The Rhubarb! Festival 2025
February 12 – 16, 2025
“Toronto’s go-to event for thought-provoking, political, adventurous entertainment.”
— Toronto Life
Festival Director Ludmylla Reis
Thirteen shows, five days, two performance spaces, one venue: an experience of unhinged intensity and eclectic performance art experiences that are truly unique to the world of Rhubarb!.
The Rhubarb! Festival is Buddies at its rawest: a hotbed of unruly creatives queering what it means to make and experience art. Canada’s longest-running genre-bending live arts festival has brought you wrestling, space opera, chainsaw-wielding teddy bears, bathroom Shakespeare, clown sisters, and cake. It’s intentional, well-crafted chaos.
It takes a rare kind of visionary to conduct this annual experiment — so we’re thrilled to announce multi-disciplinary artist Ludmylla Reis as this year’s Festival Director. They’re proving that Rhubarb! only grows more wild with age, and you’ll want to be there for every whirlwind moment. Make sure you stay hydrated (Tallulah’s Cabaret can help with that).
photography and treatment by Fran Chudnoff
“TORONTO’S GO-TO EVENT FOR THOUGHT-PROVOKING, POLITICAL, ADVENTUROUS ENTERTAINMENT”
-Toronto Life
“ONE OF THE BEST EVENTS ON THE TORONTO THEATRE CALENDAR”
-Toronto Star
“THE WILDEST THEATRE FEST IN TOWN”
-Toronto Life
“RHUBARB IS IMPOSSIBLE TO PREDICT, BUT EVEN MORE IMPOSSIBLE TO RESIST”
-My Gay Toronto
Arias of Seduction
Presented by Operatika,
Khadija Mbowe
A one-person spectacular recital all about seductresses, told through pole dancing, opera, and burlesque. The bratty bottoms if you will…
FIND THEM ON
Content warning: sensual content, flashing lights, audience interaction.
photo by XXX
Biography of Harry Allen
Oliver Pitschner, Valentine Leger
A folk tale, mental breakdown, and questionable history lesson all strapped into a pair of chaps. Follow a cowboy into a bar where he searches for companionship and meaning to the myths he’s been told.
Valentine Leger // performer
Oliver Pitschner // director
Content warning: smoke/fog, audience participation
Poster design by @snailgovernment
bumbershoot
StarLiz
A true physical theatre show that captures the dark absurdity of our times. STARLIGHT loves umbrellas umbrellas umbrellas umbrellas umbrellas umbrellas umbrellas umbrellas umbrellas umbrellas umbrellas umbrellas umbrellas umbrellas umbrellas umbrellas umbrellas umbrellas umbrellas umbrellas umbrellas umbrellas umbrellas. Do you?????????
Conversation//Connection
Bad Machine
Everybody knows something I don’t. I want to know what it is, and then use it as an input prompt to generate strange improvisational art. Grab a mic, and let’s talk about that thing you really love, but you don’t bring up readily in front of others because it’s just too specific and there’s no obvious way to work it into the conversation and most people aren’t going to get it anyway. Trains? Bondage? Whale biology? I really, really want to hear why you care. Then we’ll make some art out of it. Put on some music, maybe grab a nice wine… It’ll be fun, I promise.
Content warning: Flashing lights, loud noises, audience participation
FIND THEM ON
FAST. FASHION.
Gud Lewks Collective
4 performers. 100 lewks. 1 runway. Are you ready?
Caleigh Adams, Reena Goze, Reid Martin, and Mackenzie Mccallum-Mallory // creators + performers
Content warning: flashing lights, loud music, implied nudity
Transpophagic Manifest
Renata Carvalho
Transpophagic Manifest is a courageous and thought-provoking work that challenges perceptions of gender non-conforming and transfeminine people. Through a radical expression of empowerment, Renata Carvalho subverts the obsessive scrutiny of trans bodies, distilling this gaze and transforming it into art, literature and education. Presented with PuSh Festival.
Renata Carvalho // dramaturgy + performance
Luiz Fernando Marques (Lubi) // direction
Wagner Antônio // light
Cecília Lucchesi // video art
Juliana Augusta // operation and light adaptation
Corpo Rastreado // production
Risco Festival, MITsp e Corpo Rastreado // co-production
Corpo a Fora e FarOFFa // diffusion
Content warning: nudity, mature content.
photo by Carol Kappaun
mi historia no es única
Jessica Esmeralda Zepeda
A documentary performance study where a daughter processes her parent’s undocumented journey from El Salvador to North America; a ritual for reflecting on the micro tragedies that get rushed past due to the macro urgency of a civil conflict; the search for hope.
Jessica Esmeralda Zepeda // creator, performer
Omar David Rivero // performer
Content warning: brief mention of war, kidnapping, torture, coarse language, ethnic slurs, pregnancy, neonatal death.
photo by XXX
OUT
Ray Young
OUT is a defiant challenge to the status quo that bravely carves out a new kind of space, reclaiming and celebrating our queer future. This performance dances in solidarity alongside global 2SLGBTQIA+ movements, breaking down violent histories to imagine something new. Something liberated. Something delicious. Presented with PuSh Festival.
Ray Young // creator + director
Esme Allman // assistant director
Azara Meghie + Bambi Phillips Jordan // performers
Steph Be + Jenna Mason // producer
Anna Smith // production manager
Nandi Bhebhe // 2024 production movement director
Nussatari // movement consultant
Nao Nagai // lighting design
Naomi Kuyck-Cohen // set design
Mia Maxwell // costume design
Kyara Chapman // assistant costume designer
Naomi Jackson // sound design
Wabriya King // production dramatherapist
Ri McDaid-Wren // casting consultant
Content warning: smoke, flashing lights, strobes, noise.
FIND THEM ON
photo by Rosie Powell
Primordial Chaos / A Zhuangzi Drone
Fan Wu
Jonathan Adjemian, Thom Gill, and Germaine Liu
Primordial Chaos is a durational adaptation of four fables from the Daoist classic ZHUANGZI. Through qigong, drone, chant and song, the artists attune to and commune with primordial chaos: the serpentine nothingness that precedes all existence. From this well of void, they draw up different infinities that offer us ways to live, think, and practice otherwise than we do. Audience members may come and go as they wish.
FIND THEM ON
The Falls
Montana Adams, Robin Breiche
Two strangers meet at the edge of one of the wonders of the world, one of the land they stand on and one of land far away. Or, an Indian named Dakota and an immigrant named Raven find common ground next to a casino, a huge plaster gorilla, and international waters.
WEIGHT (LESS)
Amplify Collective
WEIGHT(LESS) is a creative conjuring that examines the perception of communal trauma. Weighted wearable art pieces represent invisible intergenerational sufferings related to Blackness, Indigenous-ness and the Femme identity. Commune with Amplify Collective and the energies of our ancestors as they generate space for release.
Allie Amplify // costume design + creative director
Raye Sylver, Thrasher, Kage Wolfe // performers
Don Vaillancourt // sound design
Content warning: Exploring themes of trauma.
FIND THEM ON
photo by Andrew Williamson
CABARET + LATE NIGHT PRESENTATIONS
Screen:Moves
RT Collective
Screen:Moves is a program of short dance films created by artists from across Canada. Featuring works by: bluemouth inc., Arwyn Carpenter, Averil Dubois, Kendra Epik, Melanie Gordon, Raymond Helkio, Rubyyy Jones, Cameron Kletke, Jasmine Liaw, Matthew Morales, Jade Rocan, Monique Romeiko, Hannah Schallert, George Stamos, Surej Surendra, Kaya Tsurumi, and Rohee Uberoi.
Rhubarb! After Dark
Talullah’s Cabaret
Stick around each night after the scheduled programming for late night parties and events at Tallulah’s Cabaret — all included in the price of a Rhubarb! ticket.
Coffee + Conversation
hosted by Festival Director Ludmylla Reis
New to town? Want to get to know some of the folks that made the festival? Need to talk to someone else about the unhinged things you saw this week? Stop by for coffee, treats, and informal conversation about the festival. Bring your thoughts, questions, and inspirations.
Please note that the schedule below is the order in which the shows will be presented, but the start times for each show may vary.
Schedule at a Glance
Wednesday, February 12 // 7PM
Opening Event [30 minutes]
Renata Carvalho – Transpophagic Manifest [90 minutes]
Rhubarb! After Dark [10:30PM – 2AM]
Thursday, February 13 // 7PM
Double Bill: Mercedes Isaza Clunie – Suburbia // Jessica Zepeda – mi historia que no es única [two works – 50 minutes]
Amplify Collective – WEIGHT (LESS) [30 min]
Ray Young – OUT [55 min]
Rhubarb! After Dark [10:30PM – 2AM]
Friday, February 14 // 7PM
Valentine Leger – Biography of Harry Allen [30 min]
StarLiz – bumbershoot [30 min]
Bad Machine – Conversation//Connection [50 min]
Khadija Mbowe – Arias of Seduction [60 min]
Rhubarb! After Dark [10:30PM – 2AM]
Saturday, February 15 // 7PM
Fan Wu – Primordial Chaos / A Zhuangzi Drone [all night – durational drop-in]
Sarah Koekkoek – Title TBA // Montana Adams – The Falls [two works – 45 minutes]
Gud Lewks Collective – FAST. FASHION. [45 minutes]
Rhubarb! After Dark [10:30PM – 2AM]
Sunday, February 16 // 4PM
4 PM Coffee Chats with Festival Director Ludmylla Reis [60 minutes]
7:30 PM RT Collective – Screen:Moves* [120 minutes]
*Please note that Screen:Moves is PWYC by donation at the door with proceeds directed to an organization chosen by the collective.
Arias of Seduction
Khadija Mbowe (they/them) is a multidisciplinary artist and commentator making their Buddies debut. A Gambian-American-Canadian creator, Khadija writes, produces, and stars in work exploring pop culture and socio-cultural issues. Founder of Operatika, Khadija has collaborated with artists to expand opportunities for performers across multiple artistic disciplines. Khadija’s work marries sharp critique with humor and a deep passion for continuous growth in the performing arts. They are committed to using art to challenge, educate, and… seduce.
Operatika is the brainchild of Khadija Mbowe, a multi-hyphenate creator, YouTuber, writer, singer, and pole dancer. Founded as part of Khadija Mbowe Creations, the innovative opera collective breaks traditional boundaries by blending classical opera with burlesque, pole dance art, aerial artistry, and theatrical elements. Since their September 2024 premiere of “Arias of Seduction” in Montreal, Canada, Operatika has captivated audiences across local venues, and made their U.S. debut at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Institute for Contemporary Art (ICA) last fall. The collective’s unique approach creates experiences that are both artistically bold and emotionally resonant, reimagining opera for contemporary audiences through a lens of creativity, sensuality, and camp. Operatika is thrilled to bring its groundbreaking production to more stages across Canada and worldwide.
Bad Machine
Bad Machine/James Jordan (they/he) is a queer, disabled, and non-binary comedian, clown, writer, screen/voice actor, and improvisational loop musician. They’re weird. Their unhinged and entirely improvised live performances mix beatmaking, comedy, DJing, and visual and performance art, and their goal is to shake asses the world over. They produce and host the absurdist monthly variety show Bad Cabaret, and some recent credits include Open Canvas Festival and the UKAI Carnivals of Shipwreck and Algorithmic Culture. Check if it’s cap at www.badmachine.ca or Instagram.
Biography of Harry Allen
Valentine Leger (they/he) is a Toronto-based playwright and performer interested in exploring trans experiences in all their vastness. His play Book of Magdalene was staged in development workshops at the University of Toronto and in the 2024 Rhubarb Festival’s Young in Craft Cabaret. Recently, Valentine was nominated as a finalist for the 2024 Robert Beardsley Award for Young Playwrights. They are over the moon to be working with Buddies again, and ecstatic to be working with Oliver for the first time!
Oliver Pitschner (he/him) is a playwright and director based in Toronto exploring fate, religious fundamentalism, and transgender liberation through his work. His writing/directing credits include “The Other Paris”, “Behold, a Man!”, and his current messyqueer audio drama “Transfigure/Transfix”. Oliver works for the Toronto Fringe, and is usually cooking his friends dinner or dancing to post punk. This is his Buddies debut (!) and he’s pumped to support Valentine in this stunningly transsexual work.
bumbershoot
STARLIGHT and Liz Staples are a performer-director duo based in Tkarón:to (Toronto). STARLIGHT is a cosmic club kid witch party host from beyond. Liz is a queer multidisciplinary theatre Virgo. We are horny to be back at Rhubarb, this time we brought our umbrellas! 😉
Together we have created the outdoor silent disco drag show PARTYPEOPLE, the umbrella-based performance happening bumbershoot, and the living room cabaret PIANOSHOES. We are happy to have worked with Nightswimming, Buddies, Tarragon, Musical Stage Co, Bricks and Glitter, Aluna, and SummerWorks. Find us in the basement of Bambi’s or drawing on the walls of the Buddies bathroom for WISHING WELL.”
FAST. FASHION.
We are The Gud Lewks Collective – Caleigh Adams, Reena Goze, Reid Martin and Mackenzie Mccallum-Mallory! We are four emerging queer artists — clowns, playwrights, burlesque performers, drag things, actors, movers, makers, and designers. We last graced the stage as the Paprika 23 Creators Unit and now we are back bolder, sexier and c*ntier. People are hungry for something fresh and we are here to serve it!
mi historia que no es única
Jessica Esmeralda Zepeda (She/They) is a SALVADORABLE goth, devised theatre snob, born and based in Tkaronto (Treaty 13) with a diaspora from Kuskatan, A.K.A post-colonial El Salvador. They are currently developing their piece called mi historia que no es única, as apart of Native Earth’s Animikiig Creators Unit 2024/25 season. Jessica is also a co-creator/performer of The Empty Orchestra Dreamland that opened The Rhubarb Festival (TWICE) back in 2018, and in 2019. Instagram
Omar Rivero (They/Them), also known as Driftnote, is a musician and multimedia artist whose work is centred around improvisation, interactivity, audio visual installations and 3D imaging. Their work focuses on themes of cultural erasure, systemic oppression, race and identity in the african/indigenous diaspora. Instagram
OUT
Ray Young is a transdisciplinary performance artist, experience maker, and writer, widely
recognised for their work at the forefront of activism, queerness, race, and neurodiversity. Their practice is centred on creating a safe space for those who exist at the intersection of multiple
realities, through collaboration and resistance to traditional forms.
Young’s work has been presented widely across the UK, as well as internationally including
Portland, Mexico City, Dublin, Geneva, Skopje, and Vienna. Their contributions to the field of
performance art have earned them numerous awards and accolades, and their work continues to push boundaries and challenge conventional notions of what art can be and do.
Primordial Chaos / A Zhuangzi Drone
Fan Wu is a grand proponent of the Great Unhewn, waiting with unbated breath for you to write to him at fanwu4u@gmail.com.
Acupuncturist/translator/musician/rye afficionado Jonathan Adjemian (courtesy name Hoover Party) is thankfully not immortal, but still quite difficult to get rid of.
Thom Gill caresses chords to mitigate disaster.
germaine liu endeavours to glonk, clink, swoosh, thud, splat, and boing for all.
The Falls
Montana Adams is an Akwesasronon theatre creator interested in rez politics, humour and drama. whether its through solo performance (My Good Friend Jay, Undercurrents), surreal dance/movement (As The Ice Floats By, Weesageechak 36) or adaptations (Husk, Fresh Meat), Montana attempts to reveal the honesty of her people in relating to her indian- (wait-) *Indigenous* experience here on Turtle Island. Rhubarb Festival is Montana’s Buddies debut (many nia:wens). Instagram
Robin Star Breiche (she/her) is a Toronto-based actor and director with a BA in Theatre from the University of Ottawa. Her stage credits include Kincip (Fresh Meat Festival), Marriage (Unicorn Theatre), and Love and Information (uOttawa Drama Guild). Passionate about creating inclusive and diverse theatrical experiences, Robin is eager to explore new narratives and engage with audiences. Special thanks to Rhubarb and Buddies for their support in her artistic journey. Instagram
Transpophagic Manifest
Renata Carvalho — actress, director, playwright, and transpophagist — has a B.A in Social Sciences. She is also the founder of Monart (Movimento Nacional de Artistas Trans – National Movement of Trans Artists), as well as the “Trans Representation Manifest” which aims to include trans/travesti bodies in spaces where art is made and demands a stop to the practice of Trans Fake — when cisgender artists perform trans/travesti characters.
As a transpophagist (and trans anthropologist), Renata has studied trans bodies since 2007, when she first worked as a health agent in STI, HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Hepatitis for the municipality of Santos, Sao Paulo, where she worked exclusively with travestis and trans sex workers, at the same time as she started to understand her own travesti identity.
The artist puts her trans body as a subject and object of art and research, discussing and denouncing the absence of these bodies in artistic spaces.
Screen:Moves
Founded in 2013. RT Collective is a curatorial platform supporting the creation and dissemination of contemporary art. Working with a fluctuating team of curators, collaborators, artists, and institutions, we present screenings, exhibitions, and performances, produce catalogues and other small-scale publications, and host panel discussions, artist talks, and workshops. Operating within a continuously redefined collaborative structure, we examine, question, and ultimately deconstruct traditional curatorial models and institutional structures. In doing so, we propose alternative relationships between curators, artists, and publics, facilitating the development of new models in the creation, presentation, and distribution of art.
WEIGHT (LESS)
Amplify Collective is a creative community based in Tkaronto/Toronto, who creates work centered around community advocacy and education. Through an interdisciplinary practice Amplify explores themes of oppression, survival, and celebration through the lens of marginalized experiences. They have been featured at the ROM, Harbourfront Centre, Mackenzie House Museum, Pride, Geary Art Crawl, Rendezvous with Madness and more!
Launched to mark the festival’s 35th anniversary, The Rhubarb! Archive is a (hopefully) comprehensive list of all the projects, performances, experiments, parties, and special events to ever grace the stage at Canada’s longest-running new works festival.
VISIT THE ARCHIVE
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Festival Sponsor
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