Scratch Night: A New Performance Testing Ground

A night of brand-new experiments by local queer performers. Scratch Nights – staples in UK performance scenes – allow audience members to be embedded into how artists develop new works. Each performer is given 15 minutes of stage time with just two requirements: 1) A performance. 2) A discussion with the audience.

Hosted by Louie Lang Norman. Featuring: J McLaughlin, Plastik Theatriks, Maxwell Gallagher/Ghost of Judith, Keithsonic, Regan Chevalier-Shortt

When Louie first started making new performance work in Victoria, he asked around: “Hey, where is the local scratch night? I’d love to get some audience feedback on an idea I’m playing with!” He received unanimously blank looks.

Scratch nights are low pressure environments in which artists are encouraged to experiment, play, take risks, and try new material in front of an audience of fellow performers and performing arts lovers. Want to see the earliest stages of new local works in development? Want to support experimental work where failure is celebrated just as much as success? Scratch Night is for you!

Four artists come prepared with a performance to share, and questions to ask the audience after. Audiences come prepared with a spirit of curiosity and a desire to be part of the creative process.

Low tech, low pressure, highly generative. From emerging cabaret acts, to new script readings, to interdisciplinary experiments and beyond, a Scratch Night is a testing ground that supports artists in the creation of new work while valuing the importance of audience feedback as part of that process. Feedback is delivered by questions exchanged live between the artists and the audience, or can be sent anonymously afterwards via online form.

 

About the Artists

Louie Lang Norman (he/him) is a trans performance artist, drag queen and occasional independent scholar based on unceded Lekwugen Territory, Victoria BC. He was Intrepid Theatre’s OUTstages 2024 artist in residence, where he remounted his solo show A Car Crash, and in 2025 his drag persona – Ket Bush – co-created experimental drag-theatre show Mouthfull with collaborator Vivian Vanderpuss. He has been presenting work at performance festivals in the UK and Canada since 2015 (including SPILL International Festival of Performance, UK; Runnymede International Literary Festival, UK; DISKURS, Germany; INKONST, Sweden; OUTstages, Canada), and his most recently published academic work – on Fantheatre – can be found in Theatre Fandom: Engaged Audiences in the Twenty-First Century (University of Iowa Press, 2025). Louie has a BA in Performance Arts (Royal Central School of Speech and Drama) and a MA in Poetic Practice (Royal Holloway).

J McLaughlin (they/them):

J McLaughlin has been enthralling, offending & occasionally unnerving audiences for over 25 years. They have been called “hilarious”, “legendary”, & “scary good”.

Plastik Theatriks:

Plastik Theatriks is a physical theatre company based in Victoria and is conformed by Regis Ríos, from Mexico (she/her), and Lore Andrea, from Chile (she/her), both co-artistic directors. Under Plastik Theatriks, Regis and Lore strive to explore their ideas with no judgement, often resulting in surreal, ridiculous and unnerving scenes. Plastik Theatriks uses elements of clowing, masks, puppetry, objects and choir, as seen in their shows “Uno, dos, trees” and “Popurrí”. Both plastiks are thrilled to be part of the first Scratch Night!

Maxwell Gallagher (He/They) and Ghost of Judith (She/It):

Dramatic, dumb, devilish. What do these things have in common? I don’t know, I’m not a scientist. Drag queen by night, disappointment by day. Maxwell is known for being around sometimes, wearing shirts that are funny, and being very mentally ill.

Keithsonic:

Keithsonic is a staple in the scene. Actually not a staple. More like a pile of wet hot glue that is stuck to everything around.

Regan Chevalier-Shortt (they/them):

Regan’s been performing in some way or another in unceded Victoria for over 15 years, and flops and plops around on stages unexpectedly through acting, improv, drag, burlesque, music, puppetry, and even baking. If you’re ready for a thing to happen, then they can at least promise you that, yes, a thing will happen. Then it will have happened, and really, that’s what life is like sometimes. Right?

 

Accessibility

Sensory warnings: Loud noises, sudden loud sounds, audience interaction/participation

Content warnings: Adult language, adult content, partial nudity

 

Free Youth OUTreach Tickets

This Youth OUTreach initiative provides a limited number of free tickets to HOMO: A Queer Cabaret, as well as shows at our 2025 OUTstages Festival, for self-identified LGBTQ youth and allies under 25. Intrepid Theatre believes strongly in creating an accessible environment for queer youth to experience the festival, to engage with the work and artists presented at OUTstages, and to cultivate a new generation of theatre-goers and theatre-makers.

To book your Youth OUTreach ticket, select the show, scroll through tickets types and select “Youth OUTreach Ticket”. There is no promo code necessary. You can then click “add to basket” and proceed to checkout fully, as if you were purchasing a full-price ticket.

 

Pay-What-You-Ten Tickets: 10% of tickets are available for $10, in an effort to make theatre more accessible to equity-seeking groups, newcomers, artists & arts workers, and anyone for whom cost is a barrier. We believe the arts have something to offer everyone and we want to reduce financial barriers to our programming. No registration, forms to fill out, or questions asked. Just select the PWY10 ticket when booking online.

Arrival at the venue: The doors will open 30 minutes ahead of showtime. Masks are welcomed inside the theatre and available at the box office. Refunds: If you are not feeling well or have any symptoms, please stay home to help keep everyone safe. We are able to discuss refunds on a case by case basis due to health reasons before the performance. Please contact tickets@intrepidtheatre.com. We are unable to arrange refunds after a performance has occurred.