Laughter and Loss is a collection of one-act plays, presented in collaboration by Nelson Musical Theatre and Nelson Repertory Theatre.

In Carmilla, adapted by David MacDowell Blue from the novel by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, the aftermath of World War II casts long shadows. Laura, a British woman living in Austria during the Nazi occupation, is questioned by Captain Martin of the British Army about her family’s ties to a ruthless SS officer. As the interrogation deepens, so too does a disturbing mystery surrounding Carmilla, a charismatic stranger once welcomed into Laura’s home. Who was she, and what was the true nature of their bond?

Sure Thing by David Ives shifts the focus to the comedy of human connection. Two strangers meet in a café and attempt, again and again, to navigate a conversation that might lead to love — or collapse under its own awkwardness. Each false start is punctuated by an offstage bell, resetting the moment in a playful examination of chance, timing, and communication.

In In the Tank by Rosemary Frisino Toohet, the stakes are literal life and death. Two lobsters sit in a seafood restaurant tank awaiting their fate. One has perfected a strategy for survival; the other questions the nature of fear, captivity, and humanity itself. Their humorous and philosophical dialogue asks who, ultimately, should be afraid of whom.

By turns unsettling, witty, and absurd, Laughter and Loss brings together stories that find humour in dark places and humanity in unlikely ones, revealing how laughter and loss often exist side by side.