“Crotch uses several styles or approaches to the live theatrical event. A broken heart is not a coherent situation,” explains dancer and performance artist Keith Hennessey. Like much of the Rhubarb Festival, his explanation simultaneously makes perfect sense and no sense at all. Each year, Rhubarb brings a collection of innovative, barrier-pushing and downright bizarre performance pieces to Toronto. Highlights of this year’s programming include genderbending songstress Justin Vivian Bond, of Shortbus fame; four new solo works by queer youth, developed through Buddies’ Young Creators Unit; and, a new feature, the One-to-One Performance Series, where individual audience members will have the opportunity to participate in very intimate performances. One-to-One performer
Evan Vipond describes his piece, "Gender Me," as “a game of gender-play and dress-up with a gender deviant. I am really excited about the different gender combinations the audience members will assemble and the opportunity to co-create a unique gender.” Hennessey, who will travel back to Toronto from his current home in San Francisco, says that Crotch invites the audience into a surreal dreamscape based on the ideas of the late German artist Joseph Beuys. The smearing of genitals with lard is a particularly Rhubarb-esque feature of the performance.
 
The Rhubarb Festival runs Wed, Feb 8–Sun, Feb 19 at Buddies, 12 Alexander St. buddiesinbadtimes.com