A Public Display of Affection from Jonathan Wilson

20 Mar 2025 -Photos by Sam Moffatt 

Jonathan Wilson is a man of my generation. We both came to Toronto in the late '70s. We have both seen a lot. Now, he’s taking what he saw and spinning it into a brand-new solo show called A Public Display of Affection. 

“Pre-pandemic I was asked to speak at an event as a ‘queer elder’ and I didn’t know how to unpack that,” he told me over Zoom. “Does an elder tell the unvarnished truth, or do I do a show full of slogans? So this show is about me trying to decide what I should be, and then deciding to tell them . . . well, not everything, but a lot.”

And there is a lot to tell. Wilson began his career in the early '80s. He was a successful actor from the very start, nabbing roles on various TV shows. He also created the one-man show My Own Private Oshawa, won a Dora Award for his role as Timon in The Lion King, has done a lot of voice work in animation, and at Second City co-created the legendary improv show Not To Be Repeated. He’s one of those rare actors who has made a living doing what he loves best. So, what’s the new show, with that provocative title, all about? 

“What is too much of a public display of affection?” he muses. “Holding hands? Is that a political act or a provocation? I talk about Hanlan’s Point and how we have become blasé as we walk over people having sex on the beach. I mention Pimblett’s, where I worked, and maybe only three people in the room might remember it. The play is also about walking around the Hooker Harvey’s and hanging out with the guys on Jarvis Street. They were so funny. Police harassment was a daily thing. We were just little queer ragamuffins. I think you could describe me as pre-rainbow. The show is about my idea of a queer life. Sometimes a straight audience just gasps. I’m fine with that.”

Because he is so talented at two jobs, I ask Wilson if he sees himself as more of an actor or as a writer. “An actor can hide in plain sight on stage. But as a writer, what do I actually think? I’m happy doing both, though I really love performing as it doesn’t come as easily to sit in a room doing the writing. Someone at Second City once told me that we have to assume that the audience is smart, and I think it was Tom Stoppard who said ‘Laughter is the sound of the audience congratulating themselves.’ So although I love doing both, I guess I’m ultimately more of a performer than a writer.”

I for one can’t wait to see this show. For me it could be an exercise in nostalgia, bringing me back to an era when I was a bit naive but anxious to embrace everything. For younger viewers, it is a chance to learn something of value from a ‘queer elder’. Either way, it sounds like a blast - both from the past, and from the stage.