Last Exit makes a big entry with Martel’s Beatrice & Virgil
Last Exit Theatre is bringing Yann Martel’s Beatrice & Virgil alive in this theatrical adaptation. (Britainy Zapshalla)
“The difference between fiction and nonfiction are not so easily divided.” It’s the declaration made on stage in the adaptation of Yann Martel’s Beatrice & Virgil and it’s the truth that runs through the whole play.
This stage adaptation has been a labour of love for Saskatoon actor
Skye Brandon. Brandon is no stranger to Martel’s work, he starred in The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccomatios a few years back.
“I think his work is really daring and Beatrice & Virgil is really underappreciated,” explains Brandon. “It’s fascinating how Martel comes up with new ways of telling a story and talking about how we tell stories themselves.”
The show, adapted by Lindsay Cochrane follows a young writer who’s struggling to write his sophomore novel after having a huge hit with his first. He’s recruited by a mysterious taxidermist with his own writer’s block to help write a play. But there’s much more to the story of a donkey and a howler monkey and it has repercussions far beyond the present.
This is a story that will grab the audience and not let go!
Brandon pushed hard to have this play produced in Saskatoon, it’s one and only run was in Toronto.
The story was written here, Martel is a proud Saskatonian, the writer of the stage adaptation is from here was born and raised and many of the cast and crew have direct ties to the city.
Above all, says Brandon, this is a story that will grab the audience and not let go. “I love when a book or a story hits me a week later,” he explains. “You’re still thinking about it. This is that kind of story.
Beatrice & Virgil runs at the Persephone Theatre Backstage Stage May 25 – June 4, 2016. Tickets run between $20-$25, here’s the link.
