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Photo of Cynthia Koppe by Diana Agunbiade.

Make Banana Cry

By Andrew Tay + Stephen Thompson
January 14 - 17, 2026
7:30 PM nightly at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, 12 Alexander Street (VIEW MAP)

Accessibility Info: Buddies in Bad Times Theatre is fully accessible to audience members, and the cabaret stage is also accessible to performers. The performance venue offers seating at floor level. If you have any seating requirements, please inform the box office staff by email: tickets@buddiesinbadtimes.com or by phone: (416) 975 – 8555.

The entrance is accessed by ramp for all patrons. The washrooms are located on the lower level, which can be reached by a lift. The lift requires an attendant due to the manual door function and the need for a key to use. Some stalls are equipped with bars and provide extra space, and we also have a single-user, universal washroom.

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A Toronto Dance Theatre production in partnership with Buddies in Bad Times Theatre

“banana” isn’t just slang — it’s a symbol of the performance, erasure, and reclamation of self.

Choreographers Andrew Tay and Stephen Thompson are the co-creators of Make Banana Cry, a genre-defying work merging runway aesthetics with contemporary performance and dance. 

In an attempt to shake off the weight of representation and fetishization, an international cast of six East Asian artists critique, parody, and protest stereotypes of “Asian-ness.” Slipping between the codes of couture and contemporary art, straddling spectacles of consumption and entertainment, Make Banana Cry is an impressive demonstration of physicality, an unrelenting examination of Western xenophobia, and an ingenious show of humour and wit.  Presented for the first time in Toronto after critically acclaimed performances at Impulstanz (Vienna), Portland Institute of Contemporary Art and Festival TransAmériques (Montreal).

Production Credits

Co-created and choreographed by Andrew Tay + Stephen Thompson
Performers: Francesca Chudnoff, Hanako Hoshimi-Caines, Cynthia Koppe, Sehyoung Lee, Andrew Tay, Stephen Thompson
Visual Artist + Installation by Dominique Pétrin

Producer: Romane de Montgrand
Technical Director: Emerson Kafarowski

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