‘Estate Sale’ being staged at Didi’s Playhaus this week

By Ry Clarke - Lethbridge Herald Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on March 22, 2023.

Herald photo by Ry Clarke Actors Cole Pryor, Stephanie Wickham, and Andrew Burniston stand over Maddie McKee's character during a run through of their production of "Estate Sale," set to open Thursday at Didi's Playhaus.

Theatre goers of Lethbridge will want to circle their calendars for the upcoming production of “Estate Sale,” running Thursday to Saturday at Didi’s Playhaus.

Telling the story of legacy and how we are remembered after death, “Estate Sale” looks at the afterlife through the objects we owned and how they become vessels for our memories after we have passed on.

The play is written by University of Lethbridge alumni Day Chase, and produced by TheaTricks Collective. It will run nightly at 7 p.m. with a matinée on Saturday at 2 p.m.

“Audiences can expect to see the life of a woman play out and how after death, her life still continues to make an impact,” said Katrina Violet, making her directorial debut with this piece.

“It depicts that there is no formula on how to leave a legacy and there is an inherent magic to being alive and to go through grief.”

Violet is also a ULethbridge alumni.

“My actors have been so willing to come in and play, making offers, and they make this whole process really exciting and alive for me,” said Violet.

“Watching it come together from our first read, where we were just a bunch of kids in my basement, to seeing it onstage with lights, actors, sounds, and music has been so great and exciting.”

“Estate Sale” is the first post-graduation show for many involved, showcasing their work as they embark on careers in the arts.

“It has been an absolute delight. This is such a solid group of people. Most of them I went to university with and I have worked with before. It is so pleasing to see us all graduated, or mostly graduated, and doing this work on our own” said Andrew Burniston, playing the role of Six.

“Starting from the ground up with a budget of zero-dollars, it has been a team effort. Everyone has been working together and finding creative solutions to tough problems, it has been a super rewarding process.”

The play uses actors to help embody its theme, as they transform themselves to showcase how everyday objects hold stories within. “It’s an ensemble piece and everyone’s characters shift between different lives and people. Like when people pick up objects in the show, they become someone else, becoming a memory, or the object, or a person involved with it. The characters are really flowing and every changing during the show,” said Burniston.

Tickets are selling fast, with Saturday’s evening show already sold out. To get your tickets go to theatreoutre.tickit.ca and click on “Estate Sale.”

“It has something for everyone. I think it rides that line between laughing and crying. It has its moments of pure joy and moments of sadness,” said Burniston. “You get to see the joy of life of someone who is gone, remember them, and embody them in the future.”