8th Annual Toronto Queer Theatre Festival Returns This Weekend

Founded in 2012 (as Gay Play Day), the Toronto Queer Theatre Festival has been presenting plays by Toronto-based LGBTQ+ playwrights for the past seven years at the Alumnae Theatre and will present the eighth annual edition there once again from September 27 to September 28.

This year's playwrights include Steven Elliott Jackson, Lawrence Aronovitch and former Dayne Ogilvie Prize winner Tamai Kobayashi. Veteran Toronto stage actress Elley-Ray Hennessy appears in a short play based on the life of Hollywood actress Joan Crawford, J.C. Superstar by Toronto Queer Theatre Festival founding Artistic Director Darren Stewart-Jones. This year's festival also includes a special matinee performance of Conversations With Faggots, a new hour-long play by award-winning playwright Sky Gilbert.

There are two completely unique blocks of shows encompassing 12 plays in total with six plays in each: the LAVENDER show and the PINK show plus the special matinee performance of Sky Gilbert's Conversations with Faggots noted above. Each series is approximately 80 minutes in total running time.

The line-up and schedule for the 8th Annual Toronto Queer Festival - the first under its new name - is as follows:

LAVENDER SHOW - Friday, September 27 at 7 pm and Saturday, September 28 at 9 pm

J.C. Superstar by Darren Stewart-Jones Based upon the actual final meeting between Hollywood superstar Joan Crawford and her estranged son. Starring veteran stage actress Elley-Ray Hennessy.

His Body Language by Philip Cairns A serio-comic play about Freddy, an insecure gay man, his relationship with his dead mother, who gives him advice, and his obsessive crush on Marcello, a very attractive man.

Unbroken Ties by Erika Reesor Just because you broke up with me doesn't mean I broke up with you...

Outward by Winston Stilwell Stranded in a small-town and stuck in a bowling alley, relationships grow and assumptions are challenged.

Defiled Doe at Teatime by Jade Walker Young queer girl Pru navigates coming to terms with her sexuality and living in her own fantasy world as an escape from her reality.

Mother's Day by David Bateman and Peter Lynch Long time lovers reminisce about their mothers by sharing snippets from Mother's Day cards they sent to each other over the years.

PINK SHOW Friday, September 27 at 9 pm and Saturday, September 28 at 7 pm

One Small Step by Lawrence Aronovitch It's 1969 and a young man is watching the moon landing on TV when there's a knock at his door and he must confront a love affair gone sour.

The Seer by A. B. Neilly In a derelict mall, a couple face an anomalous secret that could threaten their life together.

All That Remains by Josh Downing "Listen for the love, that is all that remains."
Punch Drunk by Sage LaRochelle A story about the intersection between feelings and violence, and about how sometimes, you just need to duke it out.

The Interview by Steven Elliott Jackson A father and Conservative MP up for re-election faces his toughest interview yet - his teenage lesbian daughter!
Cold Feet by Tamai Kobayashi On the eve of their wedding, an East Asian butch femme couple, from different generations and backgrounds, grapple with what they are about to do, and what that means.

SPECAL MATINEE PERFORMANCE - Saturday, September 28 at 3 pm: Conversations (with Faggots) by Sky Gilbert A new play by award-winning queer playwright Sky Gilbert. Conversations With Faggots is made up of three shorter playlets: DATING, ACTING and LOVING - in which versatile and relentlessly skilled young performers Graham Conway and Jean-Paul Parker each play three different roles in three different scenes.

Visit Toronto queertheatrefestival.com for further information and for tickets. Tickets are $15, available at the door one hour prior to each performance or in advance online at torontoqueertheatrefestival.com.

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