Next Cabaret: TBA
Our Haunted Cabaret was our final immersive cabaret for 2026! And what a wonderful night and glorious success it was! Poetry, music, burlesque - plus delicious chocolate truffles and cake pops by Birdie and savoury goodies by Teddy's Treats! Our sincere thanks to our cast, crew, volunteers, video and photo team, and to Ground Control Toronto for hosting us.
2026 was a very full year for us: we have hosted our monthly Poetry Club at the Wych on the first Tuesday of every month, plus four immersive cabarets!
January: two days of Myths & Legends at International Palace of Joy
February: a Valentine's themed open mic on the 13th and a Valloween party on the 14th at the Wych
April: three performances at Jaymz Bee's Caravan of Music, followed by a Renaissance Faire and Medieval Cabaret at the International Palace of Joy later the same week!
June: Adventures in Slumberland at Ground Control
August: Summer Magic Open Mic Night at the Wych
October: Haunted Cabaret at Ground Control
We'd like to thank our 2026 Sponsors: Culinary Slut, Mark S, Moni, Carl Lyons, and Justin Irwin.
We're looking forward to 2027! Stay tuned for our Next Up announcements here, and on our instagram @poetrybrothel.to
Our sincere gratitude to all the artists, donors, audience members, and collaborators that made our 2026 season possible.
Upcoming Events
Welcome to the home of Toronto's Poetry Brothel!
What is a "Poetry Brothel," you ask? An Immersive Literary Cabaret.
Confused? Let's break it down!
Immersive: We build a whole world. Onstage, off stage. We dress to theme, perform in "characters-" or maybe they're really just who we are - and you can join us, in costumes inspired by or suited to our theme. Maybe you'll even explore your alter ego.
Literary Cabaret: Our show is a variety show, a cabaret - but it has a literary focus. Most of our lineup of performers at a given show is comprised of performing poets. But, in true cabaret fashion, we love featuring a variety of other types of performance. We have included storytellers, mask performances, musical acts, drag and burlesque, circus and dance.
What makes it a Brothel?
See a poet onstage that you want to spend more time with? Buy a "private reading token," a poker chip, and present it to the poet of your choice at intermission or after the show for a one-on-one intimate experience of poetry. Please do not solicit our poets for sex! We think poetry is very intimate, and we are excited to share our words with you.
The Poetry Brothel Toronto is an immersive experience: a theatre show where the audience also comes to play. Everyone wears costumes! An inclusive and whimsical series of shows to engage your imagination.
Each Immersive Cabaret we host orbits a distinct and unique theme, and we invite our guests, our audience, our community (that's you!) to join us in a costume of your own making or choosing for an evening of magical entertainment in our handcrafted world of wit, whimsy, and wonder.
Hosted by our Brothel Madame, Titania, Queen of the Faeries, and featuring a cast of costumed poets from across the multiverse - alchemists, deities, beings of the underworld, the celestial realm; tree spirits, time travellers, and wanderers - the Poetry Brothel Toronto boasts a colourful array of Poets and poetry.
The Poetry Brothel Toronto is a series of shows which support local artists in a variety of ways. Our producer works diligently to curate shows in our immersive cabarets that create a sense of community and intimacy, that bothy entertain our audiences and get our performers - poets, musicians, dancers, and more - paid. Our Poet Roster is built of poets who audition to join our collective and work hard at evolving their writing and their performance skills. Our community events like our poetry club and our open mic nights range from free to attend to minimally priced, because accessibility to continued education is important to us.
But we need your help! Beyond supporting PBTO by coming to our shows and following us on socials, your donations make a world of difference in our continued ability to produce both our shows and our workshops, clubs, and other gatherings.
