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A South Asian drag performer, with black 80s rocker hair, a head mic and bangles on both wrists, performs on stage, looking up as she points with her left had, arm outstretched, her right arm bent across her chest.
A South Asian drag performer, with black 80s rocker hair, a head mic and bangles on both wrists, performs on stage, looking up as she points with her left had, arm outstretched, her right arm bent across her chest.
Photo: Gabriel Dharmoo. Photo by Jonathan Goulet. Edit + design by Fran Chudnoff.

South Asian identity South Asian identity

playfully explored in an interdisciplinary drag show.

Photo: Gabriel Dharmoo. Photo by Jonathan Goulet. Edit + design by Fran Chudnoff.

Home Events Performance Buddies in Bad Times presents: Bijuriya created by Gabriel Dharmoo

Buddies in Bad Times presents: Bijuriya created by Gabriel Dharmoo

Three performances only – from Wednesday, November 26 to Saturday, November 29, 2025 – Buddies in Bad Times Theatre presents Gabriel Dharmoo’s multidisciplinary drag show Bijuriya, a performance that code switches between drag, song and sound as it navigates its creator’s dual personas.

Gabriel Dharmoo is a music composer and experimental vocalist. Bijuriya is a drag artist engaging with South Asian culture. Gabriel values innovation and risk-taking as he navigates Eurocentric artistic scenes. Bijuriya seeks to touch the hearts of fellow brown queers. Together, Gabriel and Bijuriya embody different facets of the same individual, engaging in an interplay of duality that delves into the hybrid, multifaceted layers that coexist within their identity.

Exploring cultural identity through dual personas

Through an exuberant medley of drag and humour, as well as an eclectic array of musical genres – ranging from original pop tunes, to experimental soundscapes and Bollywood soundtracks – this performance playfully examines the role of vocality in self-expression, utilizing song, speech and lip-sync as tools for exploring cultural identity.

Gabriel and Bijuriya’s self-reflexive dialogue offers profound insight into the fluidity of human experience.

 

About Gabriel Dharmoo & Bijuriya

Gabriel Dharmoo is a music composer, vocalist and interdisciplinary artist. His solo show Anthropologies imaginaires has toured internationally, and was awarded at the Amsterdam Fringe Festival (2015) and the SummerWorks Performance Festival (2016). As a composer, he was awarded the Canada Council for the Arts Jules Léger Prize (2017) and a Conseil Québécois de la Musique Opus Award (2018). Gabriel holds a PhD in research-creation from the Individualized Program of Concordia University.

Bijuriya is active as a drag artist, musician and cabaret MC in the Montreal cultural scene. Strongly inspired by her South Asian culture, her musical collaborations span many genres, from early music and Baroque with Les Goûts Réunis, to South Asian music and a band project that pays tribute to alternative queens. She has worked with Festival Phénomena, Festival Accès Asie, Suoni Per Il Popolo, and Geordie Theatre. Merging music, drag and theatre, the solo production Bijuriya has been presented a dozen times in Canada since 2022 (Montreal, Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary, Kitchener). Her EP Bijuriya Chamke and song Problematic Fantasy (feat. BiG SiSSY) are available on all streaming platforms.

 

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. BMO is Buddies in Bad Times’ Lead Season Sponsor.

This production is part of the Queer Voices Canada Series supported by Canadian Heritage.

A South Asian drag performer dressed in a white costume with yellow and purple borders and ribbons, black hair in a braided ponytail, wearing a nose ring attached with a chain to her head decoration. Standing in profile and glancing sideways at us, she gestures with white evening-gloved hands/forearms and long purple nails.

(Photo credits: Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. Gabriel Dharmoo. Photo by Jonathan Goulet. Edit + design by Fran Chudnoff.)

 

Event details

Hosted by: Buddies in Bad Times Theatre 

Type of event: interdisciplinary drag performance

Created & performed by: Gabriel Dharmoo 

Dates: Wednesday, November 26 – Saturday, November 29, 2025

Start time: 7:30 PM ET

Duration: 2 hours (including one intermission)

Cost: Pay-what-you-can-afford: C$10.00, $25.00, $45.00 or $75.00 (plus fees)

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

 

Content warning: For audiences 19+.

Accessibility: The entire facility is fully accessible to audience members, the entrance accessed by ramp. Their washrooms are located on the lower level, which can be reached by a lift. The lift requires an attendant due to the manual door function. Some washroom stalls are equipped with bars and provide extra space, and they also have a single-user, universal washroom. Personal Assistants and Support Persons are welcome to accompany any patron with access needs; PAs and SPs will be admitted at no cost for ticketed events. If booking your tickets in advance, please indicate that this extra seat will be required. More info here.

COVID-19 policy: As a general rule, Buddies no longer requires visitors to wear masks when attending events at Buddies or Tallulah’s Cabaret. If you’re attending a mask-mandatory performance or show, you will be required to wear a mask. Please check out individual event requirements when purchasing tickets in Showpass – masking requirements for specific shows will be listed in the event description and/or title. Free surgical masks and hand sanitizer are available on site for visitors to use.

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.