DETAILS

Enron presented by Theatre Calgary
Max Bell Theatre
Tuesday, January 31 - Sunday, February 19

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When the financial sins of corporate giant Enron were laid bare in 2001, its stock value plummeted, 20,000 employees lost their jobs and the architects of the scandal were indicted for fraud. British playwright Lucy Prebble saw tragedy in the giant’s fall, particularly in the case of president and CEO Jeffrey Skilling.

Thus, Enron — a drama about greed and corruption, and the story of those involved. Despite dealing with the business world, particularly its financial machinations, the show doesn’t get bogged down in accounting lingo. As actor Graham Abbey explains, “It’s a very light breeze over the financial elements. It’s a fast-paced, fun play — not heavy at all.”

A few surrealist touches enrich the action: humans with velociraptor heads are the “shadow companies” that gobble Enron’s debt, masking its massive losses; the board of directors is staffed by huge blind mice — an image transplanted from a creepy, real Enron commercial. There’s even some singing and dancing.

“It’s entertaining, but it’s a very human and real story at the same time,” says Abbey, who plays Skilling. Although he admits his character is a “pretty bad guy,” Abbey was careful not to make Skilling unequivocally evil. “You find the heart and centre [of the character],” he explains. “Seeing and playing him only as a villain loses something. It’s boring if it’s one-sided.

“He was a human being who was struggling, and I tried to bring out that side of the story. In his quiet, private moments, I’m sure he was quite worried and stressed. Ultimately, though, the show and its characters are about balance, not good and evil. “I leave it to audience members to decide what they want to feel,” he says. “I expect strong reactions — that’s great theatre.”

Calgary, and the Max Bell Theatre, are prime real estate for a story of corporate malfeasance. The theatre is a stone’s throw from where Occupy protestors railed against greed and not so far from the towers of giant oil company headquarters. As Enron’s ignoble dissolution is hardly ancient history, the story still resonates.

“This is not just a story about Enron, the themes echo everywhere,” says Abbey, explaining that near the end of the play we meet some of the regular folk who have lost their life’s savings through Enron’s deception, such as the housewife who is out $150,000. “To Jeffrey Skilling [that’s] lunch money, but it’s everything she had. That’s the part that hits my heart most on a personal level.”

Abbey hopes the play will “not only provoke and incite debate but open people’s eyes, and remind people that this stuff still goes on.”

“There’s no doubt the audience will be entertained. It’s poignant and human,” he says.