Subway Stations of the Cross
Holy Trinity Church (10037 104 street) August 12 – 23
More information: inschoi.com
Subway Stations of the Cross. Photo credit: Nathan Kelly
An interview with Ins Choi.
Describe your show in five words.
I tried. Can’t do it.
Okay, now that we’re intrigued… what’s the longer description?
So, I met a series of homeless men in my life that have spoken to me in an artful manner about Jesus Christ. I’ve taken those encounters and fused them into this show. It’s equal parts story-telling, spoken word poetry with a bit of stand-up comedy and a dash of performance theatre.
Subway Stations of the Cross is based on an interaction you had with a homeless man years ago. What about that interaction has stuck with you for so long?
Each time, I felt as if I had met an angel or a prophet or an alien. And that I was being given a message but was too dumb to understand it.
The title of your show, Subway Stations of the Cross, references the Stations of the Cross. What about the Stations of the Cross do you want to evoke in your show?
The Stations of the Cross is an episodic journey that is meant to slow the audience down from the frenetic pace of life and to act as a vehicle of reflection and provocation. That’s what I hope for the show but with some laughter too.
I came across a program for Subway Stations of the Cross saying your character “performs his own songs and poems in order to ‘speak forth a message from the divine… or (release) the paranoid schizophrenic voices in (the character’s) head.” I’m sure a lot of people have met people like this – what did you want Subway Stations of the Cross to ask people to think about those interactions?
I don’t know. I guess that perhaps sometimes there might be more happening than meets the eye.
Anything else you want audiences to know about the show?
I might have to incorporate some Fiddler on the Roof set pieces. Looking forward to it.
The 34th Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival is August 13 – 23. Get your tickets at tickets.fringetheatre.ca.