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PORT DOVER, ON | June 29, 2026 – Lighthouse Festival’s 2026 summer season continues with a funeral unlike any other as Liars at a Funeral, written by Sophia Fabiilli and directed by Blair Williams, takes the stage as the fourth production of the season.
Running at Lighthouse Theatre in Port Dover from July 29 to August 15, before moving to Roselawn Theatre in Port Colborne from August 19 to 30, Liars at a Funeral is a fast-paced comedy packed with outrageous secrets, mistaken identities, family feuds, emotional chaos, and one grandmother with a truly unhinged plan.
At the centre of the story is Grandma Mavis, who decides the best way to bring her fractured family back together is to fake her own funeral. Naturally, things do not go smoothly. When a blizzard traps the family inside a funeral parlour, long-buried secrets come flying out, old wounds are reopened, and everyone quickly learns that grief, guilt, and gossip make for a very combustible combination.
For playwright Sophia Fabiilli, bringing the play to Lighthouse Festival is especially meaningful.
“My very first professional acting gig was at Lighthouse Festival in 2011,” says Fabiilli. “It’s a very exciting full-circle moment in my career to have Lighthouse Festival produce my play, and I can’t wait to come visit.”
The idea for Liars at a Funeral began with a deliciously theatrical question: what if someone faked their own death to force a family reunion?
“I really loved the idea of a grandmother faking her own death to reunite her family,” says Fabiilli. “I thought there was a powder keg of comedic potential there. I was also interested in writing a leading role for an older female actor because I think there aren’t enough of them.”
Director Blair Williams says the play offers audiences exactly the kind of theatrical experience that makes summer theatre so much fun, with a topic that isn’t always funny.
“A funeral home is the last place you would think to look for a second chance at life. But Death tends to focus priorities in a way that mere living doesn’t seem to, and Sophia Fabiilli’s hilarious Liars at a Funeral makes us laugh at how far a desperate mother can go to ensure her family has a second chance”
The production features five actors playing nine roles in a whirlwind of quick changes, unexpected reveals, and escalating funeral-home mayhem. The cast includes Charlotte Dennis as DeeDee/Mia, Deborah Drakeford as Evelyn/Leorah, Scott Farley as Quint/Cam, Murray Furrow as Frank/Wayne, and Melanie Janzen as Mavis.
Lighthouse Festival Interim Artistic Producer David Leyshon says the production is a perfect fit for audiences in Port Dover and Port Colborne.
“Liars at a Funeral is exactly the kind of comedy Lighthouse audiences love,” says Leyshon. “It has big laughs, wonderfully ridiculous circumstances, and a family so dysfunctional that most of us will leave feeling much better about our own.”
Leyshon adds that Fabiilli’s voice brings a fresh and exciting energy to the 2026 season.
“Sophia Fabiilli is a tremendous Canadian playwright with a gift for blending heartfelt truth with absolute comic madness,” says Leyshon. “This play is smart, fast, wildly entertaining, and just sentimental enough to remind us that even the messiest families are usually trying, in their own strange way, to love each other.”
With its blend of slapstick, secrets, and surprisingly tender moments, Liars at a Funeral is a gloriously over-the-top tribute to family, forgiveness, and the fine art of pretending everything is fine.
Tickets for Liars at a Funeral are available now. The production runs July 29 to August 15 at Lighthouse Theatre in Port Dover and August 19 to 30 at Roselawn Theatre in Port Colborne.
Tickets can be purchased at lighthousetheatre.com or by calling the Box Office at 1-888-779-7703.
Cast and Creative Team
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About Lighthouse Festival
Lighthouse Festival is a charitable organization devoted to the development and production of new and existing Canadian plays. The organization strives to be artistically excellent, support and encourage local and regional artists, and be a source of enjoyment and pride in local communities while promoting local tourism. Located in two beautiful towns on Lake Erie, our theatres operate on a central policy of hospitality, inclusivity, accessibility, and affordability for all.
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