Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, once home to Toronto Workshop Productions, is located at 12 Alexander St (east of Yonge St on the north side) in the Church-Wellesley neighbourhood of Toronto.
Built in 1912, the building was designed by architect John Harold Smith as an auto garage. It later became a hardware store and car showroom.
From 1967 until 1988, the building was used as a theatre by Toronto Workshop Productions (TWP). Since 1994, 12 Alexander St has been home to Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. It’s the world’s largest and longest-running queer theatre.
Buddies in Bad Times Theatre Photos
Buddies in Bad Times Theatre
“Buddies in Bad Times is the largest and longest-running queer theatre company in North America.
Founded by Sky Gilbert, Jerry Ciccoritti, and Matt Walsh, it staged its first play, Angels in Underwear (1979), in a former brewery on Queen Street East. Early theatrical success included Gilbert’s plays Lana Turner Has Collapsed! (1980) and the controversial Drag Queens on Trial (1985), and Sonny Mills’ Dyke City series (1994-98).
At first without a permanent home, Buddies staged its plays in many locations. In 1991, it moved to 142 George Street, which was home to the theatre’s infamous alternative events, including its provocative dungeon nights and its 1993 Female Ejaculation Pyjama Party workshop. Despite attempts to have its government funding revoked on moral grounds, Buddies moved to this building in 1994.
Buddies in Bad Times has won multiple Dora Mavor Moore Awards, Lieutenant Governor’s Awards for the Arts, and a Michael Lynch Award for Queer History. Today, it is an international leader in the development of queer voices and stories for the stage.”
Heritage Toronto 2014
George Luscombe and Toronto Workshop Productions
“In 1959, artistic director George Luscombe (1926-1999) established Workshop Theatre, one of Canada’s first professional alternative theatre companies. Fuelled by the counterculture movement of the 1960s, the expanding company was renamed Toronto Workshop Productions and moved to this former warehouse in 1967.
Toronto Workshop Productions developed an innovative style, transforming documentary material into performances that ignited the political conscience of a generation. Internationally acclaimed productions included Chicago ’70 (1970), Ten Lost Years (1974), and Ain’t Lookin’ (1980).
The recipient of honorary doctorates from York University and the University of Guelph, Luscombe was invested as a Member of the Order of Canada in 1981 for “his contributions to the development of theatre in Canada.” He retired in 1986 and Toronto Workshop Productions closed two years later. In 1989, Luscombe and the local performing arts community successfully advocated for the building’s perpetual use as a community theatre space, and it was purchased by the City of Toronto.”
Heritage Toronto 2014
Source
- City of Toronto: Communication File: 40167
- Heritage Toronto (plaques)
- Buddies in Bad Times Theatre: The History of 12 Alexander St
- Photos: Denise Marie for TorontoJourney416
- Vintage Photos: City of Toronto Archives
