an Uncomfortable Dinner Party
By Misha Nye
June 2, 2025
When the lights go down on this year’s Fringe, Mainline Theatre will officially close its doors after 20 years. An Uncomfortable Dinner Party, created by Medusa Theatre Co, is one of the last shows in the space, and I can’t think of a more important and joyful finale.
With this show, the title alone is enough to make hazy memories bubble to the surface. Unwelcome guests, too much wine, and a civil evening can quickly spiral into chaos. We’ve all seen it. Right?!
In this particular case, the stakes have been raised (through the roof). Natalie and Violet have a family member over for the first time since Nat’s transition, but when Violet’s ex rocks up unannounced, it all threatens to boil over.
This show will be brought to life by Medusa Theatre, founded by Alice Siregar and Casey Marie Ecker in 2023, a company that prides itself on telling unapologetic queer and trans stories through laughter and tears. An Uncomfortable Dinner Party follows on from their success at last year’s Fringe and it looks like a real treat.
Who’s coming to the party, I hear you ask? Well, Cassie Muse, Pavlo Tull and Carmen Wile are our lovely actors and entertainment for the evening. Keith Fernandez will direct the show, guiding us through the mayhem. Our host-supreme is of course Alice Siregar, writer, performer, and beating heart of the piece. Written by Alice and based on her own experiences, this is a show that combines comedy and catharsis in a heady mix, a bit like a cocktail that tastes sweet yet leaves you on the floor.
I recently spoke to director Keith Fernandez. We chatted about trans representation, Fringe, and Federal Era gowns. That’s right, as if you weren’t excited enough, this production will be in the style of an early 19th-century melodrama, a move that will crank up the drama even more. In fact, the very thought of modern slang paired with 19th-century gowns is enough for me: I’m sold.
An Uncomfortable Dinner Party is so firmly rooted in the now, with many references to the exclusionary, fear-mongering politics of the day. As Keith tells me,
‘if you’re coming from a world that’s already very difficult and politically activated towards queer and trans folks, to enter a theatre and be immediately seeing it can be challenging’
That said, adding a degree of separation can help with this. The exciting move to transpose the story to another period can be a powerful tool for queer and trans audiences. By taking the show to an era that is relatable, yet safely distant from our own, this can be a safer and more illuminating experience for all.
Ultimately, this move also seems to reflect Keith’s own philosophy, one that uses comedy as a ‘way in’ to the heart of the issue. ‘I lead with joy and humour as a way to speak about difficult things … as a way to digest it’, Keith tells me. After all, at the core of An Uncomfortable Dinner Party is a painful and all-too-real experience. It is transphobic politics masquerading as a lack of civility. It is heavy stuff. But how best to work through this? And what sort of shows do trans audiences want to see? I can’t put it any better than Keith does here:
‘If I can feel uplifted despite hearing stories that are difficult, I’m good’.
When Keith and Alice Siregar first discussed working together, they were in quick agreement that ‘this is a trans story, but this is not trauma porn’. Rather, it is a tale of love in the face of those that try to quash it, a trans tale with resonance for queer and lesbian relationships, motherhood, and more.
The centering of queer joy and resilience represents a welcome shift in the arts, in which trans stories are not just seen through the lens of pain, but in all their glorious or mundane multitudes.
Alice Siregar as Natalie.
The script was developed through Teesri Duniya’s Fireworks play development program. Thanks to this, I recently saw a reading of the show, which means I can attest first-hand to its touching, joyous, and penetrating nature. Many were crying, and more were laughing. If that isn’t a good sign, then I don’t know what is!
In a sea of summer festivals, the Montréal Fringe is a beacon for theatre lovers. The Uncomfortable Dinner Party puts trans stories front and centre at Mainline Theatre, for one final time. It promises to be a perfect closing act.
Showtimes of An Uncomfortable Dinner Party.
The Uncomfortable Dinner Party runs from the 4th to the 14th of June at Mainline Theatre.
An Uncomfortable Dinner Party
By Medusa Theatre Co.
June 4-14, 2025
At Mainline Theatre