Me onstage at the Lion d'Or at the technical rehearsal (hence the empty chairs!) for Je Te Réponds Ce Soir, September 2022.
Photo: Amélie Prévost
This is the new monologue that I worked on throughout the pandemic, and which I am finally ready to present to people in its entirety. The first sharings will be free, at the wonderful (and central!) Freestanding Room. Details below.
Outside, in the Laneway, under the Stars uses a mixture of theatrical monologue, traditional storytelling and spoken word poetry to describe my very particular queer journey and where it’s taken me. I grew up with no notion of homosexuality as a thing that exists, in an environment that frowned upon any talk of sexuality at all (that good old United Empire Loyalist, British heritage!), in an educational system where I was bullied for years without anyone apparently noticing (including, much of the time, unfortunately, me).
My outlet was the imagination, and specifically theatre. The show is as much about theatre as it is about queerness. It’s about moving away from trauma, about growing up. It’s about finding happiness in the day-to-day. It’s also about what I think now, about life and love and what a good life might look like.
I’m presenting the show in two parts, but they’re pretty much stand-alone. You don’t need to see Part I before Part II. Or to see both parts. (Or to see either part, in fact!)
Part I lasts about 45 minutes.
Part II lasts about 1 hour 20 minutes.
I’ll be presenting them in a VERY relaxed atmosphere, at the Freestanding Room (4324 Saint-Laurent, opposite parc du Portugal) at the following times:
Part I: Monday, October 24 @ 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, November 6 @ 4:00 p.m.
Part II: Monday, November 7 @ 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, November 13 @ 4:00 p.m.
There’s no charge. It’s all very low-key. It’s just you and me and whoever else shows up. If you like to eat/drink while watching a show, feel free to bring a coffee and muffin if you want, and just chill and listen to some talk.
Hope to see you there!