FEATURED
Foster Gareau is a queer montreal-based, French-Canadian poet, bibliophile, sentimentalist and recovering alcoholic. He is currently serving as Co-Editor-in-Chief of Soliloquies Anthology for the 2025/2026 academic term.
I don't like being a hard ass. I mean, I'm pretty good at it, but that doesn't mean I enjoy it. It's like that meme “I'm a strong, independent woman, against my will”. I understand that some situations call for firm, or even stern lines to be drawn;
In a Montreal theatre scene that can often feel burdened by predictability, a new production is busting down the doors with raw passion and an unbridled spirit. Étienne Lepage’s Kick, presented by Les Productions Syncope in partnership with the Rialto Theatre…
HOT SIX
I would argue that the Poet would generally be described as a lonely creature. It conjures the image of a tortured, tubercular young artist—or, through a more modern lens, a highly sensitive individual with a Moleskine in one hand and a cigarette in the other.
In the back room of N sur Mackay every Tuesday, something special is stirring up. And no, it’s not just the bar’s famous cocktails or the excellent whiskey tastings (though those are worth checking out). It’s Comedy on Mackay, a vibrant new weekly comedy show that’s quickly becoming a staple in Montreal’s comedy scene.
As the excitement and energy of Fringe season descends upon Montreal once again, Forget The Box is gearing up for our third annual Review Lottery. While you pour your heart, soul, time, and finances into crafting the most compelling FringeMTL production possible, we're diligently assembling our review team and finalizing our coverage plan for this year's festival.
“It’s impossible to live here [Pointe-Saint-Charles] and not get sucked into the culture,” says Jules Rodschat, who moved to the neighbourhood nestled in the borough of Le Sud-Ouest in Montreal in 2024.
We’re about to see first-hand the danger in both the (unfortunately rampant) belief that American politics don’t affect us Canadians, and in the denial of the political nature of art.
feature fridays
Jeffrey Weinstein started stand up six years ago as a change of life reflex to aging. As a senior comic on the spectrum, he struggles with emotional self-regulation and cannot hold back critiques of hypocrisy and social and moral injustices.
fernando belote (Fern) is a multidisciplinary bixa/queer artist and the president of DC-Art Indisciplinaire, the first artist-run center in Quebec exclusively supporting disability diversity.
Martin Saint was the lead-singer and second guitar player with Montreal's The Ember Glows. He is now pursuing his own solo project full time as well as other collaborations with various local musicians.
Patrick O'Reilly is a poet from Renews, NL, now living in Montreal/Tiohtià:ke. He is responsible for two chapbooks, A Collapsible Newfoundland (Frog Hollow Press, 2020) and Demographics Report November 2023 (Cactus Press, 2024).
Fringe Reviews 2025
Andrew Jamieson reviews Frankencéline, Cracks, MEAT FACTORY: MOMMY, Mr. Potts, and POZ for Forget The Box’s coverage of FringeMTL 2025.
Bailey B. Carter reviews Thespis, boKa, BRAIN, Creatures of Habits, and Mouse Trap! for Forget The Box’s coverage of FringeMTL 2025.
Candice Ann reviews 0z, Cheers!, Quickshot, ROBERT WILL SHOW YOU THE DOOR (Tales of Being Fired), and The Total Veronica Experience for Forget The Box’s coverage of FringeMTL 2025.
Dawn McSweeney reviews 100mLs or Less: Confessions of a Pat Down Expert, Evie and Alfie: A Very British Love Story, Harlem of the North, Heterochromia, and The Biscuiteater for Forget The Box’s coverage of FringeMTL 2025.
DJ Fraser reviews A Paisley Mind, Colonial Circus, Plan V: The Rise of Reverence, Shuttlecock, and The Heterosexuals for Forget The Box’s coverage of FringeMTL 2025.
Tara McGowan-Ross reviews Recant, A Love Unbecoming, Helena 2; or, The Island of Eden, Horse Girls, and Kill 'em with Kindness for Forget The Box’s coverage of FringeMTL 2025.
ARCHIVE
Well, here we go again. The Société de développement Angus (SDA) just announced a $160 million, 12 floor development project for the corner of St-Laurent and St-Catherine, the heart of Montreal’s historic Red Light District and current Quartier de Spéctacles.
Ever see the slacker classic Joe’s Apartment? That’s the one with Jerry O’Connell starring alongside some well trained cockroaches as a mid west boy in his first foray into quasi-manhood in NYC, conveniently landing a rent controlled apartment, subsequently discovering his landlord is trying to kill him off so they can tear down the building and put up a maximum security penitentiary.
It looks like the independent burlesque, fetish and drag artists who call the second floor of Café Cleopatre on St-Laurent their artistic home will be able to continue doing so, at least for a while.
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