THE WORLD PREMIERE:
TAKE RIMBAUD
by Susanna Fournier
Directed by ted witzel
A Howland Company production in partnership with Buddies in Bad Times Theatre
Limited Run: May 6-23, 2026
Show Times:
Wednesday – Friday at 7:30PM
Saturdays at 2PM + 7:30PM
Buddies in Bad Times Theatre
12 Alexander Street
Toronto, ON
TICKETS:
$10* / $25* / $45 / $75 + fees
*Limited availability. Book early to secure this price tier.
RUN TIME:
Approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes with no intermission.
*For content and sensory warnings, please read below.
ABOUT:
“This is why I quit art.”
Toronto, 2014 / Paris, 1871 / hell, always
Four poets, a sloppy love triangle, an unfinished art film, and an electric oven. Can we still talk about the apocalypse as if it hasn’t already happened? It’s 2014 in Toronto (hell) and 1871 in France (also hell). The poets torture themselves to make work that means something rightnow, but time feels slippery and no narrative can keep them safe.
A performance poem imagining the worlds of Arthur Rimbaud, Paul Verlaine, Sylvia Plath, Sappho, and post-art school malaise in Toronto, TAKE RIMBAUD by Susanna Fournier flirts with creation, revolution, and violence at the end of the world.
“There are ambitious independent theatre-makers and then there’s Susanna Fournier.”
– The Toronto Star
THE CAST:
Thomas Mitchell Barnet // R
Julian De Zotti // Paul
Ruth Goodwin // Sylv
Rose Tuong // Sapph
Breton Lalama // 1
Hallie Seline // 2
Courtney Ch’ng Lancaster // 3
Cameron Laurie // 4
THE CREATIVE TEAM:
Ting – Huan 挺歡 Christine Urquhart // Set & Costume Designer
Dasha Plett // Composer & Sound Designer
Darren Shaen // Lighting Designer
Nicole Eun-Ju Bell // Projection Designer
Chala Hunter // Intimacy Coordinator
Julia Dyan // Fight Director
Chanti Laliberte // Wardrobe Support
Troy Taylor // Stage Manager
Jenna Borsato // Apprentice Stage Manager
SPECIAL DATES & EVENTS:
Post-show Talkback with Playwright Susanna Fournier
Saturday, May 9th after the 2pm performance
Mask Mandatory Performance
Saturday, May 16th at 2PM
Content and Sensory Warnings:
Mature themes and language, haze, strobe and flashing lights, use of a prop weapon, suicide, substance abuse, gunshot and loud sounds, partial nudity, Honey Nut Cheerios with “natural almond flavour”.
ABOUT OUR PARTNERS: 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 a million audience members and premiered over a thousand new works for the stage.
TAKE RIMBAUD is produced with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and with the support of the City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council.
take rimbaud promotional photo of Susanna Fournier. photography + creative direction by Fran Chudnoff, styling by CC Calica, makeup by Rahnell Branton.
The Howland Company 