For 11 days, The Belfry Theatre will transform itself from a renowned historical playhouse to an unassuming intersection where grief and humour cross paths. There, Naomi Snieckus and Matt Baram will be performing their play Big Stuff as part of the 2026 Spark Festival, granting audiences the opportunity to lower their walls and embrace community, even if just for a little while.
“Big Stuff is a show about all the things that are left behind when we lose someone close to us,” says Baram. “So, about five or six years ago, the last of our parents passed away, and when that happened, we both recognized just how much of a hole that left in our lives. But it also left us with a lot of stuff; the belongings of the people we lost, you know?”
Eventually, the married comedy duo began relaying their experiences to those around them and quickly realized just how common these circumstances truly were; how universal grief can be. So, as the dust began to settle on all their newly accumulated stuff, they started to write jokes about it.
“[There’s] this phrase [that] goes, ‘Tragedy plus time equals comedy,’” says Snieckus. “So with grief, if everybody sort of examines their griefiest of times, there’s usually some sort of comedy that lives right next door to it. And with some time, you’re usually able to see what that comedy is.”
Having this in mind, Sniekus and Baram chose to embrace the heartfelt (and sometimes nonsensical) stories of their audience members, elevating them from a room full of viewers to active participants.
“We always knew we wanted to have some sort of audience interaction or improv aspect to our show, because it’s sort of our jam,” says Snieckus. “I mean, before this show, we were always improvising; we’d improvise a full play in the style of, like, David Mamet or Tennessee Williams. So this is, I would say, about 90 percent written, and then we integrate the audience’s stuff—their stories—into our story. So it’s the kind of show you can see three times and see three different shows.”
The play makes a valiant effort to embrace the levity of loss and destigmatize the grieving process, blending comedy with whole-hearted sincerity.
“Everybody’s going to grieve,” says Snieckus. “Everybody’s got it in their hearts. So, why be so precious with it? I feel like if we cried in public more often, everybody would just be a little bit more compassionate to grief.”
These themes are expressed with sincerity and respect in the show, showcasing humour as the coping mechanism that it is. And while the challenges of grief can be deeply understood by anyone who has lost someone or something, Snieckus and Baram drive home the point that people don’t need to deal with those challenges alone.
“I think we want people to walk away feeling like it’s okay to talk about grief in public,” says Baram. “You know, we’re not trying to tell folks that we know anything more about grief than they already do. We’re not telling them how to mourn… But I think the show sneaks up on people.”
The play’s team also includes director Kat Sandler, who is currently shooting a series for Crave starring Hudson Williams here in Victoria.
“I think what makes [Big Stuff] so special is we found a very lucky combination of creative minds,” says Baram. “Like, that’s a secret sauce for us… And then to have Kat Sandler, who’s our director and co-creator, in our corner and [helping] us explore in a safe way, so that our relationship is never compromised… I think that’s what makes it special.”
Big Stuff
Various days and times, Tuesday, March 10 until Saturday, March 21
Various prices, Belfry Theatre
belfry.bc.ca