sterling Awards for New Play and Independent Production. Written by Edmonton-based playwright Belinda Cornish, the madness that is Category E is as […]
Originally published on theBUZZ Alone Together is a double bill consisting of There she was and Taking Breath which use dance in an examination of human connection. Constructed as a reality that is both chaotic and calming, Alone Together merges two performances that are similar in structure yet different in every other way. Taking A Breath is a […]
Originally published through The BUZZ, April 3, 2018 Written and directed by Sky Gilbert, I Cook, He Does The Dishes is as much about the value of relationship as it is a questioning of how we relate to being in, out of, or enmeshed in it. The play is a modern take on the real-life love […]
If you’re looking for an Ed Mirvish happy fun musical theatre evening, The Monument is not for you. This is going to be a dark evening. A soldier who has raped and killed 25 girls/women in the bedlam of war is given a choice: face execution or become a slave to a woman for the […]
“Black box theater in New York is an amazing experience but very so often productions are not fully committed to their best results for many different reasons, scarce profits, small audiences etc etc. There was never a second in this production in which I doubted or even worse forgot the importance of the job that […]
When twin sisters inherit the house where Poe composed The Raven, their lives take twisted turns that affect the future of mankind. The House on Poe Street by Fengar Gael, directed by Katie McHugh is a sharp, witty escapade through an incredibly wide range of topics including chemistry, poetry, the occult, privilege, and gender bending. […]
The Box Show by Dominique Salerno and directed by Sash Bischoff is a clever, fast-paced one woman show that takes place inside of a box the size of a cupboard. Over the course of the performance, Salerno introduces the audience to 25 hysterical characters that range from over-the-top pop icons to borderline insane interpretations of […]
Andrea Alton is magnificent as her alter ego “Molly ‘Equity’ Dykeman” in Molly’s World, a rainbow romp through the mind of a pill-popping lesbian security guard and part-time poet. If Ellen Degeneres, Rosanne Barr and the Trailer Park Boys had offspring, they might look something like Molly, an in-your-face, tell-it-like-it-is type of gal with a […]
REVIEW: Doric Wilson’s Street Theatre delivers a 90 minute laugh-a-minute spectacle through one of the most historic moments in queer history. Read more.
Virginia Baeta’s queer metaphorical twist on a murder mystery is a fun and whimsical journey into the gender-bending world of Thomas Sparks, a private dick who is bent on bedding the seductive Iris Carnegie played by the uber-talented Karen Stanion…
Written and performed by Neil Titley, “Introducing Mr Wilde, or Work is the Curse of the Drinking Class” is a smart and often cheeky introduction to the life and death of Oscar Wilde. Introducing Mr. Wilde has literally toured the world including sold out performances for the last three years at the highly competitive Edinburgh […]
Street Children by Pia Scala-Zankel is pure unadulterated street realness. Unsettling at times, Street Children is set during the 1986 on the Hudson Piers in New York City and portrays the lives of the LGBT street youth in a real and honest light. This period in our history was one of the most exciting times for […]
As provocative as it is entertaining, Black Boys is a camp adventure into queer male blackness. Stephen Jackman-Torkoff, Tawiah Ben M’Carthy, and Thomas Olajide make up the three member performance team Saga Colectif which mix together personal stories, beautiful choreography, smart dialogue and potent stage presence into a metatheatrical experience that’ll reinvigorate your love for […]
Hosanna’s Higher Self If Requiem For A Dream, Moulin Rouge and Carrie had a rendezvous their offspring would be a lot like Hosanna. Damien Atkins was riveting in his portrayal of Hosanna, an aging drag queen who models herself after the legendary Elizabeth Taylor. Hosanna’s outrageously sharp tongue lands her in a fight with […]
Blind Date is a raw, intimate and honest portrayal of what it means to put yourself out there. Rebecca Northan creates an experience that moves beyond the traditional notion of theatre. The performance takes the entire audience along with them on a voyeuristic journey into someone else’s life and the date is both familiar […]
“The love that dare not speak its name has become the love that won’t shut up.” –from TOLLER, Sky Gilbert Sky Gilbert is a queer writer, actor, director, filmmaker, academic, and drag performer. Born in Norwich, Connecticut, he studied theatre at York University and at the University of Toronto, before co-founding of Buddies in Bad […]
Julie Andrews is the Devil is a funny and charming love story about Tabitha, played by a magnificent Andrea Alton, who is a lesbian nun fixated on Julie Andrews from The Sound of Music. When Tabitha goes to Provincetown during Women’s Week she meets her love interest, a guitar wielding lesbian folksinger hot-pot named Marissa, played by […]
Trans-Jester is a fitly, potty-mouthed, politically incorrect, mean spirited show and the most fun I’ve had in years. Behind the succession of cheap-shots and endless poo jokes is a deeper, philosophical commentary about a culture of inclusive political correctness that has started to suck the uniqueness right out of the human race. But who really cares about deeper meanings when you’ve got comedy of […]
Israel Horovitz’s Line is an authentic New York theatre experience in part because at 45 years it’s the longest running show and also because it’s a fine-tuned drama at it’s most absurd. Line takes us into the lives of five people who struggle to be first in line for a completely unknown event. It’s the story of their […]
I Will Look Forward To This Later is the story of author Wyatt Holloway who passes away leaving his family to deal with the aftermath of a tumultuous life fuelled by Bourbon, art and infidelity. James Himelsbach plays Wyatt, the eccentric playboy who is a seamless combination of Ricardo Montalban from Fantasy Island and Henry […]
Seriously, WTF was that?! The Fuerza Bruta experience was like watching the MOMA have sex with The Roxy – for our Canadian friends that’s like the AGO copulating with The Guvernment Nightclub… I’m definitely going back. Fuerza Bruta Daryl Roth Theatre 101 East 15th Street TICKETS
“It’s as moving as it is disturbing”
A clever play about forgiveness, House Rules is a smartly layered story about two Filipino families trying to make sense of the impending deaths of each others ailing parents. Mia Katigbak is hilarious as Vera, the sharp-witted mother of duelling sisters Twee and Momo whose stage presence is rivalled only by JoJo Gonzalez’s deeply moving performance as Ernie, the miserable […]
Golden Boy by Clifford Odets is about Joe Bonaparte whose gives up on his dream of becoming a violinist when he gets seduced into the world of prize fighting. Joe Bonaparte is played by an entertaining Fergus Scully who could rival Billy Elliot for genuine tenderness. His on again off again relationship with Lorna Moon, played by Alexandra Allwine was […]
A native of Italy, Fabio Zito has a history of work that has continually been supported and produced by his home theatre but the topic matter of his latest work proved to be too much and for the first time his script was rejected. Not being discouraged, Fabio went of the hunt for a replacement company […]
“THE BLINDING POWER OF LOVE, THE ENIGMA OF GENDER, AND THE COMPLICATED MYSTERY OF HOW WE BECOME WHO WE ARE.” INSPIRED BY A TRUE STORY. In the 1960s, a well-intentioned doctor convinces the parents of a male infant to raise their son as a girl after a terrible accident. Two decades later, the repercussions of that […]
(10) To hear her secret(s) to a happy life (9) Because you love Paris in springtime (8) And German Sing-A-Longs (7) To feel like you’ve toured the world (6) To see D’yan Forest face down, spread eagled (5) Learn how to get laid by a camel (4) You love a good story, especially when it involves sex (3) […]
#CoreAdultsOnly | Directed by Alex Correia, Adults Only is comprised of seven one-act plays by Dean Imperial that illuminate the dark, ironic and awkward world of adulthood. Boosting a cast of thirty incredibly talented actors, Shane Allen’s delivery during The Heart Attack was dead-pan brilliant as was Katie Lawson’s was captivating performance in The […]
When Elizabeth, portrayed by the illustrious Tayler Beth Anderson, discovers that her grandmother has died and left the estate to a ‘mystery’ aunt named ‘Bes’ she is hurt. She locates Bes who comes alive because of a spunky and heartwarming Alice Spvvak whose character attempts to make sense of their increasingly confusing situation. Tea In The Afternoon unfolds into a story about fantasy, […]
Theatre Review by Raymond Helkio, The Reading Salon
The needed change is so profound that we call it impossible, so deep that we call it unthinkable. But the impossible will come and the unthinkable is inevitable. –Feminism Is Not Humanism, P.B. Preciado MDLSX is an 80-minute performance/monologue/ DJ set performed by the award-winning actress Silvia Calderoni and directed by Motus founders, Enrico Casagrande […]
REVIEW | The Reading Salon, Raymond Helkio | The two-time Tony Award-winning 39 Steps is a comedic spoof of the classic 1935 film. The brilliantly madcap story follows our dashing hero Richard Hannay as he races to solve the mystery of The 39 Steps, all the while trying to clear his name. Just 439 […]
Pictured above: Larry Gutman, Michael Hardart* and Leonardo Altafini, photo by Bella Muccari. Set in a London hospital, It Runs in the Family by Ray Cooney has esteemed Dr. Mortimore on the brink of delivering the Ponsonby Lecture to an international conference of neurologists; but first, he must fend off a paternity suit, an ex wife, a […]
Ophelia is a comedy about a hot male movie star who gets cast as Ophelia in an all-male production of Hamlet on Broadway but unfortunately, he knows as much about women as he does about acting. Ophelia is part love letter to the entertainment industry and part vicious indictment of traditional gender roles. The […]
Written by Cheryl King and Ashley Lauren Rogers, Gender is a show with an identity crisis of its own. Not sure what to call itself, Gender is billed as a ‘performance project’ which in this case means part play, part sketch comedy and part lecture. The programme was printed backwards possibly on […]
It’s 1988 and Brandon is embarking on his Senior year at St. Joseph’s Preparatory School for Boys. He’s smart, charming and the captain of the football team – a typical St. Joe’s leader. But when a video tape featuring graphic sex acts is found in one of the school’s VCRs his future is threatened. […]
Opening Night REVIEW: Adapted from the Directors Notes from Thomas R. Gorden If someone were to ask me “What is Rosencrantz and Guildenstern all about?” I would say “It’s not really about Hamlet or Rosencrantz and Guildenstern”. It could be called “Alfred, Polonius, Player King, Soldier and Horatio Are Alive” which are the characters played by […]
What do Liza Minnelli, Joan Rivers, Bette Midler, Rosie O’Donnell, Kathy Griffin, and Ryan G Hinds have in common? They all love high camp, sequins, show tunes and they’ve each been guests to the historic Don’t Tell Mama, a cabaret piano bar in New York’s theatre district. And now Ryan (Hedwig & the Angry Inch; MacArthur Park Suite, A Disco Ballet, Starry Notions) […]
A light and funny romp through a distorted family’s view on business, sex and sausage making. Proclaiming to be the new ‘Latino gay cisgender glam sex farce’, the Garcias are a wacky Cuban family (think Addams family meets the Kardashians) who operate a successful sausage business as a cover for their real business, an escort service. If you need a reason to […]
I can’t think of a more gut-wrenching scene then watching a mother, lover or friend tend to a loved one who is in palliative care and for anyone that’s had been in the role of care giver, the opening scene was deeply heart breaking as Walter slowly and painfully changes the diapers of Marcos, […]
REVIEW | OCTOBER 15, 2015 | With Bram Stroker’s Dracula turning 100 this year it seems only fitting that we kick-off our Halloween season with an interpretation of Steven Dietz’s Dracula in New York’s West Park Presbyterian Church. The show is produced by Three Day Hangover (T3H), a NYC theatre company that mounts classic plays in bars, most notably the 2013 […]
When my good friend Brock Hessel offered me a ticket I was excited to go and also uncomfortable because I was sure this might be one of those plays where the full experience doesn’t fully register on me until days after. And this is just what happens when days after I see the show news breaks of the Harrisburg […]