From Wednesday, May 21 to Saturday, May 31, 2025: Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, in partnership with fu-GEN Theatre, PNSNV and Pencil Kit Productions, presents the world premieres of two movement-driven solo pieces – Julie Phan’s Never Walk Alone and Augusto Bitter’s Reina – at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre.
Each night of Genrefuck features two works: Reina at 7:00 PM ET and Never Walk Alone at 9:00 PM ET. You can purchase a ticket for one or both shows on each night (see the booking link below).
Art on the edge of gender and genre
Augusto Bitter’s Reina envisions the many lives of the anonymous woman depicted on a bag of Harina P.A.N. corn flour.
A movement-centric hybrid between theatre, dance and performance art that resists categorization, it invokes and celebrates personal femininity through a collection of memories, stories, poems, and choreographies in conversation with live music by Y Josephine. Produced in partnership with Pencil Kit Productions.
Julie Phan’s Never Walk Alone is a solo piece combining Julie Phan’s passions for writing and pole dancing. It’s Christmas Eve, and Honey is starting her shift at the strip club when her long-estranged mother calls. Can she hold on tight enough to avoid spinning into the depths of memory and grief?
Exploring family dynamics, independence, legacy, isolation, burnout and economics, the piece follows Honey and her trajectory from formerly-promising-child to bitter disappointment. This is an endurance pole dance piece that explores the relationship between physically holding oneself up on the pole and the necessity of holding truths and lies from our loved ones. Produced in partnership with fu-GEN Theatre and PNSNV.
”This is a can’t-miss double bill of pieces from two of our most audacious artists, experimenting with gender and genre in a way that only happens at Buddies. We’re thrilled to wrap up our 24/25 mainstage season with two shows that are not only breaking open form and performance style, but also that we believe have strong potential to represent both Buddies and Toronto’s remarkable, queer work on a national and international level.”
– ted witzel, Buddies in Bad Times Artistic Director
About Buddies in Bad Times Theatre
Buddies in Bad Times Theatre is the world’s largest and longest-running queer theatre. For 46 years, Buddies has carved out a sexy, disobedient edge in Toronto’s theatre scene and has been a world leader in amplifying queer voices and developing their stories for the stage. In its year-round theatre season, Buddies is a home for artistic risk – a place where emerging talent hone their radical visions, and where established artists do the daring works other theatres might shy away from. Since 1979, Buddies has welcomed over one million audience members and premiered over 1,000 new works for the stage.
About fu-GEN Theatre
Founded in 2002, fu-GEN Theatre is devoted to providing a home for the Asian Canadian theatre artist, nurturing their voices and producing works of the highest artistic caliber that explore the Asian Canadian experience.
About PNSNV
PNSNV is a creative studio dedicated to the creation of live and digital experiences through multidisciplinary art making. Anchored in performance, their scope of work expands to encompass a broad cultural, creative platform in theatre, film, music spaces and beyond.
About Pencil Kit Productions
Pencil Kit Productions is a Toronto-based, ever-evolving theatre and events organism. They are dedicated to generating new work and building community with an emphasis on alternative, collaborative processes that prioritize the well-being and creative fulfillment of artists. They’re interested in all things strange, delicious, novel, magic, experiential, sensorial and imagistic. They know that, at its heart, theatre is a social art form. They aim to cultivate spaces where artists and audiences can have fun – from workshops to parties to performances.
(Photo credits: Julie Phan (by Roya DelSol) & Augusto Bitter (by Fran Chudnoff), treatment by Fran Chudnoff.)
Event details
Hosted by: Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, in partnership with fu-GEN Theatre, PNSNV & Pencil Kit Productions
Type of event: solo movement-based performance
Reina created & performed by: Augusto Bitter, with outside eye/producer Claren Grosz
Never Walk Alone created & performed by: Julie Phan, directed by Tawiah M’Carthy
Dates: Wednesday, May 21 – Saturday, May 31, 2025
- Mask mandatory performances on Thursdays May 22 & 29 for both shows.
- ASL-interpreted performances on Thursdays May 22 & 29 for Reina.
- Spanish performance on Wednesday, May 28 for Reina.
Start times: Performances take place Wednesday – Saturday evenings. You can choose to see one or both shows:
- Reina @ 7:00 PM ET
- Never Walk Alone @ 9:00 PM ET
Duration: Reina runs about 45 minutes & Never Walk Alone runs about 60 minutes. If you choose to see both shows on the same night: approx. 3 hours total, with a 1-hour break between performances.
Cost: All prices include fees & taxes.
- One show: C$23.00
- Both shows: C$34.50
Location: Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, 12 Alexander Street, Toronto, ON, M4Y 1B4
Booking link: Book your tickets here.
Contact details: Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, 12 Alexander Street, Toronto, ON, M4Y 1B4, Canada; Box office: 416-975-8555, tickets@buddiesinbadtimes.com, buddiesinbadtimes.com
Accessibility: Info here. ASL-interpreted performances on Thursdays May 22 & 29 for Reina. Spanish performance on Wednesday, May 28 for Reina.
COVID-19 policy: See info here. Mask mandatory performances on Thursdays May 22 & 29 for both shows.
Refund policy: If you would like to exchange your ticket or be granted a refund, please email tickets@buddiesinbadtimes.com. Requests will be approved at the discretion of Buddies in Bad Times and Tallulah’s Cabaret, as well as any producing partners. No refunds or exchanges will be granted within 48 hours of the event start time. If approved, a full refund of the ticket cost minus any applicable service fees will be credited to your account within 30 days.