New play to address the gentrification of Queen St. West
Varrick A. Grimes – BASICS Issue #19 – May/June 2010
The rising price of housing and commercial real estate in Toronto demonstrates a certain set of values taking hold of our city. These are the values that drive developers and decision-makers, and have an enormous and ongoing impact on communities in this city.
Exploring the theme of how traditional working-class neighbourhoods change over time into the “hip” and moneyed neighbourhoods, FIXT POINT theatre, in association with Theatre Passe Muraille, is creating a performance about the strip of Queen Street West between Bathurst Street and Spadina over the last 30 years. This performance, called “Tale of a Town,” will be playing above the Pizzaiolo at 609 Queen Street West between April 30 and May 16 (south side, just east of where the fire was in 2008).
Much of FIXT POINT’s research has been based around the music scene at the Cameron House, one of several pivotal music venues in the area. Painted on the wall behind the bar are the words: “This is Paradise”. It captures the sentiment of those who perform and frequent the bar. However, many of those interviewed as part of “Tale of a Town” feel that the spirit of the street started to disappear in the late 1980s, not long after the death-by-overdose of musician Handsome Ned. No one can pin down the exact time or reason for this change, but most agree that it certainly had taken place by ’98 when the Backstabbers were lamenting from the stage at the Cameron House about “Queen Street lost”.
When FIXT POINT’s interview crew pursued the question further, yet another question became apparent: why had the street become so famous in the first place? This was a once forgotten strip of Queen Street, as described by musician Sam Ferrera (a.k.a. Screaming Sam): “I remember… crossing Queen street on my bike when I was a kid (in the 1960s) and it was all junk shops, every third store was a junk shop – junk shops and greasy spoons.” How did this paradise of flotsam transform into the goldmine of rent and property tax that we see today? ?
There is a common belief that when artists – in this case, particularly musicians – gather in a neghbourhood it becomes a place to be, an exciting destination. However, what is overlooked is the nature of the neighbourhood into which the artists moved and found acceptance. It was a working-class, eastern European stretch with its greasy spoons, booze cans and cheap rent that provided a ripe, unregulated space for these artists. Over time, the street became known through word of mouth and then in print as a place to have fun and “be yourself,” which made it a desirable place to be. And if it is more desirable, it follows that money can be made on it, and both developers and venture capitalists begin to notice that.
This underutilized and loosely regulated working-class neighbourhood welcomed artists and the environment cultivated mixing and experimentation. For decades, it brought forth a bloom of fashion, music, visual art, and theatre that was exceptional in both quality and quantity. These values are in stark contrast to the neighbourhood that has come to replace it today. If it is still paradise, today it applies to consumption rather than creation.
So who really took the risk – who actually put out the venture capital for the new neighbourhood of chain stores and over priced condos? FIXT POINT’s “Tale of a Town” will delve into the history of Queen Street West and share their findings and personal interviews on stage. Don’t miss it!
Tale of a Town is playing between April 30th and May 16th. Tickets $10 in advance and $15 at the door, available at the Theatre Passe Muraille box office, 16 Ryerson Avenue, 416.504.7529, [email protected].
For more information please see: www.fixtpoint.com or thetaleofatown.wordpress.com.
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