Lyndsay Labreque dancing along in How to Make Electronic Music on March 28, 2023. (Photo: LNN)

By Sarah Jones

Theatre Outré reflects on 10 years of boundary-pushing performances in Lethbridge

Mar 29, 2023 | 3:23 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – A trailblazing theatre company in Lethbridge has been bringing queer voices to centre stage for the past decade.

Theatre Outré is celebrating its 10-year anniversary in 2023 and plans to host its Quaint, Quirky & Queer Cabaret & Festival in April to commemorate the milestone.

Formerly the Pretty, Witty and Gay Festival, the alternative productions performed at Didi’s Playhaus provides Southern Albertans with an avant-garde option to consume theatre.

The group provides an opportunity for individuals who often identify beyond sexual norms, gender expectations, or social propriety to perform art in ways that is not currently offered in Lethbridge.

Outré can be defined as bizarre, unusual or violating convention or propriety as the troupe looks to entertain, enlighten, challenge and provoke their audiences.

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Co-Founder Jay Whitehead explained that when Theatre Outré was started in 2012, he never expected that it would continue to thrive 10 years later.

“When I first came to Lethbridge it was in 2004, that’s when I started the first queer cabaret because I felt like we were lacking representation here in Lethbridge at that time.”

“I remember I would go to gay dances, and they would be out of town, which is great that we had a space to do that, but it felt hidden. It’s been one of our goals to make queerness more accessible and more visible here in Lethbridge, and I think we’ve done that.”

He went on to applaud the Lethbridge Pride Festival and OUTreach Southern Alberta for doing great work expanding inclusivity within the community.

The Quaint, Quirky & Queer Cabaret & Festival will run for two weeks with showcase events taking place throughout downtown, with two feature shows, How to Make Electronic Music and No Way Out, running between April 6-22, 2023.

How to Make Electronic Music is a combination of live music and technical elements that blends visual and audio mediums. The show is coming off a sold-out run in February. Deonie Hudson, Interim Artistic Director for Theatre Outré, co-created the show alongside Lyndsay Labreque, better known as DJ Rabbyt.

Hudson said, “Theatre Outré has been a part of my life for a very long time and Lyndsay has also been involved for quite some time.”

Hudson went on, “It’s really exciting that little old Lethbridge has made a place that we’ve been able to thrive and create amazing different kinds of theatre for years and years. To get a chance to do this full festival and celebrate all the different kinds of art that this city has is really exciting for us.”

As for No Way Out, the improvised dramatic show has toured across Alberta and Saskatchewan since 2016 and focuses on an ever-changing challenge. Each show is a point-in-time, which means the production is never the same.

Ash Thomson and David Gabert, actors in No Way Out, expressed the excitement and authenticity that improvisation can have when creating and exploring different scenarios.

Gabert explained, “As a performance piece, it’s really interesting to dive into some of the topics that we don’t want to have conversations about in society.”

Ash Thomson and David Gabert improvised a scene for No Way Out on March 28, 2023. (Photo: LNN)

Thomson added, “We talk as a society a lot about mindfulness, being present, and self-awareness and you’re in the thick of it when you’re doing any sort of improvised theatre. I think the audience picks up on that energy and it just becomes this very sort-of cohesive experience where everyone is moving together in flow with this adventure of not really knowing what’s going to happen.”

Tickets for both shows, and other events happening during the Quaint, Quirky & Queer Cabaret & Festival can be found online at the Theatre Outré website.

Read more at LethbridgeNewsNow.