This years Quaint, Quirky and Queer festival has a cornucopia of good times as the cornerstone of Theatre Outré’s tenth anniversary, April 6-22.

 So to celebrate, Theatre Outré welcomes a variety of acts, several old freinds and two major productions happening at the Owl Acoustic Lounge, Good Times Comedy Club and Did’s Playhaus.

 

Theatre Outré has been hosting Quaint, Quirky and Queer for over 20 years even before Theatre Outré was founded to showcase Lethbridge artists, particularly LBGTQ artists.

“The space that Theatre Outré has created in Lethbridge is really, really rare and really, really precious,” said actress Ash Thomson.

 

“I know, for myself, having this community of people has sort of given me strength to challenge some of those really common social narratives.”

 

Quaint, Quirky and Queer has evolved from a one night cabaret/ variety show to a two week long festival this year.

 

“There will be something happening almost every day. I think we only have three dark days,” said David Gabert, who has been involved with Theatre Outré since 2016. He stars with Ash Thomson in improvised tragicomedy “ No Way Out.”

 

There are two feature presentations bookending this year’s festival. “How to Create Electronic Music” is a theatrical music experience coming back to Theatre Outré after a sold out run in February created by Deonie Hudson and Lyndsay Labreque, aka  DJ Rabbyt .

“We both came down with Covid over the Christmas break and we created it then,” Hudson said.

“ How to  Create Electronic music” runs April 6-8, 2023 at  8 p.m. every night at Didi's Playhaus - 517a 4th Ave S.  It is about music lover Megan who has decided she wants to learn how to create music and be a DJ. She orders Rabbyt's course to learn the ways of her musical hero. Rabbyt guides Megan through the five steps to becoming a musical mastermind. 

 

“ It’s very visceral,” Gabert said.

The show combines several of Labreque’s passions— electronic music and  multi-media.

“The screen is in front of my and I’m performing behind it,” Labreque said.

 

“ It’s about  electronic music, but it’s also about the arts as a way of life,” Hudson said.

“I found a way to blend acoustic and electronic instrumentation, and smash it together with my background in visual effects to create an exciting, emotional and perhaps a slightly educational experience," Labreque said.

“ No Way Out” is a popular improvised tragicomedy created by  local improv troupe Impromptu.

 

“ It”s different every night. We take audience suggestions at the beginning of the show  and choose one. But the audience doesn’t know which one we’ll be doing,” he said.

 Gabert and Thomson.

 

The cast features David Gabert, Ash Thomson, Erica Barr and Greg Wilson plus special guests each night including Jay Whitehead, Katie Fellger and more to be announced.

“It is about two siblings who have a conversation that there is no way out of,” Gabert summarized, noting they have explored a variety of  serious topics in previous productions of the show.

 Gabert and Thomson improvised a scene about a discussion between the brother and the sister about the sister coming out to their dying father at the media call for the event..

“ But that won’t be part of  the show,” Gabert said. 

“That’s not my story. We‘re actors, so it means a lot to tell a story like that,” Thomson said.

But the 75 minute long shows  aren’t all serious. 

 

“ The first 25 minutes are about wold building and getting to know the characters and making them likeable and relatable,” said Thomson, adding there is usually a lot of comedy in the tragicomedy.

 “ No Way Out” runs five times, April 18-22 to wind up Quaint Quirky and Queer.

 

There are many events happening between “How to make Electronic Music” and “ No Way Out.”

 

“We have a lot of collaborations this year,” Gabert said, noting they are working with the AFCA to present their first French language presentation.

 

There will be a staged reading, April 12 in Didi’s Playhaus of Simon Boulerice’s play “ a toujours aimé danser”  starring Edmonton actor Vincent Forcier in its original French directed by local artist Gabrielle Houle. 

 

The cornerstone of the event and the longest running  event— the Quaint, Quirky and Queer cabaret, formerly Pretty, Witty And Gay has been going on for 20 years in Lethbridge.

 Drag queens  Dunkin Pleasure (Katie Fellger)  and Sophie Wright will be hosting this variety show of song, skits, and much more at the Owl Acoustic Lounge, April 15. They are still looking  out or new acts, so to truly reflect the voices of the community, there is an open call for performers of any discipline who would like to share a five-minute act as a part of the 

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Impromptu is performing a special edition of their always popular Drunk Improv at Good Times, Thursday, April 20.

 

There will be a drag story-time for a recommended 16 plus in  Didi’s Playhaus with  Theatre Outré veterans Aaron Collier and Richie Wilcox who reprise their drag characters Princess Edward and Abel T. Suckizone who reflects on Theatre Outré’s 10 year history. I Wanna Be With You Everywhere - An Evening with Princess & Abel is

Thursday, April 13 at 8 pm in Didi's Playhaus.

More information and ticket prices are available at https://www.theatreoutre.ca/upcoming

— By Richard Amery, l.A. Beat Editor