Mass for Shut Outs by Tanya Davis

Mass for Shut-Outs will be presented at the Souris Show Hall on July 23 at 7 pm and at the Victoria Playhouse on August 16 at 2 pm. This multidisciplinary performance plays with the shape of a Catholic mass to ask new questions, challenge old stories, and dismantle the gatekeepers’ fortress. 

Written and performed by Tanya Davis, with musical support from Carlie Howell, Mass for Shut-Outs is a rousing and poetic take on Sunday service, with orature, music, and opportunities for play and communion. It features verse dressed as prayer, monologue mimicking homily, singalong, and sombre reflection. 

Designed for those on the spiritual fringes who also seek meaning and connection—even while being historically shut out of, or disinterested in, traditional communities of faith, their liturgy, and their institutions—Mass for Shut-Outs is a shout out to anyone grappling with the complexity of faith, the inconsistency of awe, and the politics of organized religion. It is for atheists seeking connection, agnostics asking questions, and believers kindly curious about other people’s gods.

This production features mature content. It explores queer and religious trauma and institutional harms while addressing faith, politics, and spirituality.