Redstart by Daniel Greenways
Garneau Theatre (8712 109 street) August 15, 17, 20, 21, 23
More information: nightcanopy.ca
Daniel Greenways in Redstart. Photo credit: Andres Moreno.
An interview with Daniel Greenways.
Describe your show in five words.
Fighting to escape from infinity
Okay, now that we’re intrigued… what’s the longer description?
Redstart is a descent into the mind of a relationship on the ropes. It is a journey through space and time seen through the eyes of a fortune telling machine in an abandoned carnival. Redstart is a challenge for the audience, a challenge to the form, and a challenge to the way we look at time.
Your company – Night Canopy Theatre – is new. How was Night Canopy Theatre formed and what is its mandate?
Night Canopy Theatre was formed earlier this year prior to a draft reading of an earlier version of Redstart at Nextfest, with the eventual goal of producing the show in the Edmonton Fringe. With the success we’ve had so far, NCT is looking forward to producing many shows in the future! The company’s mandate is to create theatre from start to finish; 100% new work, a company made up 100% from the Canadian theatre community. Hopefully, if we continue to push the form, we can play a part in shaping the changing face of Canadian theatre.
Redstart is told through the eyes of a fortune telling machine at an abandoned carnival – where did you get the idea to tell this story?
Redstart began seven drafts ago with an idea centralizing on the potential of a machine to tell humans the future. The premise of the show has changed multiple times as its ideas and themes grew and changed over the past six months. At a certain pivotal point in the development of the script the show was set in a carnival and the machine was made into a fortune telling machine. These changes served the script well and have been part of the play ever since.
What ideas or themes did you want to explore with Redstart and how does the show accomplish that?
Redstart explores the dynamic between three very different characters that each want to escape from three very different, but completely interconnected, situations. As you will see in the show, every lack of connection creates a connection in this malleable world, and we’ve taken the ideas of interconnection to wholly new lengths with this show.
Anything else you want audiences to know about the show?
When you walk into Redstart, you are walking into a brave new world. In our world, everything is connected and everything is falling apart. Everything is possible and impossible at the same rate. This isn’t one of those purely intellectual exercises in theatre. We put major focus on the emotions and desires of the characters during development, and one thing is certainly sure: Redstart is a roller coaster.
Bonus question: Any names you want to drop who have been involved in your show (Edmonton arts people or otherwise)?
Governor General’s Award-winning playwright Colleen Murphy mentored the Redstart script during its development after Nextfest. The script was also mentored by Edmonton theatre creators Andrew Ritchie and Vern Slipetz. Daniel Greenways (playwright, actor, producer) and Sydney Williams (actor) are both know in Edmonton for their multiple Cappie award winning performances in high school theatre, and for their work in the Citadel Theatre’s Young Companies. Andres Moreno (actor) is known in Edmonton for his recent performances at MacEwan University.
The 34th Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival is August 13 – 23. Get your tickets at tickets.fringetheatre.ca.