Out in Toronto: March 26–April 1, 2015

Choice events in the city this week


Cabaret

Ryan G Hinds: Duets

The bold, beautiful diva, notorious for inadvertently leaving behind heaps of glitter in every washroom he visits, performs a duets show as part of his term as Buddies’s cabaret artist-in-residence. Under the musical direction of Mark Selby, Hinds is joined by guests Vivek Shraya, Gabi Epstein (Mirvish Productions’s Once) and Jory Rossiter for a night of songs quite appropriately (given it’s a duets show) about friendship, rivalry, love and competition.

Sun, March 29, 8pm. Buddies in Bad Times, 12 Alexander St. buddiesinbadtimes.com

Chamber Music

Queer Songbook Orchestra: Songs of Resilience

This event is part of the Queer Songbook Orchestra’s ongoing project to dig up and re-envision queer music (queer both in terms of themes and the sexual orientation of artists) to create what they call a living archive. Joined by visual artist Sean Frey, the 12-piece chamber ensemble presents an evening of music and storytelling on the theme of resilience.

Thurs, March 26, 8pm. Church of the Holy Trinity, 10 Trinity Square. queersongbook.com

Clubbin’

Björk Party

The singer-songwriter’s fans — typically, a particularly tall and wispy brand of queer — celebrate her latest album, Vulnicura, by (one can only assume) having their hair styled eccentrically, donning their most Icelandic outfits and dancing to her music. The event includes not only songs from the new album, an emotional work about her breakup with Matthew Barney, but her other hits. Watch for a performance and projections from the otherworldly Buzz Huneedew.

Thurs, March 26, 10pm. The Beaver, 1192 Queen St W. beavertoronto.ca

Sex

Sapphic Aquatica

Women and trans people enjoy each other’s company — let’s be honest here: bodies — in a sex-positive spa environment. The evening includes Sasha’s stripping workshop, a performance by Spencer Munny of The Yes-Men drag king troupe and music by DJ Recklezz. Those with a kinkier side can either watch or take part in a rope bondage demonstration in the dungeon.

Sun, March 29, 8pm. Oasis Aqualounge, 231 Mutual St. oasisaqualounge.com

Theatre

Tranny: A Musical Comedy

Sixty-one-year-old Mandy Goodhandy, the self-proclaimed “first trans standup comedian in Canada” stars in an autobiographical show that wends through her life, from childhood — when she played Linus in You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, but wanted to be Lucy — to adulthood and being co-owner of Club120, with detours into pop culture and covering her pioneering adventures trying to navigate Canada’s legal system as a trans woman.

 

Runs until Sat, March 28, 8pm. Buddies in Bad Times, 12 Alexander St. buddiesinbadtimes.com

Nature of the Beast

Francis has a man tied up in the basement of his Northern Ontario home. Consensually of course. If the guy wants to pay to be kept down there and be slapped around a little, where’s the harm in that? However, things get a bit more complicated (and hilarious) when Francis’s recently out of the closet 17-year-old nephew shows up unexpectedly, looking for a place to hide from his abusive parents.

Runs until Sat, April 11, various times. The Storefront Theatre, 955 Bloor St W. safeword.ca

Hairspray

It’s Baltimore, 1962, and lovable plus-sized teen Tracy Turnblad wants only one thing: to shake her booty on the popular Corny Collins Show. When her dream comes true, turning her from outcast to star, she decides to use her newfound power to dethrone the teen queen and win the affections of heartthrob Link Larkin.

Runs until Sun, April 12, various showtimes. Randolph Theatre, 735 Bathurst St. lowerossingtontheatre.com

For more event listings, visit dailyxtra.com/lgbt-events

Jeremy Willard is a Toronto-based freelance writer and editor. He's written for Fab Magazine, Daily Xtra and the Torontoist. He generally writes about the arts, local news and queer history (in History Boys, the Daily Xtra column that he shares with Michael Lyons).

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