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.
Upcoming Events
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.
