Peterson Toscano

Peterson Toscano is a theatrical performance activist using comedy and storytelling to address social justice concerns. He spent 17 years and over $30,000 on three continents attempting (and failing) to change his same-sex orientation. He is the author of one-person comedies including, “Queer 101—Now I Know My gAy,B,C’s” and “Doin’ Time in the Homo No Mo Halfway House,” which chronicles his two years in “gay rehab” in Memphis, TN. His created the political comedies “The Re-Education of George W. Bush—No President Left Behind!” and “I Can See Sarah Palin from my Window!” With his play, “Transfigurations—Transgressing Gender in the Bible” Peterson has delighted diverse audiences and received high praise for his aground-breaking, genre-bending, gender blending Bible scholarship wrapped up in a performance.

An American Quaker, Peterson has performed often in the UK at religious venues and universities including GB (2006, 2007,) the 2008 Lambeth Conference, Cambridge University, the European Forum for Lesbian and Gay Christians, Ikon, and Oxford Friends Meeting. He has been featured in the Guardian, BBC Radio, the Times of London, The Independent, and the Church Times, and he helped produce and appears in the recent documentary film, “This is What Love in Action Looks Like.” Peterson lives in Amish Country of Central Pennsylvania, USA with his husband, the South African memoirist, Glen Retief.