“Basically, we’ll be wearing plaid loincloths,” says Benjamin Paley, better known by his stage name, James and the Giant Pasty. He’s tall and athletic and clutches a large plastic axe. Across the living room of Paley’s Bloor West home stands Patrick Whalen – also known as Patastrophic Sexapeel – with a very real chainsaw in his hands. The handsome duo is working on a very non-traditional interpretation of that quintessentially Canadian anthem, The Logdriver’s Waltz.

As the song reaches a crescendo, the two men stride towards each other, axe and chainsaw raised. But when they meet in the middle, instead of tearing each other to shreds, they drop their weapons and passionately kiss.

Paley and Whalen are members of Boylesque TO, Canada’s first and only all-male burlesque troupe. They’re rehearsing for their upcoming Canada Day show at Lee’s Palace, cheekily titled O’Manada.

“It’s kind of like a Canadian history lesson,” says Paley, the troupe’s director. “But through male stripping.”

Back in 2008, Paley decided it was time for the boys to get in on the burlesque renaissance that was sweeping Toronto. Today, the troupe does three big stage shows a year and up to 12 smaller gigs a month – everything from bachelorette parties to corporate gigs. Most members come from some sort of performance background, like theatre or dance.

“We figured if women can do it, why not men?” says Paley. He explains that male burlesque shares much with the original female version of the art form – it’s a theatrical, vaudevillian, often hilarious display of sexuality and the nearly nude human form.

The themes explored, though, can be different. For example, the upcoming O’Manada show will feature, among other things, “A scandalous retelling of The Hockey Sweater, a very naughty Mountie and a prancing prime minister.”

But just because Boylesque TO’s performers are male, that doesn’t mean there won’t be lace and pasties. Dew Lily, who Paley describes as the “superstar diva” of the troupe, regularly sheds his layers to reveal a snug pink corset and gartered stockings.

“Sexy can be so many things – funny, charming, thin or bigger,” says Paley.

Thanks to Boylesque TO, Toronto’s been introduced to a whole new kind of sexy.