Results tagged “buddiesinbadtimestheatre”

Today's edition of Drama Club is brought to you by sex and gender politics. A couple of very interesting shows opened in the city last week, both of which approach aspects of sexuality and gender identity from very different perspectives. In the girl corner, we have Sasha Von Bon Bon's Neon Nightz, a two-woman burlesque(-ish) cabaret about the 90s Montreal strip club scene directed by outgoing Buddies Artistic Director David Oiye. Over at the boy's club, there's Darren Anthony's Secrets of a Black Boy, heavily promoted as the male answer to his sister's trey's hugely successful Da Kink in My Hair, which promises to let us all know what it's really like to be a black man in the city.

Each week, Drama Club looks at Toronto's theatre scene and tells you which shows are worth checking out.

Agokwe sounds like a good idea on paper. The Kent Monkman-esque promo pics featuring the play's writer/performer, Waatwaate Fobister, glammed up like a cross between "Half Breed"-era Cher and St. Sebastian (Seb's basically Gay Jesus, for those who aren't in the club) are certainly eye-catching, if a tad cheesy, and seem to suggest a camp and tongue-in-cheek exploration of two-spirited sexuality. And camp we certainly get. Fobister, who plays all the characters in his "gay love on the rez" tragedy, flits about the stage as a beyond-swishy Nanabush (an Ojibwe trickster spirit), sometimes telling the story of star-crossed Jakey and Mikey, Agokwe's protagonists, sometimes delivering speeches about how queer-tolerant First Nations societies used to be, and sometimes asking people in the audience to touch his asshole. But rather than a thoughtful or eye-opening look at homophobia in First Nations communities, Agokwe never really rises above the level of After-School Special.

WORDS: We all have a couple of things lying around, maybe hidden in a box somewhere, that carry serious emotional ties: borrowed sweaters, mix tapes, love letters, and the like. Most of those items come with a great background story, so tonight the Victory Café is presenting "Awkward Show and Tell: Things My Ex Gave Me," an open mic night dedicated to presenting relationship baggage in front of a group of people so speakers can feel cathartic, or whatever. Audience members are encouraged to bring old photos, shitty gifts, and anything else left behind from a past relationship, and share tales of regret. Come out, tell your story, have a few drinks, and embrace the awkward. Victory Café (581 Markham Street), 8:30 p.m., FREE.

THEATRE: This evening, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre is presenting Electro-Alice: Adventures in the Underground. A new techno-opera by Torontonian Noah Henne, Electro-Alice explores what would happen if Alice had taken a bunch of MDMA before proceeding down the rabbit hole. The Facebook event describes it as "an experimental-techno-opera-costume-ball-acid-trip-mind-fucking-spiritual-dance-party for the 21st century." 2008 Toronto Drag Idol winner Daytona Bitch stars as Alice. Buddies in Bad Times Theatre (12 Alexander Street), 10 p.m., $10.