Zee Zee Theatre 2026/2027
There’s been a lot of death. It seems to be all around us. On the macro and on the micro. It will be four years, in October, since I lost my mom. And then a few months later it will be three years since I lost my theatre dad – the titan: Norman Armour. In that time I’ve lost my grandmother, my aunt, my cousin and more extended family. I’ve lost long-time friends and incredible collaborators and Queer heroes. Early in August we lost an inspiration to me, Yayoi Kusama, and we even lost Dolly and TIM in the same week!! There are wars and atrocities happening all over the world as well as right here on this occupied land. It’s hard to look at the news and not be despondent about all the ways in which humanity is fucking up. It’s from this place of deep grief and sadness that I approached the curation of our 19th season at Zee Zee.
Time feels short. It feels like we should say the things in our heart, we should do the things that we long to do, and we should connect to those loved ones who came before us. As always our season attempts to honour and preserve our queer history while struggling with notions of legacy and what we leave behind. Community participation and civic mindedness is at the root of all we do and I believe is a natural result of sitting in the dark experiencing stories with strangers live on stage in front of us.
Producing and directing Hedwig and the Angry Inch has been a dream of mine since I first saw the film in 2003. As we begin to find our way after the “pandy”, and in this time of such great upheaval and grief and loss, doing this show feels like a balm to my soul. It feels audacious and risky and hopefully audiences will flock to it. It’s something I have been too scared to attempt to do, until now. I feel the weight of all the Hedwigs who have come before ours and will come after, but I also feel a deep sense of YES. THIS. NOW. Hedwig is flawed and fabulous and desperately trying to find her place in an unjust world and she is needed now, more than ever. Her voice and her songs and her story inspire and provoke and hopefully build understanding and we are so excited to share our version of this timeless masterpiece.
Thank you for being a part of our community. Thank you for joining us for this season. Go do a thing that scares you, then call someone you love and tell them.
Big hugs,
Artistic & Executive Director
September 2026