Richard Burnett interviews Sky Gilbert for FUGUES.COM, revealing the artist behind Buddies in Bad Times Theatre and numerous literary works. Gilbert discusses his journey of coming out, co-founding the theater, his work and recognition in literature, including the upcoming Blue Metropolis Violet Prize.

For years I was intimidated by the mere presence of Sky Gilbert and his steely personality, but I have discovered the theatre legend is really a pussycat.

Co-founder and artistic director of Toronto’s Buddies in Bad Times Theatre — one of the world’s largest queer theatres — from 1979 to 1997, Gilbert is a poet, novelist, playwright, filmmaker and theatre director whose drag queen persona Jane is as fearless as he is.

Dr. Gilbert is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Guelph where he taught theatre and creative writing from 1998 to 2022. The prolific writer has more than 40 plays produced around the world, written nine novels and three poetry collections, and his second book about Shakespeare — Shakespeare Lied — is being published by Guernica Editions in time for the 2024 edition of the Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival where Gilbert, 71, will receive the prestigious Blue Metropolis Violet Prize which recognizes an established LGBTQ+ Canadian author for their body of work”

An Audience with Sky Gilbert
-Richard Burnett, FUGUES.COM

Read the full interview here.