Review: BIG STUFF at Great Canadian Theatre Company

Great Canadian Theatre Company’s second presentation of its 2025-2026 season is Baram & Snieckus’s Big Stuff, fresh off highly acclaimed runs in Montreal and Edmonston. Big Stuff, directed by Kat Sandler, who also co-created the show, is a production that thrives on unpredictability, weaving together humour and poignancy in equal measure. At its core, the play explores the emotional weight of the objects we hold dear; sometimes the most innocuous of items, like an egg slicer or a crochet hook, hold extraordinary memories. Big Stuff’s narrative is less of a scripted show and more of a real-life conversation piece. The play’s actors, married co-creators Matt Baram and Naomi Snieckus, invite the audience to share stories about their own “stuff”, including why the item is important to them and whose memory it evokes. The interaction between the actors and participants is optional but ensures that no two performances are ever the same.

Big Stuff’s humour is gentle and disarming, often emerging from the quirks of personal anecdotes, while the poignancy lies in the universality of loss, love, and nostalgia. One moment you’re laughing at an eccentric tale of a cherished toaster (or seven); the next, you’re moved by the quiet grief buried in a red plaid jacket. This balance gives Big Stuff emotional depth without becoming overwhelming or feeling contrived.

The lighting design, by Emilie Trimbee, acts almost like a silent narrator, shifting the focus between the actors and the audience. At times, the stage glows warmly, spotlighting Baram and Snieckus’ back and forth banter; at others, the house lights rise just enough to draw the audience into the shared intimacy of storytelling. This reinforces Big Stuff’s belief that memories are communal and that theatre can be a space for collective reflection.

Michelle Tracey’s stage design includes a backdrop of stacked packing boxes in various sizes, interspersed with a smattering of “stuff”. The rest of the staging is deliberately minimalist to allow the objects and their stories take centre stage.

Baram and Snieckus’ performances are impressive in their level of adaptability, and they have a remarkable ability to pivot from light-hearted banter to moments of quiet empathy. Rather than merely delivering lines; Baram and Snieckus are like facilitators of dialogue, responding in real time to the stories shared by the audience and incorporating them into the overall narrative, which requires a combination of improv skills and emotional intelligence.

Ultimately, Big Stuff is more than just a play; it is a shared act of remembrance. When we tell the stories of our “stuff”, whether it is an antique sewing machine or a collection of nutcrackers, we keep those we’ve lost close to us. In a society that increasingly values throwaway objects, Big Stuff reminds us of the memories and connections that are the true reason we treasure our “stuff”.

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