With the 51st edition of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) fast approaching, we uncover the LGBTQ+ highlights, section by section, in this year's eclectic lineup of features, series and special events. Kicking off on Thursday, September 10th and running until Sunday, September 20th, the program features the Canadian premieres of All of Us Strangers... Continue Reading →
Following 4K restorations of Gregg Araki’s 90s Teen Apocalypse Trilogy—Totally F***ed Up, The Doom Generation, and Nowhere—a stunning new 4K version of the filmmaker's acclaimed 2004 adaption of Scott Heim's novel, Mysterious Skin, opens theatrically in New York today. The intensely powerful chronicle of childhood innocence lost features starmaking turns from Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Brady... Continue Reading →
The journey from Manhattan to Fire Island, New York's queer haven for almost a century, is part of the magic of any summer getaway there. From the frantic bustle of Midtown to a Long Island Railroad commuter train packed with excited gays lugging bags full of clothes they likely won't wear. All you really need... Continue Reading →
The queer film event of the year has finally arrived. Following a rapturous reception at Cannes in May, and a US festival and press tour that lit up our social feeds, writer-director Jane Schoenbrun's third feature, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, opens in select theaters this Friday, August 7th before expanding nationwide on... Continue Reading →
Seven-time Tony Award-winning producer, fashion trailblazer and innovative performance artist Jordan Roth makes his television acting debut this week in FX's The Shards, an alluring 1980s-set thriller based on Bret Easton Ellis’ 2023 bestselling novel, adapted by Ellis and Ryan Murphy. Portraying Steven Reinhardt on the series, the strikingly stylish right-hand man to Hollywood mogul... Continue Reading →
Gentle, filled with emotion and highly engaging, Sanctuary explores a young man's life at the heart of the AIDS epidemic through his reminiscences with a supportive stranger. Richard Cant and Matthew Tennyson. Photo credit: Andrew Perry. Jacob Sparrow's debut play is truly beautifully written, filled as it is with nostalgia, warmth and melancholy. Set in... Continue Reading →
A absurdist piece about the tension between following your creative dreams and finding ways to survive in the arts, TOAST is a impactful and at times surreal examination of navigating soulless systems, and what happens when the script runs out. Jude Green. Photo credit: Matt Norris Simply but skilfully staged, TOAST puts Jude Green's character... Continue Reading →
Three soldiers thrown together in the heat of war must come to terms with brutal realities, while also finding moments of connection. Barnaby Rothschild and Sebastian Barrett. Photo credit: Paul Stone. Inspired by his participation in the TV series "Churchill’s Secret Agents", writer Paul Stone began to research the experience of Indian Army and queer... Continue Reading →
An unusually personal and introspective show, Linus Karp shares his experience and the aftermath of being a victim of a queer hate crime. Awkward Prods are a fringe staple, award-winning producers of the camp creations Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story and Gwyneth Goes Skiing. The real-life events that this show is based on took… Continue Reading →
Thoroughly researched and deeply felt, Alistair Hall's Buggers is a unflinching look at the passionate, codependent and often violent relationship between artist Francis Bacon and his lover-muse George Dyer. Alistair Hall and Peter Clements. Photo credit: Giulia Ferrando. Structured like one of Bacon's triptychs, we absorb three snapshots in the men's eight year relationship: beginning,... Continue Reading →
She's here, she's queer, so you'd better get used to it. Fempaths: Transistor Radio Hour is an unashamedly political piece that uses LGBTQ+ history set to music to give voice to those that are often overlooked. Mari Moriarty. Photo credit: Queergarden. Kicking off with the radio style implied by the title, Fempath (Mari Moriarty), cellist... Continue Reading →
Examining the human condition and his own health conditions through facts about the natural world, Sam Morrison is an engaging performer with a broad range of material. Sam Morrison. Photo credit: Timothy Aarons. Following on from his critically acclaimed show Sugar Daddy, Morrison is back at the fringe to give us the lowdown on weird... Continue Reading →
A taught thriller with a surprising amount of humour, Man or Bear asks you to come face to face with the potential threat of violence that could lurk in the shadows - or be right in front of you. Katie Hurley. Photo credit: Hugo Glendinning. Co-created by Katie Hurley and Sarah Hehir, Man or Bear... Continue Reading →
When Amy's hair starts to fall out, she loses something else in the process - her confidence, her connection with her femininity and her ability to show her real self to those around her. From facing her trauma, and discovering the power of drag, she begins to explore a new identity - reclaiming words used... Continue Reading →
Lucas Kad's semi-autobiographical play, Pimm's Without The Cucumber, is a coming-of-age story that examines queer masculinity and the pressures on today's young men. Lucas Kad. Photo credit: Second Law Theatre Company. Kad comes bursting onto the stage as Jordan, a young man with main character energy who addresses the audience in the style of a... Continue Reading →
