Although the company eventually achieved notoriety and success in the 1980s as a queer theatre company, it was not founded with that intent. Buddies' original focus was on staged adaptations of poetry. However, during the 1980s, under the sole leadership of Sky Gilbert, Buddies developed a distinctly queer aesthetic and practice. The company articulated a vision for its work that was unapologetically political, fiercely pro-sexual, and fundamentally anti-establishment. In 1983, Sue Golding joined the company as its founding Board President—a post which she held until 1995, 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!" (1980), "The Dressing Gown" (1984), "Drag Queens on Trial" (1985), and "The Postman Rings Once" (1987), Don Druik's "Where is Kabuki?" (1989), as well as the Sex Tours of the Church-Wellesley community hosted by Gilbert's drag persona Jane.