History doesn’t always repeat itself, but it often rhymes. In No Good Drunk, American writer and performer Stacie Burrows confronts the ghosts we carry in a hauntingly lyrical road trip through memory and addiction. Embellished with Southern Gothic tones, this intensely personal and harmonious solo show unearths the generational impact of alcoholism and domestic abuse — with compassion, humour and a deep love for the women who survived it.
When Burrows set out to find the grandfather her mother never knew – “a no good drunk buried somewhere in El Paso” – her search led her to a mis-marked grave, a 1950s dive bar, and a deeper understanding of the invisible wounds passed down through her family line. Set against the backdrop of West Texas dive bars and graveyards, No Good Drunk offers a vivid multimedia narrative with archival road-trip footage, recorded testimony and original songs.
Burrows explores the cyclical nature of addiction and her fierce determination to end it with her generation. “My mother is the absolute inspiration for the show,” she says. “Like her mother before her, they did not live in a society that allowed women to stand in their truth and talk openly about abuse and alcoholic spouses. But I have a voice, and I have the freedom and ability to do so on their behalf.”
With music co-written by Sam Small and direction by Katierose Donohue Enriquez, the show walks the line between tragedy and beauty. A beacon of light and a survivor of torment, Burrows’ mother raised five children without letting them see her pain. No Good Drunk pays homage to this strength and determination that led to a break in the cycle. It honours her story, her silence, and the truth that came too late, yet still offered closure when discoveries blurred with memories.
This is a story of breaking out of inherited habits and overcoming the disease that shaped a family. It’s also a celebration of the women who persevered, and the stories that refused to stay buried.
