Artistic Mandate:
Theatre Outré is unusual and unexpected, startling and subversive, bizarre and bold,
extravagant and evocative. Theatre Outré creates, produces, and presents theatre that
is queer in either form or subject, an alternative to what is offered in the mainstream. We strive to entertain and provoke audiences with a combination of new works or
reimagining classical canonical plays through an Outré lens.
Our programming and operations are motivated by the following guiding principles: We provide an uncensored, uplifting, and uncompromising voice to those in our community who are often considered to exist beyond the fringes of social propriety, sexual norms and gendered expectations.
Our goal is to make a concerted effort to employ Queer (2SLGBTQIA+) artists, artists
who choose to live, work or study in the Lethbridge area, and Albertan artists. We strive to make our work and the artists we hire known to communities outside of Lethbridge through tours and other forms of inter-community outreach.
What We Do:
Theatre Outré is a professional theatre company based in Lethbridge, Alberta, founded in 2013 by former Artistic Director Jay Whitehead. Theatre Outré is a leading outlet for alternative and Queer theatre in Alberta and the producer of the hugely successful Quaint, Quirky & QUEER Cabaret & Festival (formerly Pretty, Witty & GAY). Theatre Outré also produces a series of Improv shows through ImpromptOu and programs Drag
Shows and other Queer-focused events at the Owl and throughout the community.
Over the past decade, Theatre Outré has valued the development of new Queer stories and produced several world premiere original works including 333 by Jay Whitehead, Like Orpheus by Brett Dahl, How to Leave and Strange/Familiar by Liam Monaghan, UNSEX’d by Jay Whitehead and Daniel Judes, Castrati - An Electro Drag
Opera created by Aaron Collier, Richie Wilcox, Kathy Zaborsky and Jay Whitehead and The Princess Show created by Aaron Collier, Richie Wilcox and Deonie Hudson. Theatre Outré has also produced queer works by seminal artists, including Sky Gilbert, Dave Deveau, Wallace Shawn, Erin Shields, Maev Beatty, Greg MacArthur, Morris Panych and Jordan Tannahill and has co-produced productions with Theatre BSMT, New West Theatre, DaPoPo Theatre, and is a frequent feature at the International Dublin Gay Theatre.
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Theatre Outré is also the recipient of several awards and nominations, including Best Actor (Dublin Gay Theatre Festival for My Funny Valentine), Best Actress and Best Direction (Dublin Gay Theatre Festival, Montparnasse), Best Direction and Technical Production (Dublin Gay Theatre Festival, Like Orpheus), Best Original Writing (Dublin Gay Theatre Festival, UNSEX’d), Best production values (Dublin Gay Theatre Festival, UNSEX’d and Castrati - An Electro Drag Opera), Best of Fest (Atlantic Fringe Festival, UNSEX’d), The Lethbridge Pride Arts and Culture Award (2013 and 2016) and several Merritt Award nominations (The Princess Show).
