Adams, Evan Tlesla.
“Snapshots.” In A Leap in the Dark: AIDS, Art and Contemporary Cultures,
pagination not known. Edited by Allan Klusacek and Ken Morrison.
Montreal: Véhicule Press, 1992.
“A true story of a First Nations man with AIDS who eventually
died. Acceptance of the man’s homosexuality, and coping with
that revelation, also were important elements of the play” –
Tom Warner, Never Going Back, p. 258, where there is further
reference to Patti Flather, “Snapshots of Native Struggles with
AIDS,” Rites, February 1990.
Anthony, Trey.
’Da Kink in my Hair. Toronto: Playwrights Canada Press, 2005.
(60 p,; ISBN 0887547567)
Ref.: AMICUS catalogue record no. 30855337.
Included in exhibition “Queer CanLit,” catalogue of which listed
elsewhere. Exhibit display case annotation notes: “One woman
in the play speaks about the difficulty she experiences because of the
others’ expectations about her sexuality, something that the playwright
has also talked about.”
Arcand, Denys.
Le déclin de l’empire américain. Montréal: Boréal, 1986.
(173 p.; ISBN 2890521753)
Ref.: Archives gaies du Québec online bibliography, which states:
“huit intellectuels, dont un homosexuel, discutent de sexe.” Movie
made as well.
Armstrong, Gordon, 1960-
Blue Dragons. Victoria, B.C.: J. Gordon Shillingford Pub., 1993, c1992.
(79 p.; ISBN 0969726104)
Arsenault, Louise.
“Bivouac: A Play in Two Acts.” MA thesis, Concordia University, 1991.
(112 p.)
One character, Angele, is a lesbian ex-con at Crossroads, a rehabilitation
centre for alcoholics and drug addicts.
Baker, Chuck, and Stetson, Kent.
As I Am: A Play in One Act Exploring Sexual Orientation. Toronto: Playwrights
Canada Press, 1986.
(18 leaves)
For the United Church of Canada’s Sexual Orientation and Lifestyle in
Ministry.
Bartley, Jim, 1952-
Stephen & Mr. Wilde. Winnipeg, Man.: Blizzard Publishing, 1994.
(79 p.; ISBN 0921368364)
Set in Toronto, 1882, during Oscar Wilde’s North American tour
Beach, Mary Susan.
“Full Circle, or, The Girl God Would Have Me Be: A Play in Process.” MA thesis,
University of New Brunswick, 1992.
(100 p.)
Three-act stage play. “When four CGIT girls…lose their favorite leader,
Lydia, the minister, because she is suspected of being homosexual, they
begin to consider declaring themselves lesbians as their CGIT group
project” – from Canadian Research Index abstract.
Blais, Marie-Claire.
L’Île. Montréal: VLB, c1988.
(84 p.; ISBN 2890053105)
Setting of this play is a small island on which there is an unnamed
epidemic like AIDS. There is death among gays.
Published also in English as: The Island: A Drama. Translated by
David Lobdell. Ottawa: Oberon, c1991 (55 p.; ISBN 0887508383)
Critique: Jeu 54 (1990): 136-137.
Boni, Franco, ed.
Rhubarb-o-rama!: Plays and Playwrights from the Rhubarb! Festival.
Winnipeg, Man.: Blizzard, 1998.
(333 p.; ISBN 092136878X)
Contains interviews, history, and ca. 20 plays.
Festival closely associated with Sky Gilbert and
Toronto’s Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. See also Gilbert’s
Ejaculations from the Charm Factory for additional information.
Borden, Walter.
Tightrope Time: Ain't Nuthin' More than Some Itty Bitty Madness
between Twilight & Dawn. Toronto: Playrwrights Canada Press, 2005.
(98 p.; ISBN 0887547907)
Ref.: AMICUS catalogue record no. 31326886.
Included in exhibition “Queer CanLit,” catalogue for which is listed
elsewhere. Exhibit display case annotation notes: “Borden’s one-man
show” and “powerful voice of a drag queen, Ethiopia.” Also suggests that
not the least reason the work is important is that there is a lack of
Canadian queer black drama.
See, e.g., “Ethiopia the Drag Queen,” excerpt, included in Seminal
Canadian gay poets’ anthology (listed in Literature – Poetry section)
Bouchard, Michel Marc, 1958-
Le chemin des passes-dangereuses: tragédie routière. Montréal: Leméac,
c1998.
(71 p.; ISBN 2760903702)
Published in English translation as: Down Dangerous Passes Road.
Translated by Linda Gaboriau. Vancouver, B.C.: Talonbooks, 2000
(95 p.; ISBN 0889224404).
Fifteen years after their father’s death, brothers Carl, Ambrose and Victor
get together. Ambrose’s male lover is dying of AIDS. The conversation
between Carl and Ambrose (see esp. pp. 32-46, approx., in English
translation) is direct.
NOTE: Bouchard is quite prolific and is one of Québec’s leading
playwrights. Although quite a number of his works appear in this
bibliography, the compiler could not examine everything. The user
may wish to pursue further through, for example, library catalogues.
Bouchard, Michel Marc, 1958-
La contre-nature de Chrysippe Tanguay, écologiste. Montréal: Leméac, c1984.
(70 p.; ISBN 2760901246)
This was entered in Homosexuality in Canada, 2nd ed., 1984, as an
unpublished work.
Bouchard, Michel Marc, 1958-
Les feluettes, ou, La répétition d’un drame romantique. 2e éd.; Montréal: Leméac,
1988.
(124 p.; ISBN 2760901696)
Bouchard article at www.canadiantheatre.com (last accessed late 2000)
states: “…his first truly major achievement was…[this] work about gay love
and the nature of theatre.”
Published also in English as: Lilies, or, The Revival of a Romantic Drama.
Toronto: Coach House Press, c1990 (69 p.; ISBN 0889104115) and has
been made into an English-language feature film, for which see entry at
Lilies in section listing videos and films.
Bouchard, Michel Marc, 1958-
Les papillons de nuit: comédie. Montréal: Leméac, c1999.
(109 p.; ISBN 2760903745)
Voir les caractères Ludovic et Mario.
Bouchard, Michel Marc, 1958-
Rock pour un faux-bourdon. Montréal: Leméac, 1987.
(127 p.; ISBN 2760901645)
Ref.: Archives gaies du Québec online bibliography
Burkett, Ronnie, 1957-
Happy. Edmonton, Alta.: River Books, c2002.
(74 p.; ISBN 1895836883)
One of the Memory Dress trilogy; a puppet play; all works in
trilogy are said to have gay characters. Burkett from Alberta.
Burkett, Ronnie, 1957-
Street of Blood. Edmonton, Alta.: River Books, c2002.
(90 p.; ISBN 1895836875)
Martin Morrow, in a Calgary Herald newspaper article, “Homophobia to Jellied Salad,
Ronnie Burkett Covers It All,” Nov. 19, 1998 (retrieved online December 12, 2002)
says of this work that it tackles, inter alia, homophobia, growing up gay, AIDS, pedophilia,
and rape, and compares it to Tony Kushner’s Angels in America. Street of Blood was
performed in New York in 2000. One of the Memory Dress trilogy; a puppet play; all
works in trilogy said to have gay characters.
Burkett, Ronnie, 1957-
Tinka’s New Dress. Edmonton, Alta.: River Books, c2002.
(98 p.; ISBN 1895836867)
One of the Memory Dress trilogy; a puppet play; all works in
trilogy said to have gay characters.
Butler, Audrey.
Cradlepin: A Play in Two Acts. Toronto: Playwrights Canada Press, [1990?].
(77 leaves)
Characters are a lesbian, a bisexual and a straight.
Butler, Audrey.
Medusa Rising: A Play about the Moon. Toronto: Playwrights Canada Press, 1992.
(36 leaves; ISBN 1551553309)
“Seven ‘urban dyke witches’” –Character list.
Butler, Audrey.
Radical Perversions: Two Dyke Plays. Toronto: Women’s Press, c1990.
(120 p.; ISBN 0889611564)
The two plays are “Black Friday?” and “Claposis.” The former was a
finalist for the 1990 Governor-General’s Awards. This playwright has also
published many plays in journals and, according to the online Canadian
Theatre Encyclopedia (www.canadiantheatre.com), completed gender
reassignment in 1999 and is now known as Alec Butler.
Carilli, Theresa M.
Women as Lovers: Two Plays. Toronto: Guernica, 1996.
(269 p.; ISBN 1550710079)
The plays are “Dolores Street” and “Wine Country.”
Causse, Michèle.
À quelle heure est la levée dans le désert? Laval, Québec: Editions Trois, 1989.
(133 p.; ISBN 2920887122)
Reflects Causse’s strong interest in Jane Bowles and in flight from home to
distant lands – Gay & Lesbian Literature, v. 2, p. 80.
Chaurette, Normand.
Provincetown Playhouse, juillet 1919, j’avais 19 ans. Montréal: Leméac, 1981.
(132 p.; ISBN 2760901033)
This work is entered in Homosexuality in Canada, 2nd ed., 1984, but
without publication details.
Crossland, Jackie.
Collateral Damage: The Tragedy of Medea. Vancouver: Press Gang Publishers,
c1992.
(74 p.; ISBN 0889740429)
Reworking of tragedy of Medea from lesbian feminist perspective.
Delisle, Jeanne-Mance.
Un oiseau vivant dans la gueule. Montréal: La Pleine Lune, 1987.
(130 p.; ISBN 2890240533)
Ref.: Jeu 54 (1990): 127-133; critique: Jeu 54 (1990): 135-136.
Published also in English as: A Live Bird in Its Jaws. Montreal:
NuAge Editions, 1992.
Demchuk, David.
“If Betty Should Rise.” In Canadian Brash, pp. [19]-31. Edited by Jason
Sherman. Toronto: Coach House Press, c1990.
Monologue; Betty is abused as a child by her father. As an adult, she
has a relationship with Lillian. Collection Canadian Brash has received
separate listing in LITERATURE – ANTHOLOGIES.
Demchuk, David.
“Rosalie Sings Alone.” In Canadian Brash, pp. [13]-17. Edited by Jason
Sherman. Toronto: Coach House Press, c1990.
Monologue; Lydia used to be George. Collection Canadian Brash
has received separate listing in LITERATURE – ANTHOLOGIES.
Desgagnés, Yves, et Roy, Louise.
Les nouilles. Montréal: Leméac, 1986.
(168 p.; ISBN 2760901564)
Ref.: Jeu 54 (1990): 127-133.
Dubois, René-Daniel.
Being at Home with Claude. Montréal: Leméac, 1986.
(ca. 135 p.; ISBN 2760901459)
Ref.: Brigitte Rozon, “Se mettre à mort, se mettre au monde: le meurtre
dans trois pièces de la dramaturgie gaie québécoise,” MA thesis, Queen’s
University, 1997 (abstract in Canadian Research Index online).
Dubois, René-Daniel.
Being At Home with Claude. Translated into English from the French of same
title by Linda Gaboriau. Canadian Theatre Review 50 (Spring 1987): 37-58.
Original French version with same title published: Montréal:
Leméac, 1986; see details in preceding entry.
See also VIDEOS/FILMS section for this title, available in French,
or in French with English subtitles.
Dubois, René-Daniel.
Ne blâmez jamais les Bédouins. Montréal: Leméac, 1984.
(199 p.; ISBN 2760901297)
Dubois, René-Daniel.
Le printemps, Monsieur Deslauriers: théâtre. Montréal: Guérin littérature, 1987.
(125 p.; ISBN 2760118460)
Ref.: Jeu 54 (1990): 127-133.
Dubois, René-Daniel.
Le troisième fils du professeur Yourolov. Montréal: Leméac, 1990.
(110 p.; ISBN 2760901858)
Dubois, René-Daniel.
26bis, impasse du Colonel Foisy. Montréal: Leméac, c1982.
(80 p.; ISBN 2760901106)
Dunn, Rebekah, 1965-
The Spaceship that Crashed on the Moon: Debating the Morality of
Homosexuality. 2nd ed.; Kamloops, B.C.: On the Edge Pub., c2003.
(36 p.; ISBN 0973177012)
Ref.: AMICUS catalogue record no. 28257181.
An earlier record, AMICUS no. 27621020, references Dunn’s work of the
same title proper, published Kamloops, BC: Absolute Freak Publishing,
c2002. (32 p.; ISBN 0973133902
Dupuis, Hervé.
Fugues pour un cheval et un piano. Montréal: VLB éditeur, 1988.
(105 p.; ISBN 2890053113)
Ref.: Jeu 54 (1990): 127-133.
Critique: Jeu 54 (1990): 138.
Ferland, Léon-Gérard.
L’Hôtel des Deux-Mondes. Montréal: Guérin littérature, 1988.
Ref.: Archives gaies du Québec online bibliography
Findley, Timothy.
The Stillborn Lover: A Play in Two Acts. Winnipeg: Blizzard Publishing, 1993.
(92 p.; ISBN 092136833X)
The two-hour movie “External Affairs,” aired by the Canadian
Broadcasting Corporation, was based on this play about ambassador
Herbert Norman, “whose homosexuality was exploited by the Russians” –
Toronto Star, 1st ed., October 17, 1999, Entertainment section.
Fineberg, Larry.
Hope. 2nd ed.; Toronto: Playwrights Co-op, 1972.
This and his Human Remains (below) are mentioned in passing by
Douglas Chambers (“Canadian Literature in English,” online glbtq
encyclopedia at www.glbtq.com, accessed 3/13/03). They were not
listed in the earlier Homosexuality in Canada bibliographies.
Fineberg, Larry.
Human Remains. Toronto: Playwrights Co-op, 1976.
(ca. 48 p.; ISBN 0919834477)
See note under entry for Fineberg’s Hope, above. Both Hope and
Human Remains also published in Fineberg’s Four Plays collection
(Toronto: Playwrights Co-op, c1978).
Fobister, Waawaate
“Agokwe.” [Unpublished?].
Ref.: Buddies in Bad Times Theatre full-page advert, Xtra! [Toronto],
Sept. 11/08, p.32. Review of production: David Bateman,
“Biting Humour,” Xtra!, October 9, 2008, p. 38.
This play opens the theatre’s 30th season, and is described
in the ad as “inspired by true life events….[It] is a tale of
unrequited love between teenage boys from neighbouring reserves.”
Sources noted by compiler indicate that the playwright is
a 23-year-old Ojibwe who grew up in northwestern Ontario,
that the title translates as “two-spirited” and that the play explores
homophobia in a community which in the past would have celebrated
the two-spirited. Compiler has chosen to include, even though
publication information is not available, because of the dearth of
First Nations material in this list.
Fournier, Alain.
Circuit fermé. Montréal: VLB éditeur, 1987.
(139 p.; ISBN 2890052664)
Ref.: Jeu 54 (1990): 127-133.
Fraser, Brad, 1959-
Martin Yesterday. Edmonton: NeWest Press, 1998.
(102 p.; ISBN 189630026X)
Fraser, Brad, 1959-
Poor Super Man: A Play with Captions. Edmonton: NeWest Press, 1995.
(181 p.; ISBN 0920897819)
“[H]is best-received work…[which is] no less candid [than The Ugly Man]
with [g]ay and straight sexual activity featured and…[his] most direct discussion
of the AIDS pandemic” –Fraser article from Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia
online (www.canadiantheatre.com), last accessed late 2000.
See also Leaving Metropolis, film based on play and listed under VIDEOS
Fraser, Brad, 1959-
The Ugly Man. Edmonton: NeWest Press, c1993.
(158 p.; ISBN 0920897436)
Published also in French as: L’homme laid. Montréal: Boréal, 1993.
Fraser, Brad, 1959-
Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love. Winnipeg: Blizzard
Publishing, 1990.
(103 p.; ISBN 0921368119)
Published also in French under title: Des restes humains non identifiés
et la véritable nature de l’amour. Montréal: Boréal, 1993.
“Recounts the story of two friends, a gay man and an ambisexual woman,
looking for love (and sex) while the city they live in is at the hands of a
serial killer,” and presents a frank approach to homosexuality and nudity –
Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia online (www.canadiantheatre.com) article about the play.
Fraser, Brad, 1959-
The Wolf Plays. Edmonton: NeWest Publishers, c1993.
(252 p.; ISBN 0920897495)
Two plays: “Wolfboy” and “Prom Night of the Living Dead.”
Fulford, R.W. (Robin Wakelin), 1950-
Faggot! Winnipeg, Man.; Niagara Falls, Ont.: Blizzard Pub., 1999.
(74 p.; ISBN 0921368887)
Contents: “Steel Kiss” and “Gulag”
Fulford, R.W. (Robin Wakelin), 1950-
Steel Kiss. Winnipeg: Blizzard Pub., 1991.
(70 p.; ISBN 0921368194)
Galluccio, Steve.
Mambo Italiano. Vancouver: Talonbooks, 2004.
(126 p.; ISBN 0889224943)
(126 p.; ISBN 0889224943)
AMICUS catalogue record no. 25946146 for French translation,
with note: “texte inéit déposé au Centre des auteurs dramatiques de
Montréal.”
“Part-comedy, part-family melodrama set in Montreal’s Italian community,
about a young man’s decision to come out.” Has played on stage in French
and English in Montreal, “David and Ed Mirvish are bringing…[it] to
Toronto as part of ther 2002-03 season….” – information from Fab:
Ontario’s Gay Scene Magazine, no. 186, March 28, 2002, p.10.
NOTE commercial movie of same title, released 2003 and listed in
VIDEOS section.
Gatchalian, C. E., 1974-
Broken: A Play. Edmonton, AB: New Bard Press, 2006.
(93 p.; ISBN 1847288669)
Ref.: AMICUS catalogue no. 33792989; note from N. Richards.
Gilbert, Sky.
Avoidance Tactics. Fredericton, N.B.: Broken Jaw Press, c2001.
(112 p.; ISBN 1896647502)
Collection of three plays: “Schubert Lied,” “Independence,” and
“The Birth of Casper G. Schmidt.”
Gilbert, Sky, 1952-
Bad Acting Teachers. [Toronto]: Playwrights Canada Press, n.d.
Ref.: http://www.doollee.com/PlaywrightsG/gilbert-sky.html
(viewed October 24, 2008), at which site it is noted that the play was first
produced in 2006 and features a young actor and his three “teachers from
Hell,” including one teacher, a “gay guy who is also an agent.”
Gilbert, Sky, 1952-
Ban This Show: A Play in the Form of a Dare. Toronto: Playwrights Canada Press,
[1990?].
(41 leaves)
Gilbert, Sky, 1952-
Crater. Toronto: Playwrights Union of Canada, [1997?].
(49 p.; ISBN 155173463X)
One of the five characters, Randolph Petunia, is described in the
character list as “an attractive young gay man…”
Play produced at Buddies in Bad Times theatre, Toronto, in 1996.
Gilbert, Sky, 1952-
Drag Queens in Outer Space: A Dreamplay. [Toronto: Playwrights Canada Press,
1989?].
(53 leaves)
Gilbert, Sky, 1952-
Drag Queens on Trial: A Courtroom Melodrama. [Toronto?: s.n., 198-?].
(52 leaves)
Gilbert, Sky, 1952-
The Dressing Gown. Toronto: Playwrights Canada, 1989, c1984.
(80 p.; ISBN 0887544800)
Nominated for the Toronto Chalmers Award. Playwright states in
Preface (p. 9) that his earlier plays -- “Cavafy,” “Pasolini Pelosi,” etc. –
“were romantic celebrations of gay promiscuity [but that in The Dressing
Gown] it seemed that I was looking at my own kind with a critical,
cynical…eye.” Gilbert thinks the view that his play was critical of the
gay lifestyle had “very much to do with its success with the straight press.”
Gilbert, Sky, 1952-
An Investigation into the Strange Case of the Wildboy: A Dream in the Form of a
Document. Toronto: Playwrights Canada Press, [199-?].
(57 p.)
Gilbert, Sky, 1952-
Lola Starr Builds Her Dream Home. Unpublished[?]
Gilbert, Sky, 1952-
Painted, Tainted, Sainted: Four Plays. Toronto: Playwrights Canada Press, 1996.
(275 p.; ISBN 0887545505)
The plays are “Drag Queens on Trial,” “Drag Queens in Outer Space,”
“Suzie Goo: Private Secretary,” and “Jim Dandy,” some of which are
listed separately in this section.
Gilbert, Sky, 1952-
Play Murder. Winnipeg, Man.: Blizzard Publishing, 1995.
(59 p.; ISBN 0921368496)
Gilbert, Sky, 1952-
“The Postman Rings Once: A Comedy.” [Toronto: s.n., 1987?].
(61 leaves; photocopy of typescript)
The reader will notice the conversation between Rupert and Andrew.
Gilbert, Sky, 1952-
Rope Enough. Toronto: Playwrights Canada Press, 2006.
(51 p.; ISBN 0887548725)
Psychological murder mystery. Two gay young party-boys.
Gilbert, Sky, 1952-
Suzie Goo: A Private Secretary: A Play. [Toronto]: Playwrights Canada, [198-].
(56 p.)
Gilbert, Sky, 1952-
Ten Ruminations on an Elegy Attributed to William Shakespeare. Toronto:
Playwrights Union of Canada, [1997?].
(44 p.; ISBN 1551734566)
Gilbert, Sky, 1952-
Theatrelife: A Modern Melodrama. Toronto: Playwrights Canada Press, [198-?].
(65 leaves)
Gilbert, Sky, 1952-
This Unknown Flesh: A Selection of Plays. Toronto: Coach House Press, 1995.
(233 p.; ISBN 0889104794)
Contents: “Pasolini/Pelosi, or, The God in Unknown Flesh: A Theatrical
Enquiry into the Murder of Filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini” ; “Theatrelife ;
In Which Pier Paolo Pasolini Sees His Own Death in the Face of a Boy: A
Defacement in the Form of a Play” ; “My Night with Tennessee” ; “Hester:
An Introduction” ; “More Divine: A Performance for Roland Barthes.” An introduction,
by Robert Wallace, is titled “No Turning Back.”
Gilbert, Sky, ed.
Gay Monologues and Scenes: An Anthology. Toronto: Playwrights Canada
Press, 2007.
(140 p.; ISBN 9780887548543)
Ref.: AMICUS catalogue no. 33533515, which applies descriptors
Canadian drama (English) – 20th century and Monologues, Canadian
(English).
Gilbert, Sky, ed.
Perfectly Abnormal: Seven Gay Plays. Toronto: Playwrights Canada Press,
2006.
(236 p.; ISBN 0887548520)
Ref.: AMICUS catalogue record no. 32473834.
The seven plays are “The Convergence of Luke,” “Getting Lucky,”
“Sir Richard Wadd, Pornographer,” “The Rise and Fall of
Peter Gaveston,” “The Bathhouse Suite,” “Nazi, Jew, Queer,” and
“Cancun.”
Graefe, Sara.
Yellow on Thursdays: A Play for Youth. Toronto: Playwrights Guild of
Canada, c2002.
(70 p.; ISBN 1551738082)
Ref.: AMICUS catalogue no. 28012433, which applies descriptor
Gay teenagers – Juvenile drama.
Greyson, John.
Breathing through Opposing Nostrils: A Gay Espionage Thriller.
[Toronto: J. Greyson?], c1983.
(67 p.)
Copy at Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives, Toronto.
Hannah, Don.
Shoreline: Three Plays. Toronto: Simon & Pierre, c1999.
(246 p.; ISBN 0889242909)
Ref.: AMICUS catalogue record no. 21699578.
Not originally included in this list, but added because chosen for
exhibition “Queer CanLit,” catalogue for which listed elsewhere.
From exhibition display case annotation: “though not explicitly gay,
these plays do examine issues that are relevant to queer lives….”
The three plays are “Rubber Dolly,” “Running Far Back,” and
“Fathers and Sons.”
Hollingsworth, Margaret, 1939-.
Willful Acts. Toronto: Coach House Press, c1985.
(223 p.; ISBN 0889103046)
Collection of five plays.
Ref.: AMICUS catalogue record no. 5269297.
Included in exhibition “Queer CanLit,” catalogue for which listed
elsewhere. Exhibition display case annotation mentions that “Islands,”
one of the plays, “picks up six months after her earlier
lesbian play ‘Alli Alli Oh’ (1977) ends….”
Note: AMICUS catalogue record no. 17126288 gives reference to
a later edition of same title (Burnaby, BC: Talonbooks, 1998;
ISBN 0889223858), which includes a sixth play. Compiler has not
determined if any of the plays besides “Islands” would be relevant to
this bibliograhy.
Kerr, Rosalind, ed.
SEE Lesbian Plays, in this section.
King, Moynan.
Bathory: A Play. Fredericton, N.B.: Broken Jaw Press, 2000.
(80 p.; ISBN 1896647367)
Countess Elizabeth Bathory was a Transylvanian lesbian
vampiress of the 16th-17th centuries.
“Lesbian feminist play”: Sky Gilbert, Ejaculations…, p. 40.
Laxdal, Vivienne.
Karla and Grif. Toronto: Playwrights Canada Press, c1991.
(85 p.)
“Winner of the 1990 Canadian National Playwrighting [sic] Competition,
full length category” –Title page.
“Many gays and lesbians found [the play] offensive for its stereotypical
lesbian characters and others found it refreshing for its depiction of the
fluidity of sexuality” – Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia online, Gay &
Lesbian article, last accessed late 2000 at www.canadiantheatre.com.
Lazarus, John.
David for Queen. Toronto: Playwrights Canada Press, c1988.
(96 p.)
Much use of words “fag” and “faggot.” Issues of homophobia.
See also Muriel Draaisma, Canadian Dimension 23 (3)
(April/May 1989): 21-22 and entry at Van der Veen, Jace, in
ARTS – THEATRE section of this bibliography.
Legault, Anne.
La visite des sauvages, ou, L’île en forme de tête de vache. Montréal:
VLB éditeur, 1986.
(143 p.; ISBN 2890052354)
Ref.: Jeu 54 (1990): 127-133.
Leiren-Young, Mark.
Articles of Faith: The Battle of St. Alban’s. Vancouver: Anvil c2001.
(43 p.; ISBN 1895636418)
Ref.: AMICUS catalogue no. 26178520, which assigns descriptors
Anglican Church of Canada – Drama, Homosexuality – Drama, and
Homosexuality – Religious aspects – Anglican Church of Canada –
Drama.
Lepage, Robert, and Brassard, Marie.
Polygraph. Translated by Gyllian Raby. London: Methuen Drama, 1997.
(44 p.; ISBN 0413707202)
Ref.: AMICUS catalogue record no. 18493008.
AMICUS catalogue also includes separate record (no. 26820672)
for a photocopy of a typed manuscript in French, dated 1992 (50 feuilles)
A film titled “Le Polygraphe,” by Robert Lepage, was released in 1996
(AMICUS record 25322873). This the compiler has not investigated.
Furthermore, the play in translation appears in The CTR Anthology:
Fifteen Plays from Canadian Theatre Review (Toronto: University of
Toronto Press, 1993; ISBN 080206812X; AMICUS catalogue record
no. 23310280)
Lesbian Plays: Coming of Age in Canada. Selected and edited by Rosalind Kerr.
Toronto: Playwrights Canada Press, 2006.
(522 p.; ISBN 0887548644)
Contents: Black Friday / Alec Butler – Growing Up Suites I and II;
Object/Subject of Desire / Shawna Dempsey, Lorri Millan –
Dykes and Dolls / Lisa Lowe – Karla and Grif / Vivienne Laxdal –
A Fertile Imagination / Susan G. Cole – Difference of Latitude / Lisa
Walter – Swollen Tongues / Kathleen Oliver – Life and a Lover / Natalie
Meisner – Random Acts / Diane Flacks – Smudge / Alex Bulmer –
Privilege / Corrina Hodgson.
Ref.: University of Saskatchewan Library catalogue.
One review noted: Marlis Schweitzer, Canadian Theatre Review
132 (Winter 2007): 97+ (from CPI.Q index)
Liitoja, Hillar.
The Last Supper. Toronto: ArtBiz Communications, 1995.
(44 p.; ISBN 0969977018)
Dancer, Chris, is dying of AIDS. Ends his life with help of
his doctor and in presence of his lover, Val. Film also made, for
which see VIDEOS/FILMS section.
Lindsay, Chris.
The Christian Who Crashed into a Gay Man. Kamloops, BC: New Name Press,
c2005.
(52p.; ISBN 1897207034)
Ref.: AMICUS record, which notes that this was first published under title
The Strange Tale of the Gay Preacherman
MacDonald, Bryden, 1960-
Whale Riding Weather. Vancouver: Talonbooks, 1994.
(127 p.; ISBN 088922353X)
Ref.: AMICUS catalogue record no. 13762172.
Included in exhibition “Queer CanLit,” catalogue for which
listed elsewhere. Exhibition display case annotation mentions themes
in gay culture of aging, beauty, and loss.
MacDonald, Ingrid.
“The Catherine Wheel.” Unpublished[?]
Ref.: Rosalind Kerr, “Once Were Lesbians…,” Modern Drama 39 (1996):
177-189. Kerr identifies this as a Canadian play “set in ‘pre-lesbian’
times” and based on the character of veteran soldier Catharina Margaretha
Linck, a “historical figure executed for sodomy in Prussia in
1721….Originally produced by the Company of Sirens as a Buddies Seed
Show in Toronto, December, 1994, the text was revised for the Chicago
production, where the play had a six-week run in May and June 1995 as
part of the Bailiwick Repertory Pride Series” (pp. 177-178).
MacIvor, Daniel, 1962-
I Still Love You: Five Plays. Toronto: Playwrights Canada Press, 2006.
(250 p.; ISBN 088754858X)
Governor-General’s Award-winning collection.
Ref.: AMICUS catalogue record no. 32474272.
The five plays are: “Never Swim Alone,” “The Soldier Dreams,”
“You Are Here,” “In on It,” and “A Beautiful View.”
MacLennan, Michael Lewis, 1968-
Beat the Sunset. 1st ed.; Toronto: Playwrights Canada Press, 1998.
(96 p.; ISBN 0887545491)
Ref.:
http://www.doollee.com/PlaywrightsM/maclennan-michael-lewis.html
(viewed August 18, 2008)
Notes at reference site: First produced Victoria, B.C., 1993.
Adam and Sacha meet again after ten years. They “carry the scars of
events which severed and nearly destroyed them both.” Sacha
visits his old friend, who is “recuperating from a bout of AIDS-related
pneumonia. Together they forge a relationship which transforms them
both….”
Author born in Vancouver.
MacLennan, Michael Lewis, 1968-
“Come On!” Unpublished [?]. First produced at Liquid Theatre, Vancouver,
1997.
Ref.: http://www.doollee.com/PlaywrightsM/maclennan-michael-lewis.html
(viewed August 18, 2008).
Synopsis at reference site: “Two men make various attempts to pick each
other up in a night club. Eventually they manage it.”
Author born in Vancouver.
MacLennan, Michael Lewis, 1968-
The Shooting Stage. Toronto: Playwrights Canada Press, 2002, c2001.
(92 p.; ISBN 0887546404)
Ref.: http://www.doollee.com/PlaywrightsM/maclennan-michael-lewis.html
Ref.: AMICUS catalogue record no. 26181158.
Included in exhibition “Queer CanLit,” catalogue for
which listed elsewhere.
Exhibition display case annotation notes this was finalist for
Governor General’s Award for Drama, 2002.
Marchessault, Jovette.
Alice & Gertrude, Natalie & Renée et ce cher Ernest. Montréal: Editions de la
Pleine Lune, 1984.
(139 p.; ISBN 2890240339)
Marchessault, Jovette.
Anaïs dans la queue de la comète. Montréal: La Pleine lune, 1985.
(182 p.; ISBN 289024041X)
Marchessault, Jovette, 1938-
Saga of the Wet Hens: A Play. Translated by Linda Gaboriau.
Vancouver: Talonbooks, 1983.
(134 p.; ISBN 0889222134)
Ref.: AMICUS catalogue record no. 29645333.
Included in exhibition “Queer CanLit,” catalogue for which listed
elsewhere. Exhibition display case annotation notes that this is a
mythical dramatization of the lives of four well-known Québécois
female writers, who meet outside time and space for a discussion.
Author has not verified if this duplicates any listing in Homosexuality
in Canada, 2nd ed., 1984.
Marois, Carmen, 1951-
Skim milk. Longueuil, QC: Éd. Le Préambule, 1985.
(171 p.)
Ref.: Archives gaies du Québec online bibliography
Mazumdar, Maxim, 1954-1988.
Dance for Gods. Toronto: Personal Library Publishers, c1979.
(60 p.; ISBN 0920510019)
Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia online (www.canadiantheatre.com)
has described this as a monologue based on gay history.
Mazumdar, Maxim.
Journeys: A Performance Piece Based on the Epic of Gilgamesh. Toronto:
Playwrights Canada Press, c1987.
(74 leaves)
Mazumdar, Maxim.
Unholy Trinity: A Dramatic Arrangement. Toronto: Playwrights Canada Press,
1986.
(69 leaves)
Based on scenes and songs by Eric Bentley. A portion of the drama
concerns the trial of Oscar Wilde.
Moses, Daniel David, 1952-
The Indian Medicine Shows: Two One-Act Plays. Toronto: Exile Editions, 1995.
(137p.; ISBN 1550960369)
Ref.: AMICUS catalogue record no. 16907805.
Included in exhibition “Queer CanLit,” catalogue for which listed
elsewhere. Exhibition display case annotation notes that this makes
clear “how sexual violence and the repression of two-spirit culture were
key to the colonization of Aboriginal peoples.”
The two plays are “The Moon and Dead Indians” and “Angel of the
Medicine Show.”
Oliver, Kathleen, 1964-
Swollen Tongues. Toronto: Playwrights Canada Press, c1999.
(ca. 71 p.; ISBN 0887545726)
Owen, Mark.
Perth Road: A Play. Toronto: Playwrights Canada Press, 1989, c1988.
(50 leaves)
“Paul recently diagnosed as having AIDS, returns to his home
town….His refusal to share the truth with those closest….”
Ref.: Perceptions [Saskatoon], issue 63, p. 20.
Palmer, John.
The End; A Day at the Beach. Toronto: Coach House Press, c1991.
(175 p.; ISBN 0889103739)
“A Day at the Beach” is described as “the most capable and deeply
expressed treatment of gay themes I’ve seen on stage for a long, long
time” – Xtra! reviewer, quoted on cover.
Panych, Morris
Other Schools of Thought: Three Dramatic Pieces. Vancouver: Talonbooks, 1994.
(125 p.; ISBN 0889223467)
Ref.: AMICUS catalogue record no. 23381115.
Included in exhibition “Queer CanLit,” catalogue for which listed
elsewhere. The three pieces in the collection are “Life Science,”
“2B WUT UR,” and “Cost of Living.”
Parker, B. Eric.
“The Diplomatic Pass: Constructing an Essential Canadian.” M.Phil. thesis,
University of Waterloo, 1995.
(170 p.)
“The concept ‘homosexual’ in Canada has had two watersheds: liberation
followed a de-criminalization (1969), and a community adaptation
followed the HIV virus (1981). John Herbert’s Fortune and Men’s Eyes (1967)
describes the homosexual of Canada’s first century: the character of Jan/Mona,
‘more feminine than effeminate,’ must, in order to survive, split the bitter prison
experience from an essential world s/he dreams in. Michelle [i.e., Michel]
Tremblay’s Hosanna (1973) depicts a character with some advantages of the
liberated discourse….Timothy Findley’s The Stillborn Lover (1993) portrays in
Ambassador Harry Raymond a character who has personally sacrificed in order
to construct an essential identity….This play constructs an essential definition for
a model Canadian homosexual” – abstract from ProQuest Digital Dissertations.
Pelletier, Pol.
La lumière blanche. Montréal: Herbes rouges, 1989.
(133 p.: ISBN 2920051555)
Ref.: Jane Moss, “Dramatizing Sexual Difference,” American Review
of Canadian Studies 22(4): 492. Moss suggests that “…the work of Pol
Pelletier with the Théâtre expérimental des femmes best illustrates the potential
contribution of lesbians….” and refers to the work cited here. For this reason
it is included in this bibliography. The reader might also , then, wish to examine
another of Pelletier’s later works, Joie, not seen by the compiler.
Poissant, Claude.
Plafond: les humeurs de Louis-Pierre. Dans 20 ans, pp. 237-251. Par Le Centre
d’essai des auteurs dramatiques (Montréal). Montréal: VLB éditeur, c1985.
Ref.: Jeu 54 (1990): 127-133, in which list of plays many entries,
unlike the Poissant, do not have publishing information appended, but
rather the abbreviation C.E.A.D., which may be Le Centre
d’essai des auteurs dramatiques, as given in this citation.
Quebec Voices.
SEE entry at Wallace, Robert, in this section.
Roddis, David.
Hot, Hung, and Horny. Winnipeg, Man.: International Readers’ Theatre,
[ca. 1991?].
(no pagination available; ISBN 1552159809)
Performed at Buddies in Bad Times theatre, Toronto, February 1991.
Round, Jeffrey.
Driving to Tatamagouche. [Toronto: J. Round, written 1991].
Ref.: author’s website at www.jeffreyround.com (viewed July 17, 2008).
Author’s synopsis: “A Nova Scotia drag queen leads the audience through
a cooking lesson and regales the audience with family secrets as she
prepares for her sister’s wedding.”
First produced at Toronto Fringe Festival, 1991.
User might also check with University of Saskatchewan Library, which
in 2008 acquired a number of Round’s works directly from the author.
Author communication with University of Saskatchewan Library
(N. Richards) has determined that You Say Yes, I Say No is a work
complementary to Driving to Tatamagouche.
Round, Jeffrey.
Five Easy Pieces. [Toronto: J. Round, written 1992].
Ref.: author’s website at www.jeffreyround.com (viewed July 17, 2008).
Author’s synopsis: “Four monologues and a final four-hand skit designed
as a talk show, all commenting on the nature of Penis Power.”
First produced at Toronto Fringe Festival, 1992.
User might also check with University of Saskatchewan Library, which
in 2008 acquired a number of Round’s works directly from the author.
(In correspondence, Round mentions he couldn’t find a copy
of this in his records; check perhaps to see if U of S Library did receive)
Round, Jeffrey.
The Michael Riddler Project. [Toronto: J. Round, 1996?].
Ref.: author’s website at www.jeffreyround.com (viewed July 17, 2008),
which gives, from synopsis, that “[h]aunted by the death of his partner five
years earlier, David, a gay videographer, makes a transformational journey
into the past….” Michael Ridler is the former lover. Work set in Toronto
early to late 1980’s and was first produced in 1996.
User might check with University of Saskatchewan Library, which
in 2008 acquired a number of Round’s works directly from the author.
Author in communication with N. Richards at University of
Saskatchewan Library mentions availability of DVD of performance.
Round, Jeffrey.
[Various Works].
Various additional works mentioned by Mr. Jeffrey Round in
correspondence with N. Richards. Titles from this correspondence
called to the attention of the compiler are the following:
1)Short film (20 min) titled: “My Heart Belongs to Daddy” (Toronto:
Best Boy Productions, c2002 ; 1 videocassette)
(see AMICUS catalogue record no. 31010348)
2)Screenplay adaptations of the stageplays Zebra and
The Visitations of Captain John ;
3)The stageplay The Visitations of Captain John (relevance to this list?) ;
4)Original screenplay “Guilty Pleasures” ;
5)“Orders of the Day,” described as an adaptation of Jean Genet’s novel,
Funeral Rites.
Also Wendy Falling (relevance to this list?; on author’s website; written
and first produced at Toronto Summerworks Festival 1994)
The interested user might check with the University of Saskatchewan
Library to determine if any of these were acquired, or could check with
the author, through his website noted in earlier entries.
Round, Jeffrey.
Zebra. Winnipeg, Man.: International Readers’ Theatre, 1997.
Written 1992. About Kenneth Zeller, murdered in Toronto.
International Readers’ Theatre (IRT) works are printed, bound, and
shipped as orders are received. IRT is the publish-on-demand
script service of Blizzard Publishing, Winnipeg.
Roy, Edward.
The Other Side of the Closet. Toronto: Playwrights Union of Canada, [n.d.]
(48 p.; ISBN 1551739755)
Ref.: AMICUS catalogue record no. 24488204, which notes that the
work “[e]xplores the issue of homophobia when a teenager named Carl is
outed by his friends. Carl’s life unravels as his secret is revealed to his
peers and family….”
Savard, Marie.
Sur l’air d’Iphigénie: poème fantastique en deux temps, trois mouvements.
Montréal: Éd. de la Pleine lune, 1984.
(79 p.)
Ref.: Archives gaies du Québec online bibliography
Smith, Pat, 1950-1985.
The Oldest-Living. Vancouver: Lazara Publications, 1986.
(55 p.; ISBN 0920999026)
Love story; two women are in their 70s and 80s. Not seen.
Sperling, Shoshana.
Finding Regina. Winnipeg: Scirocco Drama, 2003, c2002.
(62 p.; ISBN 0920486371)
“The attempted suicide of a gay man brings three old friends to the
ICU of a Regina hospital. A night of laughter, confessions and revelations
of painful long-concealed truths ensues” – University of Saskatchewan
Library Web site, “Saskatchewan Resources for Sexual Diversity,”
accessed July 8, 2004.
Stetson, Kent, 1948-
SEE ALSO entry for Baker, Chuck in this section.
Stetson, Kent, 1948-
Sweet Magdalena: A Gothic Tale in Two Acts. [Toronto: Playwrights Canada
Press, 1992?].
(99 p.; ISBN 1551556812)
A transsexual character.
Stetson, Kent, 1948-
Warm Wind in China: A Play in Two Acts = Comme un vent chaud de Chine.
Montréal: Nu-Age Editions = Editions Nu-Age, c1989.
(76, 77 p.; ISBN 0921833180)
Text in English and French, back to back. French translation of English
original by Ronald Guevremont.
Tardi, Laurence.
Caryopse, ou, Le monde entier: théâtre. Montréal: Herbes rouges, c1989.
(44 p.; ISBN 2892720540)
Ref.: Jeu 54 (1990): 127-133.
Critique: Jeu 54 (1990): 139-140.
Tremblay, Michel, 1942-
Le coeur découvert: scenario. Montréal : Leméac, 2003.
(381 p. ISBN 2760932508)
Note also Tremblay’s 1986 novel of this title.
Tremblay, Michel, 1942-
Le gars de Québec: d’après Le revizor, de Gogol. Montréal: Leméac, c1985.
(173 p.; ISBN 2760909107)
Ref.: Jeu 54 (1990): 132 – une des “pièces…où l’homosexualité
apparaît en filigrane.”
Tremblay, Michel, 1942-
La maison suspendue. Montréal: Leméac, 1990.
(119 p.; ISBN 2760901866)
Published also in English under title: La maison suspendue (Vancouver:
Talonbooks, 1991) (101 p.; ISBN 0889222959).
The Edouard of this play is the same character appearing in Tremblay’s
novel, Des nouvelles d’Edouard, listed elsewhere.
Tremblay, Michel, 1942-
Remember Me: A Play. Vancouver: Talonbooks, 1984.
(58 p.; ISBN 0889222193)
English translation of original French title, Les anciennes odeurs,
listed in Homosexuality in Canada, 2nd ed., 1984.
Two male ex-lovers meet and compare/confess fears and disillusionments.
Tremblay, Michel, 1942-
Le vrai monde?. Montréal: Leméac, c1987.
(106 p.; ISBN 2760901602)
Ref.: Jeu 54 (1990): 132 – une des “pièces…où l’homosexualité apparaît
en filigrane.”
Type, David.
Just Us Indians. Toronto: Playwrights Canada, 1984.
(55 p.; ISBN 0887543987)
Vaughan, R.M. (Richard Murray, 1965-
Camera, Woman: A Play in Two Parts. Toronto: Coach House Books, c2000.
(71 p.; ISBN 1552450554)
Ref.: AMICUS catalogue record no. 24269790.
Included in exhibition “Queer CanLit,” catalogue for which listed
elsewhere. Exhibition display case annotation notes that this examines
“the sexual and gender politics of the golden age of film.”
Subject descriptor to AMICUS record is “Arzner, Dorothy, 1900-1979.”
Wallace, Robert, ed.
Quebec Voices: Three Plays. Toronto: Coach House Press, 1986.
(162 p.; ISBN 0889103216)
Includes Normand Chaurette’s “Provincetown Playhouse, July 1919” and
René-Daniel Dubois’s “Don’t Blame the Bedouins” in English translation.
The former, in the original French, is listed in Homosexuality in Canada,
2nd ed. Original French versions listed under authors in this section.
Walter, Lisa.
“Difference of Latitude.” Unpublished[?].
Ref.: Rosalind Kerr, “Once Were Lesbians…,” Modern Drama 39 (1996):
177-189. Kerr identifies this as a Canadian play “set in ‘pre-lesbian’ times”
and featuring Frances, an apprentice sailor in the British merchant navy in the
War of 1812. Character is “modelled on several real seafaring women from
the 1800s….[The play] received a workshop production at Buddies in
Bad Times theatre [Toronto] in April 1994 and a staged reading of a revised
version at Tarragon Theatre, Toronto, in May 1995” (pp. 177 and 179).
Wilson, Jonathan.
Kilt. Toronto: Playwrights Canada Press, 1998.
(96 p.; ISBN 0887545831)
User could see stage production comments by: Robert Crew, “Blending the
Past and the Present: Playwright/Actor Jonathan Wilson Comes Full Circle,”
Toronto Star [Final ed.], April 8, 1999, p. G6.
Wilson, Jonathan.
My Own Private Oshawa. 1st chapbook ed.; Toronto: Playwrights Union of
Canada, c1997.
(35 p.; ISBN 1551735849)
Ref.: AMICUS catalogue record no. 24476745
Se also Robert Crew citation in entry immediately preceding.
Wimbs, John, and Richards, Christopher.
“MollyWood.” Produced in 1994 at Bathurst Street United Church, Toronto.
[unpublished?]
Ref.: Gilbert, Ejaculations…, p. 226: “historical comedy/drama about
Alexander Wood, … who had once owned the land on which the present-day
Buddies [in Bad Times Theatre] now stands. Wood got into trouble for chasing
young boys during the 1800s.”