OUTHAUS

A drag queen and a mallard duck walk into a bar…

In the not-too-distant future of our concrete state, a prohibition on green space is in full swing. With every park, field, and grass verge bought up by the bourgeoisie, one dilapidated public toilet houses nature’s speakeasy.

Welcome to Club OutHaus - an illegal underground haven for joggers, dog walkers, and ducks alike to relish in the benefits of nature in the shadows, tended to by the club’s cabaret stars. The story follows Magnolia (the glamourous drag queen), Durt Bag (the club’s Drag King MC), Gina (an aspiring singer and starlet), Kristoff the Mallard Duck (a circus performer) and Sunny (the club’s bartender) as they work together to keep the club open for those who need it, and out of the hands of the Green Police.

OutHaus is a 5-hander play that explores the rapid decline of green space access in the North West in a tongue-in-cheek, high-energy cabaret that brings together the magic of nature with the power of people.

In 2020, Friends of the Earth released a report on England’s ‘Green Space Gap’ detailing the extent of green space deprivation in the UK – with many neighbourhoods in the North West ranking ‘E’ – a category reserved for areas that are most deprived of green space access. This project aims to reconnect communities in these category E areas with the magic of green space through a show that is fun, hilarious, high-energy and galvanising, equipping audiences with the tools to fight for access.

The play also explores sub-themes of the diminishing access to queer space and art space in the UK – with the OutHaus holding space for all three. It also seeks to break down anthropocentricity and hold space for the non-human stories taking place in our green spaces across the country, and the unique threats faced by our animal and insect friends.