Buddies In Bad Times Theatre to Present The 46th Annual Rhubarb! Festival
The festival will run from February 12 to 16, 2025.
Canada's oldest theatre festival for experimental new work is back with Rhubarb! 46 at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. Festival Director Ludmylla Reis has curated a series of 13 electric works by both local and international artists, running from February 12 to 16, with each show presented one time only. It's raw, unhinged, and adventurous performance work that can only be seen at Buddies.
This year's festival includes two international pieces: Transpophagic Manifest by Renata Carvalho, coming to Buddies from Brazil, and OUT by Ray Young, from the UK, both presented in partnership with Vancouver's PuSh Festival.
"Inviting international work into Rhubarb! was important to Buddies, allowing us to expand the representation of queerness in Toronto, and to collaborate across borders and companies," shares Reis. "Our international shows this year are touring pieces that have had major impact across the globe in terms of queer representation, presented in dialogue with Canadian works by artists that experiment with language, form, and self-expression. As usual, all of the Canadian shows you'll see at Rhubarb! are "the Rhubarb versions" of these works - unique iterations of performance pieces that will never be the same again."
Rhubarb! 46
A new work by sarah koekkoek
sarah koekkoek is an ecology-focused multidisciplinary artist working with movement, dance, flora and biomaterials from Tkarón:to (Toronto). Since 2017, sarah's work has been exploring our punctured relationship and existence within the abused and exploited natural world, developing a physical expression of emotions surrounding climate change and the anthropocene. Presented with the support of Dancemakers.
Arias of Seduction presented by OPERATIKA, featuring Khadija Mbowe
A one-person spectacular recital all about seductresses, told through pole dancing, opera, and burlesque. The bratty bottoms if you will...
Biography of Harry Allen created and performed by Valentine Leger, directed by Oliver Pitschner
A folk tale, mental breakdown, and questionable history lesson all strapped into a pair of chaps. Follow a cowboy into a bar where he searches for companionship and meaning to the myths he's been told.
bumbershoot created and performed by StarLiz
A true physical theatre show that captures the dark absurdity of our times. STARLIGHT loves umbrellas umbrellas umbrellas umbrellas umbrellas umbrellas umbrellas umbrellas umbrellas umbrellas umbrellas umbrellas umbrellas umbrellas umbrellas umbrellas umbrellas umbrellas umbrellas umbrellas umbrellas umbrellas umbrellas. Do you?????????
Conversation//Connection by Bad Machine
Bad Machine wants to know what you know, and use that to generate strange, improvisational art. Grab a mic, and let's talk about that thing you really love.
FAST. FASHION. created and performed by the Gud Lewks Collective: Caleigh Adams, Reena Goze, Reid Martin, and Mackenzie Mccallum-Mallory
4 performers. 100 lewks. 1 runway. Are you ready?
The Falls by Montana Adams, performed by Robin Breiche and Montana Adams
Two strangers meet at the edge of one of the wonders of the world, one of the land they stand on and one of land far away. Or, an Indian named Dakota and an immigrant named Raven find common ground next to a casino, a huge plaster gorilla, and international waters.
mi historia que no es única created and performed by Jessica Esmeralda Zepeda
A documentary performance study where a daughter processes her parent's undocumented journey from El Salvador to North America; a ritual for reflecting on the micro tragedies that get rushed past due to the macro urgency of a civil conflict; the search for hope.
OUT by Ray Young
OUT is a defiant challenge to the status quo that bravely carves out a new kind of space, reclaiming and celebrating our queer future. This performance dances in solidarity alongside global 2SLGBTQIA+ movements, breaking down violent histories to imagine something new. Something liberated. Something delicious. Presented with PuSh Festival.
Primordial Chaos / A Zhuangzi Drone by Fan Wu created in collaboration with Jonathan Adjemian, Thom Gill, and Germaine Liu
Primordial Chaos is a durational adaptation of four fables from the Daoist classic ZHUANGZI. Through qigong, drone, chant and song, the artists attune to and commune with primordial chaos: the serpentine nothingness that precedes all existence. From this well of void, they draw up different infinities that offer us ways to live, think, and practice otherwise than we do. Audience members may come and go as they wish.
Suburbia by Mercedes Isaza Clunie
Is there a right way to be gay? Yes, there is. Modern dyke Mercedes Isaza Clunie has the answers to all your burning questions when it comes to being a perfect queer. Suburbia is a poetic clusterfuck full of rageful thoughts, power ploys, and language that is sure to make her GenX queer mom queasy. This early-stage piece deals with the deep shame and inadequacy that comes up when you suck at having a good gay personality. Both inside the city and its surrounding hamlets.
Transpophagic Manifest by Renata Carvalho
Transpophagic Manifest is a courageous and thought-provoking work that challenges mainstream perceptions of what it is to be and become trans. Through a radical expression of empowerment, Renata Carvalho subverts the obsessive scrutiny of trans bodies, distilling this gaze and transforming it into art, literature and education. Presented with PuSh Festival as the Rhubarb! opening show.
WEIGHT(LESS) presented by Amplify Collective
WEIGHT(LESS) is a creative conjuring that examines the perception of communal trauma. Weighted wearable art pieces represent invisible intergenerational sufferings related to Blackness, Indigenous-ness and the Femme identity. Commune with Amplify Collective and the energies of our ancestors as they generate space for release.
Additional Programming
Screen:Moves presented by RT Collective
Screen:Moves is a program of short dance films created by artists from across Canada. Featuring works by: bluemouth inc., Arwyn Carpenter, Averil Dubois, Kendra Epik, Melanie Gordon, Raymond Helkio, Rubyyy Jones, Cameron Kletke, Jasmine Liaw, Matthew Morales, Jade Rocan, Monique Romeiko, Hannah Schallert, George Stamos, Surej Surendra, Kaya Tsurumi, and Rohee Uberoi. Screen:Moves is PWYC by donation at the door with proceeds directed to Water First.
Rhubarb! After Dark at Tallulah's Cabaret
Stick around after the scheduled programming for late night parties and events at Tallulah's Cabaret - all included in the price of a Rhubarb! ticket.
Coffee + Conversation hosted by Festival Director Ludmylla Reis
New to town? Want to get to know some of the folks that made the festival? Need to talk to someone else about the unhinged things you saw this week? Stop by for coffee, treats, and informal conversation about the festival. Bring your thoughts, questions, and inspirations.
Past Rhubarb! festivals have featured works by creative Canadian icons including Sook-Yin Lee, Maev Beaty, Daniel MacIvor, Lois Weaver, Taylor Mac, Hannah Moscovitch, and many more.
"Rhubarb is well known by artists across Canada as the place for creative exploration and experimentation," says Buddies in Bad Times Artistic Director ted witzel. "The festival has an enviable history of launching artists and shows, but also as a hotbed for unruly creatives queering what it means to make and experience art. The format encourages risk: in fact, the only risky thing would be to play it safe. After 46 years, we continue to see Rhubarb as a place where our most curious audiences indulge their appetite for the unknown, braving the frigid misery of February to reach the heat and wildness of the festival. It truly is one of the world's most raw and radical performance festivals, right here in Toronto."
Thirteen shows, five days, two performance spaces, one venue: an experience of unhinged intensity and eclectic performance art experiences that are truly unique to the world of Rhubarb!.
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