The Rhubarb! Festival is Unlike Anything Else
Your first Rhubarb! Festival at Buddies is a little bit like your first queer sexual experience. You’re nervous, excited, and you’re pretty sure it will confirm something you’ve known for a long time: you’re a gay little freak.
It’s weird, it’s experimental, it’s a bit messy (orange peels everywhere!), and even though you don’t know what you’re doing or what to expect, it’s fun.
I’m not talking about your first first time, you know, with that person you thought you might find attractive? Like when you go to see your first classic Shakespearian play, and you’re thinking… this? This is the thing that everyone’s always talking about? (Sorry if you like Shakespeare, it’s just never really done it for me.) No, I’m talking about when you first realized that maybe theatre was actually something you could be into, if it was with the right person–I mean, performers.
Adventurous Live Art in Toronto For Everyone
This year was my first Rhubarb!, and like my queer first time, it happened a little later in life. I hadn’t heard about the festival, or even Buddies itself, until recent years. I wasn’t paying much attention to what was happening in the theatre world in Toronto. Coming from a visual arts background rather than a theatre one, and having mostly seen shows that didn’t leave a strong impression on me, I had accepted that theatre was cool, but it wasn’t really my thing. But I hadn’t experienced anything like Rhubarb!.
For those who don’t know, Buddies’ Rhubarb! Festival is Canada’s longest running queer live arts festival, and is well known for its perverted, raw, and unhinged programming. With a focus on experimentation and encouraging performers to play around with new and unconventional pieces, Rhubarb! offers a rare opportunity for a freedom of creative expression like that of no other festival. That’s why queers have been lining up for years to experience the unpredictable chaos that each festival has in store for them.
The Magic of Rhubarb! 2025 and Live Art
This year’s festival, Rhubarb! 46, was particularly (orange) juicy. Featuring experimental plays, wacky performance art, dancers tearing it up on the stage, spoken word poetry, an interactive fashion show, and a meditation–from both local and international performers, there was a little something for everyone. I found myself especially captivated by the weird and playful performance art pieces, bumbershoot by StarLiz and Sola(r)stalgia by sarah koekkoek. Both pieces made use of unique props, beautiful lighting, and the human body to create abstract shapes, movements, and narratives that delighted the audience. The interdisciplinary dance piece, OUT by Ray Young, was also a standout for me. Featuring UK dancers Azara Meghie and Bambi Jordan Phillips, it was a powerful and raunchy multi-act Dancehall performance that left some audience members with wet panties.
I am so glad to have attended the festival and experienced the art that each day had to offer. Coming back night after night was a special treat, as I began to really feel entrenched in the community. The Rhubarb! staff, performers, and audience foster such a friendly, social, and extremely queer atmosphere that feels welcoming even to first-timers. From the opening party to the last performance, Tallulah’s Cabaret and its patrons welcomed me with open arms, friendly conversation, and the gayest of outfits.
An Adventure For the Theatre-Curious
I truly believe that something so special and genre-bending like the Rhubarb! Festival has the unique opportunity to really bring in wider audiences and change how we see theatre. The diversity in programming can attract and appeal to a variety of spectators, including those like myself who aren’t normally theatre people. And once you’re there, the queer cuties and fruity cocktails will keep you coming back.
So if you’re questioning or theatre-curious, take a chance with next year’s Rhubarb!. It may awaken something within you that you only guessed might’ve been there.