OutFest 2023, a celebration of queer performance from April 24 to 30, will be the largest to date. You will see some of the best professional Queer theatre in Canada, from completed works that have been on tour, to new and emerging creations. All performances will be accompanied by ASL.
THE ELEPHANT GIRLS
WRITTEN + PERFORMED BY: MARGO MACDONALD
The true story of the all-female gang that once terrorized London, England. Clever, organized, devious and daring, The Elephant Girls stole from the rich and gave to themselves. A fascinating piece of lost women's history, the play focuses on the 1920s when the gang was at the height of its power—and when the events took place which would mean its downfall.
CONTEMPORARY DANCE SOLO
CREATED + PERFORMED BY: ROBERT AZEVEDO
Contemporary Dance Solo is a solo dance show with a hint of bouffon, wherein the performer (Robert Azevedo) recreates 18 dance solos from various youth dance competitions. Sometimes the young dancers are projected alongside the performer, allowing for easy comparison of the dancing bodies.
The young dancers in the videos are virtuosic and talented – clearly they are good dancers. Theirs are the kinds of bodies you think of when you imagine a dancer: young, flexible, feminine, wiry. Meanwhile, Azevedo's body is very unlike theirs. As they move through these solos – which itself is a feat of endurance, artistry, and skill – they are asking themselves and the audience: Who do you think of as a dancer? What makes a good dancer? Am I a good dancer too?
UNTITLED FLAMINGO PLAY
CREATED + PERFORMED BY: NATHANIEL HANULA-JAMES
Featuring one performer, a collection of toys, and one sarcastic sock puppet, UNTITLED FLAMINGO PLAY follows two children, Addison and Helen, and their search for queer role models in a big scary normative world.
The universe of this play is zany and irreverent: eight-year-olds quip like Oscar Wilde; kids use grindr on the playground; stuffed animals dispense questionable advice. Beneath all the hijinks, however, UNTITLED FLAMINGO PLAY has a purpose: to invite audiences into a hilarious story of growing up queer, in which coming out is just the beginning.
WATER, BABY
CREATED BY: TRISHA MALIK
See Cormac Newman's full article on the play and playwright.
THE SKELETON DANCE
CREATED + PERFORMED BY: ELLA MACDONALD & EMMA JAMES
The Skeleton Dance is a creative movement play for all ages about death.
The show is a highly physical, energetic, and light-hearted play with elements of clown and puppetry. It is created and performed by Emma James (they/she) and Ella MacDonald (she/her). The performance invites structured audience participation and is always followed by a meet-and-greet or talk back as well as cool-down activity.
76 CM (STAGED READING)
WRITTEN BY: XAIVER CAMPBELL
>Samson and Abe are a long-term mixed-race couple. Their love is undeniable, but so is the tension between them.
Amidst constantly howling winds and rolling blackouts, this relationship is put to the test as the couple finds themselves trapped in their basement apartment during St. John's record-breaking snowstorm of January 2020. What will end first, the storm or them?
Queer-Prov
An Improv Comedy Show With Drag
Bunni Lapin and Mya Foxx are joining hosts Morgan Smith and Adam Myatt for an evening of improv comedy. The show will include games, music, costume changes, dance, and audience participation.
TWO-SPIRIT STAGE
Patricia Vance-Meehan - Poetry
Patricia will be performing at the beginning of each night (5:45 pm - 6:00 pm) and from 10:45 am - 11:00 am) on the weekend.
Patricia writes: As a 24 year old who identifies as African Canadian, Russian, Metis Inuit, as well as a member of the LGBTQ2S community as a Two-Spirited Bisexual; I have discovered that writing is my form of expression and form of art that I choose to use in order to send very in-depth and positive mindedness as a part of my poetry.
Outfest 2023
