Preview
DANNY, KING OF THE BASEMENT
Roseneath Theatre
Starring Astrid Van Wieren, Ryan Cunningham, Andrea Scott and Adrian Churchill
Written by David S. Craig
Directed by Richard Greenblatt
Runs February 4 to 10
Vertigo Studio (Tower Centre)
Toronto playwright David S. Craig had the rare opportunity on January 30 to stage his play about child poverty and homelessness in front of Parliament in Ottawa.
He was hoping his play Danny, King of the Basement, which comes to Calgary this week, would have an emotional impact on politicians overwhelmed by a myriad of competing issues and spur them on to take action. Unfortunately, only about 10 MPs bothered to show up for the evening performance during the opening session of Parliament.
"Politically I’m not sure it had the impact we had hoped," says Craig. "These things are always very, very slow. It’s never with a bang but it’s always with a whimper."
But Craig isn’t letting the experience dampen his passion for his play or for his cause. Toronto’s Roseneath Theatre has been touring Danny, King of the Basement for the last four years and Craig says every year the tour gets bigger.
So far the play’s been staged in the Maritimes, throughout Ontario, in Winnipeg, Vancouver and Florida. And there was even a special performance of the play in front of Ontario family court judges in May 2003.
"It appears to be affecting people," says Craig, who was inspired to write a play about child poverty in 1999 after listening to a radio report on homelessness in Toronto.
"The thing that almost made me drive off the road was that 25 per cent of the homeless were children under the age of 12," says Craig. "I was shocked and ashamed and angry and I wanted to do something."
So Craig began going to homeless shelters and food banks to interview children and their families as well as social service professionals. And he started reading whatever he could find on child poverty, including Charles Dickens’s novels David Copperfield and Oliver Twist. Craig says the two books further inspired him to take on the cause because he discovered "you can deal with very sensitive issues but not make it depressing."
Craig’s play is a comedy about a 10-year-old boy and his single mom who have moved eight times in two years. Danny has become "the king of moving" during that time. He can pack his bags faster than it takes to tie a shoelace, and he can make a friend in one morning and a best friend in a day. Danny actually becomes very upset when his mom finally finds them a permanent home.
"When his mom says, ‘Danny, we can stay a long time,’ he says, ‘Three months?’" quotes Craig. "I thought it would be very ironic if Danny’s crisis was gaining a home."
In his new home he encounters kids with other problems, including Penelope, who is always carrying two different cellphones in order to talk to her estranged parents.
Craig promises that, despite the subject matter, the play is hilarious and heartwarming. The show, which is here as part of Vertigo’s Y Stage series of family theatre, is recommended for children ages nine to 14. |
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