Tough Guy

By Hayley Moorhouse

Tough Guy follows a group of friends as they navigate the aftermath of a shooting at Aria, a queer nightclub. They’re all nursing wounds, visible and invisible, and are thrown into further turmoil when their friend Emerson, a rising star in the independent film scene, comes back home to film a documentary about the shooting. How do we go on when the unthinkable happens? What does it mean to point a camera at a catastrophe? How does queerness endure, time and time again? 

Winner of the 2025 Westbury Family Fringe Theatre Award and the 2025 Alberta Playwriting Competition, Tough Guy is at once an excavation of a tragedy and a celebration of the tenacity of queer joy. It’s gripping, visceral, sometimes hilarious, sometimes heartbreaking, always unapologetic.

CAST

Mel Bahniuk
Michelle Diaz
Jasmine Hopfe
Marguerite Lawler
Autumn Strom

CREATIVE TEAM

Playwright/Producer - Hayley Moorhouse
Director/Choreographer - Brett Dahl
Dramaturg - Evan Medd
Stage Manager - Jess Haight
Production Manager & Sound Operator/Resident Technician - Liv Bunge
Set/Lighting Designer - Lieke den Bakker
Sound Designer - Kena León
Projection Designer - Ian Jackson
Lighting Operator/Resident Technician - Jadera (Jadey) Capaldo
Fight Consultant - Morgan Yamada
Accessibility Consultant - Brooke Leifso
CART Captioning Services - Katie Gallin

Persistent Myth Productions engages professional Artists who are members of Canadian Actors’ Equity Association under the terms of the INDIE 3.0.

Image Description: The word "Tough" is projected on a black background 3 times. The words are stacked one on top of the other, in all caps and a bright red neon font. In front of the words there is a distorted image of a person screaming. They have shoulder length black hair and are wearing black clothes. Their hands are in fists at their sides. 

Photo Credit: Brianne Jang

Image featuring Jasmine Hopfe

Accessible Performance Information:

• Tuesday, November 4 8PM: CART Captioned Performance
• Wednesday, November 5 8PM: CART Captioned/Relaxed Performance

CART (Communication Access Realtime Translation) captioning services will be provided by Katie Gallan. CART captioning provides real-time subtitles of dialogue and sound cues during live theatre performances, ensuring Deaf and hard-of-hearing Audiences, as well as those who benefit from text-based access, can fully engage with the performances.

Relaxed performances are specifically supported to be sensitive to patrons who might benefit from a more relaxed environment, including those with a wide range of social, sensory, or educational needs.

• Drama
• $26.00 inc $4.00 fee
• 1-November 8, 2025
• 90 minutes
• Fringe Theatre Arts Barns
• Backstage Theatre
• 14A
• 
  Contains: Adult Language/Content, Loud Music, Discussions of Drugs/Alcohol, Homophobic and Transphobic Violence, Gun Violence, Injury, Death, Strobe Lights, Haze and Loud Music.