How do we make art about trauma? The question is age old, and the answer, ever evolving, is often best expressed by the art itself — the paintings, movies, novels and performances that try to communicate how a traumatic event can change a person’s life.
It’s in this vein that Tough Guy, the new play running from October 28 to November 8 at Fringe Theatre Adventures, opens on the funeral of someone killed in a mass shooting at a queer nightclub. From there, it follows a group of friends, many of them also survivors of the shooting, as they try to process a collective trauma — together and alone — and grapple with irreversible loss.
Written by Hayley Moorhouse and directed by Brett Dahl, the play oscillates between past and present, juxtaposing the characters’ lives before and after the shooting, and creating a potent contrast when the most joyous moments of their lives collide with the most agonizing.
Dahl says that the play is about how we talk and make art about traumatic events. “Ultimately,” they say, “it’s a journey towards joy and community in the wake of tragedy.” We talked to the Edmonton director about creating art about the present and the role of art in times of tragedy.
Edify: How did you come to direct the play?
Dahl: When I was in my master’s program at University of Alberta, in 2023, I directed an actor in a production, Hayley Moorhouse. They happened to be in a local program called RISER, hosted by Common Ground Arts, which is a launching pad for emerging playwrights and producers. They already had the idea of a play dissecting what happens after a shooting in a queer nightclub, and asked me if I want to come aboard as director.
Edify: The show deals with contemporary subject matter.
Dahl: What’s fascinating to me — and important and terrifying — is that the play is more relevant today than it was when Hayley had the idea for it. In our first workshop two years ago, some of the trans rights issues — that are now our reality — were just being proposed.
But Hayley is also not telling an audience how to feel or what to feel. The play is really exploring five different individuals’ experiences in relation to that trauma. And it isn’t didactic, which I love, because the characters’ flaws are very relatable and real. The play is kind of gritty and kind of angry and tender all at once. It’s also very funny. I should say that — it’s a tragedy, but it’s also hilarious.
Edify: It seems very powerful that the shooting itself isn’t represented onstage — that this singular event that’s so often referred to is this black hole in the middle of the play. And instead what you are watching are the same people on two sides of this event.
Dahl: There’s a really amazing line that Hayley has written about how so often in tragedy we focus on the facts of what happened. But we forget that the memories of joy and good that came before them are also true.
Edify: What do you think the role of art is in moments of trauma and tragedy?
Dahl: I’ve always felt like I’m not trying to solve anyone else’s problems, but I’m drawn to art to help solve my self. I’m not looking for that play to tell me what to do, but when I see myself reflected on stage, my flaws and my faults, I feel alive and awake. This play does that in many different ways. I don’t feel a responsibility as an artist, but I feel like art is a way of becoming a better human, and hopefully that translates on stage and speaks to others.
Edify: I was just reading a David Berry’s book How Artists Make Money and How Money Makes Artists, and one of the things he argues is that art is at its most profound when it allows us to understand each other. I think it’s kind of what you’re getting at — both being seen and being able to see that from someone else’s perspective.
Dahl: Sometimes dealing with something very specific that has no relation to anyone else’s life is actually very universal. The first play that I ever wrote was dealing with a personal tragedy that was very specific — sexual assault in a queer nightclub. The message of that show was: We have to look at the pain in order to move through it. And ultimately it was about healing. But I wasn’t trying to tell anyone how to do it. I was just hoping the play would meet people where they are and connect on some base feeling.
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Tough Guy runs from Oct. 28 to Nov. 8 at Fringe Theatre.
