A new play set to open in Toronto next month is exploring the tender dynamics between butch-femme lesbian couples.
The show follows two women: Alice, played by first-year University of Toronto (U of T) student Tessa Kramer, who is visited by her ex-girlfriend, Jenny, played by fellow U of T acting student Annabelle Gillis. Over the course of one night filled with love, tension and yearning, the former lovers explore their past and the ways they are connected.
Written by U of T student Emily Paterson, BUTCH/FEMME is a tender play, set in rural Ontario during the 1950s. The show uses the lens of the era to look at how the issues facing historic and contemporary queer communities overlap.
“It started as an exploration of sapphic history and queer Toronto history, and then it turned into a bit more of an exploration of the past and present and the ways they’re connected,” Paterson told Queer & Now.
“The idea that even though we’re looking into past homophobia, it doesn’t mean that we don’t deal with these problems today,” Kramer shared with Queer & Now. “So I think it will be really great to have people dissect their own feelings on these dynamics… and to think about if they’ve seen this type of behaviour in the modern world, and how we can counteract that type of behaviour.”
Exploring what can be considered a timeless sapphic dynamic, Alice and Jenny’s relationship still resonates for sapphic couples today, despite their story being set over 70 years ago.
Paterson says that at its heart, BUTCH/FEMME is a story about love and finding each other, rooted in a universal feeling that expands beyond queer identity and dynamics, shining a light on what 2SLGBTQ+ people have always known: loving is one of the most human experiences we can have.
“Tessa and Annabelle create, have such a strong dynamic, and they’re really friends outside of this [show]. So it’s really beautiful to watch the work they do together,” she explained, adding that the actors’ chemistry helps to ground the production in trust, a key theme of BUTCH/FEMME.
BUTCH/FEMME: PLAYING WITH GENDER
Kramer, who is gender fluid, explained that this is one of the first roles they’ve taken on as an actor that allows them to explore different parts of queer identities.
“It’s one of the first queer parts I’ve gotten to play. So that’s been really amazing, being able to sort of play with gender identity, and look through that lens of a butch lesbian, especially in such a [historically] important time for shaping that identity,” Kramer shared.
The actor explained that as a child, they did not see representation of gender fluid people in media and other art, and this is something they are looking to change.
“You know, as children, I think we look for people like us, so that we can emulate and feel comfortable in our own skin, so that we can understand it’s okay to be what we are, and that there is a place for us and there are people like us,” they explained.
“I think having this representation, especially during what was such a hard time to be queer, has been really beautiful to explore, and I think it is very important for especially younger queer individuals.”
Paterson explained that from a writer’s perspective, it was important for her to give focus to the dynamics of butch and femme couples, who she says are often misunderstood and perceived as trying to emulate straight couples.
“For lesbians and people [in] the sapphic community, we recognize the nuances and the differences between being butch and being masculine in a lesbian way versus being masculine in the traditional emotional,” she explained, adding that this is also true for lesbians who identify as femme.
Over the course of the show, the story also shines a light on the fluidity of their respective identities.
“They also have insecurities and misunderstandings about their own identities, and it’s really important to explore these nuances and these sorts of misunderstood labels in the community,” she explained.
These societal misunderstandings, Paterson explains, are rooted in general homophobia, underlined by the idea that women cannot, and should not, truly love one another.
“The general assumption [is] if there are two women in a relationship, they’re missing something from not having a man – which is why we get this assumption that, you know, when lesbians are in a relationship where one is presenting masculine and the other is presenting feminine, it’s like a parody or trying to be heterosexual,” she explained.
And this could not be farther from the truth.
“Butchness isn’t about trying to be a man, it’s about trying not to be a man and trying to use masculinity to subvert what men do,” Paterson shared. “Which is a nuance that a lot of people don’t get, because there are just general assumptions about what masculinity means that are challenged by the Butch identity.”
Kramer does not identify as butch, but through their work on this show, they were able to learn more about their identity, something they are excited to share with audiences.
“I can’t speak on behalf of the [Butch] community, but I had a great experience learning about it through this,” they explained. “The protection that they have provided towards the queer community and what they’ve stood for.”
“This includes the idea of masculinity without violence, masculinity that is gentle, caring and [embodies] protection,” Kramer continued. “Not only within butch lesbians, but all masculinity in any shape or form, and I hope that Alice’s character can really get through to people in that sense.”
SAPPHIC SPACES ARE NECESSARY
In addition to the relatability of the leading couple, the show also touches on a current issue facing Toronto today: a lack of lesbian-focused bars and other third spaces. The show encourages viewers to think about the importance of sapphic spaces, and why they are so rare, as well as why these spaces are so crucial to 2SLGBTQ+ communities.
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Paterson says she hopes the show will also inspire people to discuss the idea of queer spaces and how, in a lot of ways, Toronto is currently kind of lacking.
“I’d like to open conversations discussing these general issues in the lesbian community and the sapphic community regarding space and identity, and how all of these things overlap and intertwine and are connected.”
CATCH BUTCH/FEMME AT THEATRE PASS MURAILLE
Earlier this year, the show snagged the President’s Award for Outstanding Production at the University of Toronto’s Hart House Drama Festival.
Opening this Saturday, BUTCH/FEMME will take over Theatre Passe Muraille Mainspace for a week-long run on September 20 – 27, 2025. The show runs for 75 minutes, and tickets are priced on a pay-what-you-can scale, available for $15, $40 and $65 depending on what you can afford to pay.
You can purchase tickets over the phone by calling 416-504-7529, or get them online here.
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