When we turn Timon into Tiff’ny, a lot of things change. Want to talk about women, money, and power? Us too!
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Four fictional, century-spanning, interwoven texts exploring extreme wealth and capital? (And the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for fiction?) Let’s go!
TRUST by Hernan Diaz
Thursday May 29th at 8pm on Zoom
DM us or contact christine@shakespeareintheruff.com for the Zoom link. (Don’t have time to read the book but still interested in the conversation? Join us anyway!)
Get ready for an evening filled with fun, entertainment, and the opportunity to support the arts in our community!
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Shakespeare co-wrote Timon of Athens with Thomas Middleton. Who was he? And how was his writing similar to (and different than) Shakespeare’s? Let’s find out.
A Trick to Catch the Old One by Thomas Middleton
Thursday April 24th at 8pm on Zoom
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They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and what could be more Shakespearean than imitating and adapting? (Here’s looking at you, Saxo Grammaticus.) In these drop-in classes led by Nathaniel Hanula-James, you’ll read a short scene or play, identify an interesting tool the writer’s using, and then give it a whirl yourself.
Straight Acting: The Hidden Queer Lives of William Shakespeare by Will Tosh
Thursday March 27th at 8pm on Zoom
DM us or contact christine@shakespeareintheruff.com for the Zoom link. (Don’t have time to read the book but still interested in the conversation? Join us anyway!)
Straight Acting is available at Queen Books (10% off with the code RUFFREADS), the Toronto Public Library, as an Audiobook and as an eBook. Also check out our December 31s, 2024 Ruff Radio episode with author Will Tosh!
From the Publisher:
Was Shakespeare gay? The answer is both simpler and more complex than you might think . . .
Shakespeare’s work was profoundly influenced by the queer culture of his time – much of it totally integrated into mainstream society. From a relentless schooling in Latin and Greek homoeroticism, to a less formal education on the streets and in smoky taverns, from the gender-bending of the early comedies to the astonishingly queer literary scene that nurtured Shakespeare’s sonnets, this is a story of artistic development and of personal crisis.
Straight Acting is a surprising portrait of Shakespeare’s queer lives – his own and those in his plays and poems. It is a journey back in time and through Shakespeare’s England, revealing a culture that both endorsed and supressed same-sex desire. It is a call to stop making Shakespeare act straight and to recognise how queerness powerfully shaped the life and career of the world’s most famous playwright.
About Will Tosh:
Will is interim Director of Education (Higher Education and Research) at Shakespeare’s Globe, where he is responsible for undergraduate and postgraduate course, events for adult learners, and the Globe’s scholarly research programme. Will researches and writes about the literature and culture of Shakespeare’s England, and his work at the Globe includes dramaturgy, new writing development, and public engagement in person, in the media and online.Will is the author of Playing Indoors: Staging Early Modern Drama in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse (2018), and Male Friendship and Testimonies of Love in Shakespeare’s England (2016), which revealed the intimate social circle of the Elizabethan spy Anthony Bacon. His most recent book is Straight Acting: The Many Queer Lives of William Shakespeare, which was published to wide acclaim in 2024. Will writes and reviews regularly for academic journals as well as the Times Literary Supplement and other news publications.
A toast to our artists and supporters
Wednesday March 19th, 2025, 7pm (doors at 6:30)
Ladybug Wine Bar, 514 King St. E, Toronto.
Tickets: $150
“With wine and feeding, we have suppler souls” — Coriolanus
Come in from the cold, grab a glass of wine, and join us in a toast to Ruff’s generous patrons and supporters: the folks who make our experiments in adapting Shakespeare possible. Our winter fundraiser will be an elegant evening at Ladybug Wine Bar in Toronto’s East End. Mingle with Ruff’s artists, taste exquisite wines hand-selected for our event, enjoy performances from past and current Ruff adaptations, and get a sneak peak at our upcoming summer reimagining of Timon of Athens.
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Let’s face it: it’s a tough time to be an artist.
To live in Toronto.
To buy groceries.
To have a family.
To pay the rent.
It’s tough.
We’re talking about it here at Ruff, and we want to talk about it with you, too.
Join us this season as we tear into capitalism, art-making, consumerism, debt, philanthropy, and community care through one of Shakespeare’s lesser-known works: Timon of Athens.
In the coming weeks we’ll be sharing details about our exciting season of 2025 programming, including financial literacy classes for artists, the Build-a-Bard playwriting drop-in, our Ruff Reads reading list, and our summer reimagining of Timon created by Ruff. We’ll also let you know how you can get involved, whether as a volunteer, a Young Ruffian, a sponsor, or an audience member.
As always, thank you for your support of everything we do at Ruff. We can’t wait to be back beneath the Withrow trees this summer.
See you soon!
Patricia, Jeff, PJ, Nathaniel, and Christine
The Shakespeare in the Ruff Leadership Collective
We have exciting community nights taking place during the run of The Tempest: A Witch in Algiers. Check our list of events and reserve your tickets!
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“RuFF” by Rod Carley – Special Pre-Show Event – August 29th 6:30pm. Join us Thursday August 29th at 6:30pm for a FREE special pre-show event with award-winning author Rod Carley! Meet Rod, get a sneak preview of Rod’s upcoming novel “RuFF” (available September 6th), and participate in a Q&A led by Shakespeare in the Ruff’s Christine Horne. Then join us for our 7:30 performance of The Tempest: A Witch in Algiers!