Based in Toronto, Ontario, and founded in 1978 by Matt Walsh, Jerry Ciccoritti, and Sky Gilbert, Buddies in Bad Times is dedicated to "the promotion of queer theatrical expression".

Playing an instrumental role in shaping the direction of the organization, Some of the company's earliest commercial and critical successes included productions of Gilbert's Lana Turner has Collapsed!

An anthology of Beat poetry, Angels starred Walsh as Jack Kerouac and Ciccoritti as Allen Ginsberg, and was performed at The Dream Factory on Queen Street in Toronto in September 1978.

Shortly after Walsh and Ciccoritti stopped working with the company in its infancy, Gilbert moved its artistic direction toward the then emerging gay subculture of Toronto.

Buddies has become one of North America's premiere examples of the synthesis between so-called gay culture and modern theatre and has spawned the successful careers of dozens of Canadian actors, playwrights and directors.

Of all the companies involved in the venture, Buddies found an artistic and social connection to the work Nightwood theatre was doing and an alliance was formed that showed itself in six collaborative Rhubarb!

The community support for the company was at an all-time high; Strange Sisters reached a new kind of notoriety, and an explosion of activity under one roof like the city of Toronto had never seen.

Associate artists took on a larger role of shaping the subsidized work in the building and as a result there was tremendous success with Daniel MacIvor's Here Lies Henry and The Soldier Dreams.

Sky Gilbert's Ten Ruminations on An Elegy Attributed to William Shakespeare toured to glowing reviews in Great Britain with stops in London, Brighton, and Cardiff.

1997 marked the highly successful Martha Steward Projects and The Attic, the Pearls and Three Fine Girls and the resignation of founding artistic director Sky Gilbert.

During the 1997–1998 season, BIBT's profile rose with the premiere of Brad Fraser's Martin Yesterday and Diane Flacks' Random Acts, plus the 20th anniversary of Rhubarb!

Vaughan's camera, woman, the Toronto premiere of Live With It by Winnipeg playwright Elise Moore and the repertory run of Robin Fulford's Steel Kiss and Gulag.

Over the 2000–2001 season, BIBT explored the notion of a national queer repertoire by programming Vancouver-based artist Dorothy Dittrich's award-winning musical When We Were Singing, Winnipeg playwright Ken Brand's comedy Burying Michael, and PileDriver!

For the 2001–2002 season Buddies produced the largest production in its history with Kelly Thornton's ambitious Peep Show (Designed by Steve Lucas and Sherri Hay, with lighting by Michael Kruse), and also received eight Dora Mavor Moore Award nominations for da da kamera]'s production of In on It by Daniel MacIvor, and Damien Atkins' much lauded Real Live Girl, which won in the categories of Outstanding Male Performance and Outstanding New Musical.

Shows presented that season included James Harkness' rural drama Homage and Stem (created by Greg MacArthur, Ruth Madoc-Jones, Erika Hennebury, Clinton Walker), developed through Buddies' developmental programmes.

The 2002–2003 season also launched a naughty late night series in Tallulah's Cabaret dubbed the Friday Superstar Series, featuring the outrageous, ultra-queer talents of such folks as Sasha Van Bon Bon, Kitty Neptune, R. Kelly Clipperton, Pretty Porky and Pissed Off, Will Munro, Kids on TV, and Buddies' resident tranny punk Josh Schwebel.

Damien Atkins' Real Live Girl returned, as did a remount of Brad Fraser's Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love from Crow's Theatre.

[8] For 2004–2005, offered a season of theatrical works by Greg MacArthur (Snowman), Daniel MacIvor (da da kamera's Cul-de-sac), Mirha-Soleil Ross (Yapping out Loud), Marie Clements (Native Earth's The Unnatural and Accidental Women), Adam Bock (Theatrefront's Swimming in the Shallows), Darren O'Donnell (Mammalian Diving Reflex's Suicide-site Guide to the City), Ann Holloway (Kingstonia), Sky Gilbert (Cabaret Company's Rope Enough), and an adaptation by Judith Thompson (Volcano's take on Ibsen's Hedda Gabler).

Vaughan's The Monster Trilogy, Marie Brassard's Jimmy, the Scandelles' remount run of Under the Mink, Salvatore Antonio's heartfelt family drama In Gabriel's Kitchen and Daniel MacIvor's A Beautiful View.

Instead of full-scale productions, the company instead presented a series of works-in-development, which allowed the audience a unique opportunity to see artists developing non-linear work in workshop settings.

The season also included Keith Cole's sprinkler tap-dance from Mine in Wave One; Emergency Exit's moody forest of headphones as part of their installation, the evening news; and the Scandelles' Neon Nightz, an exploration of the relationship between strip clubs and the Church in Montreal in the 1990s.

Also developing work in ArtSexy2 were Edwige Jean-Pierre, Andrew Kushnir, Nathalie Claude, Small Wooden Shoe, Ed Roy, Kids on TV, Mikiki, 2boys.tv[9][10] and One Reed Theatre.

The set design for this multidisciplinary production completely transformed the theatre, and featured Keith Cole as the omniscient MC, burlesque from The Scandelles, Shane MacKinnon (the Beefcake Boys) and Stephen Lawson and Aaron Pollard (2Boys.tv of Montreal).

), a new musical from Sky Gilbert (Happy), an ultra-sexy modern dance programme (Art Fag), and the return of Hardworkin' Homosexuals' Cheap Queers.

Crow's Theatre, Mammalian Diving Reflex, The Scandelles, Necessary Angel, Native Earth Performing Arts, 2boys.tv, Small Wooden Shoe and Sky Gilbert were also included as part of the 2008–2009 season.

2008–2009 saw its share[clarification needed] of successes, but like so many art organizations during this season, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre felt increased pressure related to the economic downturn.

[14] Participating artists included The Scandelles (Neon Nightz), Nina Arsenault (The Silicone Diaries), The Independent Aunties (Breakfast) and Nathalie Claude (The Salon Automaton).

This year also saw a 25 per cent growth in attendance for the company's main stage shows and festivals which included sold-out runs of Blasted, The Silicone Diaries and Spin.

The season also included Sky Gilbert's A Few Brittle Leaves, a partnership with performance company Ecce Homo to present Of a Monstrous Child: a gaga musical and Studio 180's The Normal Heart.

The 2012/13 season also saw the completion of two large-scale initiatives: a three-year Audience Development Project and a strategic planning process that helped revise Buddies' mandate, and articulated a long-term vision for the company.