A new Saskatoon theatre company with a unique and tragic origin story is making its debut performance this week.

Saskatoon actor, director, and stage manager Braden Moore says starting a production company of his own was always a goal, but he didn’t expect it to come to fruition so quickly.

“I had quite a bit of grad school debt that I had to pay off before I was going to be able to do this. Unfortunately, I lost my mom last year in May. With some of the money that came from both my parents, my mom and my dad are both gone now, I was able to start it a little bit earlier than I thought I was going to.”

From the bittersweet gift, Luminaire Theatre Works was born.

The company’s first performance will be a horror-comedy called The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals.

“It’s a campy horror-comedy musical. It’s got a really good following online…It’s funny, but it’s got a little bit of real-world material in it. The songs are well written, it’s just a great show, it’s a lot of fun,” Moore beams. “Really, the thing I hope people take away most is just a laugh.”

Moore says he has a lot on the go, but audiences can expect another show from Luminaire Theatre Works by next winter or spring.

The show will run between April 24 and 27 at Emrys Jones Theatre and tickets are available at ontheboards.ca.