'Strange/Familiar' will be the final play to be performed at Didi's Playhaus in Lethbridge. L to R: Kathy Zaborsky and Liam Monaghan. (Photo: LNN)

By Sarah Jones

Theatre Outré to bid farewell to Didi’s Playhaus with one last show

Jun 13, 2023 | 2:10 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – After almost a decade of Theatre Outré performances at Didi’s Playhaus, the Lethbridge-based troupe will be moving on to a new performance venue, but not before one final show.

The queer positive space has welcomed playwright Liam Monaghan to showcase his latest auto-fictional work, titled “Strange/Familiar”. Monaghan explained that the play includes elements from his own life, while fictionalizing a story around his experience.

He said, “I was adopted, and a few years ago, I received a letter from my birth mother saying that her father had passed and that he wanted to leave something behind for me. I decided years later, when I was applying to do an MFA in Theatre Practice at the University of Alberta, that I wanted to see if I could write a play about this scenario.”

Monaghan added, “It draws on my experience as a person who grew up queer and adopted in southern Alberta, here in Lethbridge.”

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The show features Monaghan as himself, alongside Graham Mothersill and Kathy Zaborsky, who all share a long relationship with Theatre Outré.

While “Strange/ Familiar” will be the final show to grace the stage at Didi’s Playhaus in Lethbridge, Monaghan reflected on the work that has been done by Theatre Outré in the space to promote a vibrant and inclusive queer theatre community in Lethbridge.

He said, “This is where I kind of cut my teeth as a young theatre maker, they [Theatre Outré] produced the first play that I had ever professionally produced here in 2014.”

“It’s been kind of emotional to come back. The company is continuing, so it’s great to know that they will go on to do new work, but we’re sending the venue off into the night. So, hopefully, we’ll go out on a bang.”

Looking ahead, the director for “Strange/Familiar” and Artistic Associate for Theatre Outré, Brett Dahl, said that while performances at Didi’s are coming to an end, that does not mean Outré will be going away.

Dahl commented, “The future of them, [Theatre Outré] is very exciting.”

“I think they’re taking some time to think about new opportunities and they’re going to be programming things in new ways that aren’t weighed down in one venue, in trying to support it throughout the year. So, there’s going to be a lot more flexibility with what they do in the future.”

With the performance closing out Didi’s ahead of Pride Week in Lethbridge, Dahl expressed their appreciation for the venue that has proven to be so much more than a theatre, but also as an inclusive space.

Dahl said, “Theatre Outré and Didi’s Playhaus is really an anomaly. When it began about 10 years ago, there was no other space like this, and it was a lot more risky to be producing queer work.”

“To see Lethbridge come so far in the last decade means so much, and Theatre Outré and Didi’s Playhaus has allowed so many other queer artists to cut their teeth and queer organizations to grow and change, so this space was a huge catalyst, not just for Lethbridge but for southern Alberta.”

The curtain closes at Didi’s Playhaus after hosting a final performance on June 17, 2023. (Photo: LNN)

“Strange/Familiar”, the final show at Didi’s Playhaus, runs from June 15 to 17, 2023 and tickets can be purchased online at the Theatre Outré website.

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

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