SF's beloved live Bawdy Storytelling series could be coming to an end after 20 years, but there's a chance it could continue if enough people purchase livestream tickets to its sold-out Friday show or subscribe to its Patreon.
San Francisco's Bawdy Storytelling could be nearing its final curtain after 20 years, with founder Dixie De La Tour announcing this week that the long-running sex and storytelling series may end after its show at the Verdi Club this Friday, as Broke-Ass Stuart reports. There will also be one last scheduled performance in Seattle in December.
De La Tour said the show has struggled to recover its audience since the pandemic, with attendance at the Verdi Club, its home for most of the past two decades, continuing to dwindle. She also cited the city's worsening affordability crisis and people losing their jobs to AI as contributing factors.
According to Broke-Ass Stuart, Bawdy Storytelling was inspired by De La Tour's work as a party producer in San Francisco's kink community in the early 2000s. She said she noticed that people attending those events would readily share their personal experiences with her, prompting her to create a space where others could hear those stories, too.
“I didn’t think it was fair that I was the only one to get to hear these wild tales,” said De La Tour, speaking to Broke-Ass Stuart. She then began organizing a sex and storytelling potluck, with the important distinction that there would be no actual sex involved.
The series eventually expanded beyond San Francisco, with performances in Seattle, Los Angeles, and Chicago. As De La Tour previously explained to SFist, the shows bring together people from a wide range of communities, including polyamorists, swingers, kink enthusiasts, sex workers, furries, and other open-minded folks.
The performances feature real people sharing personal accounts of relationships, sexual adventures, and unconventional lifestyles, with De La Tour helping storytellers develop their material and creating an environment centered on self-acceptance and community. The shows also feature Bang-O, a version of bingo that encourages audience members to meet one another by finding people who match various unconventional experiences and interests.
Friday's performance, titled Cum Again? Stories of Near Misses and Second Chances, will be hosted by De La Tour at the Verdi Club, located at 2424 Mariposa Street.
The lineup includes Oakland-born comedian and NPR Snap Judgment Storyteller of the Year Don Reed, filmmaker, author, and performance artist Madison Young, award-winning cartoonist and educator Justin Hall, and professional and lifestyle FemDom performer Bufy DaDick Slayr. Oakland singer-songwriter Jefferson Bergey, who has performed with the series for a decade, will provide the music.
Although in-person tickets for Friday's show are sold out, fans can purchase livestream tickets.
A supporter wrote on the series’ Patreon page that if enough people purchase livestream tickets, De La Tour may be able to buy herself some time and find a way to continue the series.
Beyond the live performances, Bawdy Storytelling has an award-winning podcast, and fans can also support the series through its Patreon page, which provides access to the podcast as well as recorded performances. Subscriptions help fund the show's ongoing production and could help keep the live series going beyond Friday's performance.
