Review: BUTCH/FEMME (Theatre Passe Muraille)

Set in a small Ontario town in the 1950s, BUTCH/FEMME follows two women as they reunite after a broken relationship, their charged conversations revealing the risks of queer love in the past, many of which still resonate today. Fresh from winning the President’s Award for Outstanding Production at the Hart House Drama Festival, this play opens Theatre Passe Muraille’s 2025/2026 season, written and directed by Emily Paterson and produced by The Green Couch Theatre Company.

At the heart of the play is Jenny (Annabelle Gillis), who is caught off guard when Alice (Tessa Kramer), her former lover, appears at her door after a year of silence. What begins as an uneasy reunion quickly deepens into a series of charged conversations, where buried feelings and unresolved tensions rise to the surface. Their exchanges highlight the distinct struggles of butch and femme lesbians, showing how identity, visibility, and safety shape their lives in different ways. The script balances intimacy with momentum, weaving in a few well-placed twists that keep the two-person story compelling.

BUTCH/FEMME hits home for me, as a woman married to a woman, living in a small Ontario town. My wife and I have often talked about safety in a city versus a small town, not only for ourselves but also for our future family. Many of those questions surface here as well. While there has been some progress in how lesbian relationships are perceived since the 1950s, many of the same issues presented in the play still remain. This show offers a truthful look at how outside cultural forces can both shape and strain a gay relationship.

Emily Paterson’s direction keeps the piece focused and grounded. The movement between the two, walking around the living room space, feels natural and easy. I am not sure the ‘movement direction’ credit for Paterson was needed, since it made me expect more stylized or abstract choices, but the piece instead stays very realistic, relying on subtle shifts in body language, and proximity to carry the charged conversations between the two characters. The pacing allows the tension to build gradually, giving weight to silences as much as to words.

The cast features Annabelle Gillis as Jenny, the femme character, and Tessa Kramer as Alice, the butch. Both gave a strong, evenly matched performance that held attention throughout the 75-minute work. There were a few minor line flubs on opening night, understandable given the length and intensity of the dialogue, but nothing that distracted from the overall flow of the show.

The set, designed by Aria Kowal, is a simple but effective 1950s living room and kitchen, complete with an old white fridge and warm wood details. Costumes by Salma Qureshi Wennekers clearly mark the butch and femme identities of the characters with Alice in a leather jacket, oversized shirt, and dress pants, and Jenny in a 1950s-style blue dress. At times the looks felt a little overstated, though that may be more my reaction from a 2025 lens than a flaw in the 1950s inspired design.

Although most of the show relies on quiet conversation between the two actors, sound designer and musical director Anya Ivantchenko introduces brief soundscapes and gentle scores during the monologues, helping to set the mood and mark shifts in time. These touches give the audience a sense of place beyond the living room and provide a break in the otherwise steady dialogue. Lighting by Eden Phillips complements these moments, shifting between colder and warmer tones to match the changing emotions of the conversations.

Overall, BUTCH/FEMME is a strong choice to open the season, shining a light on a community whose stories are too often overlooked. The show points to the challenges lesbian couples have faced in the past and continue to face today. While the United States braces for the Supreme Court’s decision to review the Obergefell v. Hodges ruling on same-sex marriage, here in Canada we also see rising stigma and political hostility toward queer communities. In this climate, it feels vital that lesbian stories are not only shared and given space on our stages, but also told with honesty and care, as this production does.

BUTCH/FEMME, presented by Theatre Passe Muraille and The Green Couch Theatre Company, is playing until September 27th, 2025 at Theatre Passe Muraille (16 Ryerson Ave.). Tickets are pay-what-you-can-afford ranging from $15 to $65. They are  available online here or by phone at 416-504-7529.

Content warnings: Homophobia, alcohol use, discussion of hate crime and violence, use of homophobic language.

Photos by Jae Yang.

For more information: www.passemuraille.ca | Instagram @beyondwallsTPM
Written by Deanne Kearney | DeanneKearney.com @deannekearney