In the summer of 2009, Cory Thibert was a quiet 19-year-old living in his parents’ basement. He was working as a server to pay his college tuition, spending time with his animal-loving girlfriend, and his band is hoping to play its first ever show. When the Ottawa Affordable Housing Unit informs his parents that they have to move out of the only home Cory has ever known, it sets in motion a series of events that uncover the truth about what has set his family apart, and forces Cory to find his voice…with a scream.

With laugh-out-loud humour and heartbreaking honesty, AWKWARD HUG transports us to the discomfort of navigating adulthood for the first time. Through masterful storytelling and intimate reflection, Cory explores what constitutes “normal” in our world, and how having two parents with disabilities forces his family outside those margins.

Artist Website

Save $5 with promocode ‘dream’ on early bird tickets until March 15. 

“BEAUTIFUL, GENTLE SOLO SHOW…BRING SOMEONE YOU LOVE.” – Georgia Straight

★★★★★ “AWKWARD HUG DELIVERS IN EVERY WAY” – Vue Weekly

Accessibility:
ASL interpretation is provided at the May 8, 8:00pm performance.

Credits:
Director & Stage Manager: Linnea Gwiazda
Writer & Performer: Cory Thibert
Dramaturgy: TJ Dawe
Sound Design & Composition: Gary Thibert | dumbpop (Matthew Ariaratnam)
Lighting Design: Keagan Ada-Jane Elrick
Photography/marketing design: LOG Creative Bureau
Produced by O Albatross (Cory Thibert & Linnea Gwiazda)

About the company:
O Albatross is Linnea Gwiazda (MFA, Interdisciplinary Studies – Simon Fraser University) and Cory Thibert (May Can Theatre & Wolf Pelt Productions). Coming from their respective backgrounds in dance and theatre with a focus on interdisciplinarity, together Linnea and Cory produce work which is a meeting of their individual and collaborative processes. Approaching darkness through play and laughter through the bittersweet, O Albatross presents performance and film in both workshop and “finished” stages, engaging with a community of independent producer-makers passionate about developing and discussing creative processes and experimentation.