An Insider’s Guide to Toronto’s Most Vivacious Drag Shows

Toronto is a menagerie of art and theater, meaning the city is also bursting with latent drag talent. To guide you through the drag scene are the Diet Ghosts, Toronto’s quirky queens of the underworld. Comprising Prince Johnny, Lucinda Miu, Kitty Creature, Lady Kunterpunt and Aura Nova, the Diet Ghosts share the lay of the land, mapping out can’t-miss performances by their peers, venues they love performing in and shows they hit on their nights off. If you haven’t ventured into the city’s drag world before, consider this an invitation.

If you notice much of this list veers westward, it’s because the city is divided into two camps: The Village and the West End. The Village has been a capital of queer culture for decades, providing a safe, welcoming space for people of all creeds since the 1960s. Bars such as Crews & Tangos and Woody’s are stalwarts of the drag scene, regularly bringing in some of the most revered queens in the city.

The West End is home to a new guard. Many of the performances here are quirky, kooky and veer away from glamorous tropes of mainstream drag. “When I do perform in the village,” explains West-Ender Lucinda Miu, “you can’t hide the fact that I’m a weirdo! Once, I did ‘Maneater’ by Nelly Furtado; I started sniffing through the audience to find someone to eat.”

While this separation may sound like the beginning of a West Side Story turf war, both communities cheer each other on. As Aura Nova, of Diet Ghosts, explains, “When we go to The Village, we get to see what they’re doing, and they’re always so supportive. And having Village queens on our turf is always fun!

“The differences are in performance structures. In The Village, they focus on performances. In the West End, we put out ideas; we focus on a singular theme throughout the night rather than perfecting a series of songs. One isn’t better than another. There are benefits of both, and there’s a lot of mutual respect.”

So, off you go to one of the below venues where you’ll find bearded drag kings, cryptid monsters, campy queens and queens who just crawled out of a nightmare. This list will lead you to Diet Ghost’s must-see performances in their ‘hood, from amateur strip nights to Drag Race riffs to boozy movie marathons.

With their shows, Halal Bae and Babia Majora, a gender performer, give people of color performance opportunities and spaces to thrive in the community. They don’t have set shows, but keep eyes on their Instagrams for upcoming events. Past parties included an LGBTQ Middle Eastern party, Drag Race viewing parties and trans and binary-centric talent showcases. Whatever the event, the focus is on extending the drag world. “It’s not just queens anymore – there are many kings and gender performers and clowns and flower performers,” explains Kitty.

“You could call Yovska a queen, but he’s a drag monster. A drag cryptid,” touts Aura. “He is always in crazy, crazy looks!” Yovska’s looks live in the realm of gory couture. Masks, claws and nightmarish silhouettes are the norm – as if ripped out of a Guillermo del Toro flick. Yovska has been cast on the upcoming season of The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula, coming to small screens across the world. “The show is the evil monster sister to drag race. Instead of lip-syncing for their life, contestants get buried alive – they get bugs thrown at them and needles in their skin. It’s insane!”