{"id":114893,"date":"2025-06-05T14:39:33","date_gmt":"2025-06-05T18:39:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=114893"},"modified":"2025-06-05T14:39:33","modified_gmt":"2025-06-05T18:39:33","slug":"interview-star-devery-bess-dives-frat-haus-evicted-buddies-bad-times-theatre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2025\/06\/05\/interview-star-devery-bess-dives-frat-haus-evicted-buddies-bad-times-theatre\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Star Devery Bess Dives Into Frat Haus: Evicted At Buddies In Bad Times Theatre"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Drag
Ensemble, Drag show\/cabaret Frat Haus: Evicted (Photo: Christien Carson Taviss Photography)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Frat\u00a0Haus: Evicted is a drag-theatre cabaret show that takes immersive performance, social satire, and glitter, and creates a comedy with heartfelt moments. The timely topic of Toronto\u2019s housing crisis is told through a lens of drag, queer culture, and toxic masculinity, with drinking games and interactive moments with the audience thrown into the mix.<\/p>\n

Part of the Toronto Fringe Festival, the production takes the stage at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre from July 2 to 12 as a co-production between Drag Haus & Theatre Collective and Apothecary Theatre, and features a rotating cast.<\/p>\n

We spoke to Frat Haus\u2019 Devery Bess, who stars in the show, about the project.<\/p>\n

\"L:
L: Ensemble from Drag show\/cabaret Frat Haus: Evicted; R: Co-producer & performer Devery Bess, Drag show\/cabaret Frat Haus: Evicted (Photos: Christien Carson Taviss Photography)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Devery Bess: The Interview<\/h2>\n

A native of Montreal, Devery Bess is a drag king and gender performance artist.<\/p>\n

The show is presented by a performance collective who first got together as fellow contestants at Absolute Empires.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m one of the co-producers as well as an artist in the collective,\u201d Devery explains. \u201cHow we got started was we did a competition last year in 2024.\u201d As a collective, they got to the semi-finals. \u201cWe just really enjoyed working together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI got started because I, me personally, I felt disconnected from community,\u201d Bess arrived in Toronto from Alberta three years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn’t care to win \u2014 I just wanted to create art,\u201d they say. That feeling was shared by the other members of the collective, who belong to the trans and queer communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’ve talked about this for years, wanting to do theatre with drag,\u201d Devery says. After the competition, the group decided to stick together and do more. Coyote Ugly became a collaborator, and Apothecary Theatre emerged as a production partner.<\/p>\n

The group applied to the Fringe Festival with the venue already on board. This will be their first mainstage production.<\/p>\n

The Art of Drag<\/h3>\n

\u201cWhen I think about drag, I think about visual art,\u201d Devery begins. \u201cWhen you think about theatre or performance art, a lot of the time, it’s a collaborative experience,\u201d they explain. Plays typically include input from a variety of people, including designers, and other back stage artists.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhereas drag is self reflecting. A lot of drag is like that, and so things get very interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bess notes that Frat Haus: Evicted takes the individual expression of drag and adds the collaborative element of theatre. \u201cThat’s why Drag Haus is really cool.\u201d The art and skills that go into drag, and the essential exploration of gender, merge into a collaborative setting. \u201cDrag itself is a place where you can explore all of the skills you have in art.\u201d<\/p>\n

It can take many different forms. One of the performers, Andy Fetamean, is a puppeteer. \u201cDrag takes from so many art forms to build something new.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Bess points out, drag has been around since Shakespeare and well before. \u201cDrag allows for that safe space and community to explore your gender.\u201d<\/p>\n

Comedy, with Issues<\/h3>\n

With comedic moments, the show explores serious themes. \u201cEssentially, I feel like, as artists, all of us have experienced what it’s like in a patriarchal society,\u201d Bess says. The show satirizes and explores those notions in drag.<\/p>\n

For the audience, the comedy is cathartic. \u201cHow we’ve been affected by toxic masculinity, I feel like there’s a release.\u201d<\/p>\n

Naturally, the crisis of affordable housing is something that affects everyone, and the show reflects that topical sentiment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re all renters. We’re all facing a housing crisis,\u201d they say. \u201cThere’s a lot of frustrations for all of us as individuals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bringing those genuine emotions to the piece adds to its poignancy. They\u2019re hoping the audience will join in the silliness and engage with the humour. \u201cI think it’s really feeling about the catharsis of our emotions.\u201d The housing crisis itself has an absurd side. \u201cIt’s so silly. Everyone loses.\u201d<\/p>\n

That, essentially, is the message about toxic masculinity. \u201cNo one actually gets to enjoy their life.\u201d<\/p>\n

The humour comes from exaggeration and a sense of the offbeat. \u201cSubverting it and making it gay.\u201d<\/p>\n

Audience Interaction<\/h3>\n

\u201cDrag is inherently an interactive experience,\u201d Bess says. \u201cDrag itself is different than theatre.\u201d<\/p>\n

The audience gets involved in various ways. One of the acts will be pitched as an MLM (multi-level marketing scheme), and a small protest with develop within the space. Audience members can join in the fight back against evil landlords and corporations.<\/p>\n

As at a typical drag show, you can also tip your favourite performers as they dance, and join in the drinking games.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of our cast is disabled,\u201d Bess notes. That\u2019s one of the reasons why they chose the accessible Buddies in Bad Times venue.<\/p>\n

Show Details<\/h3>\n

Along with Bess, performers include Coyote Ugly, Andy & Stefan Fetamean, and Archie Called, with different guest performers each night. Specific nights during the run will be sensory-friendly and COVID-conscious.<\/p>\n