Greystone Theatre opens season with teen insight
"The play deals with the reality of what it means to witness a horrible event and not say or do anything."
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Concord Floral, the season opener for Greystone Theatre, speaks to the experiences of teenagers, especially in a stressful situation.
“It really captures the essence of modern teenagers in a way that’s very true to how they can be in terms of how reckless and brash they can be, but also considerate sometimes,” said University of Saskatchewan acting student John Reaney, who plays Bobolink, one of the teens in the play.
Playwright Jordan Tannahill based Concord Floral on the novel The Decameron, about the black plague in Italy, though his reference to the plague is metaphorical.
“He’s using the metaphor of a plague for the idea of when someone is complacent, and the idea of complacency. When we are complacent, what’s the residual effect that occurs?” director Natasha Martina said.
Set in an abandoned greenhouse in Toronto, Concord Floral is a young suburban thriller. Using the greenhouse as a hangout spot to drink, make out and smoke weed, a group of 10 teens discovers a body in the building. Their reactions shape the rest of the story.
“The play deals with the reality of what it means to witness a horrible event and not say or do anything,” Martina said.
“Essentially, it’s about how their lives shift from their kind of ordinary-day struggles to this new plague that has come across their lives and how that effects everything that they do,” Reaney said.
While it is a short play, Reaney said it’s fast-paced and nothing is hidden from the audience.
“I think that it’s got a lot packed into a very concise package,” he said.
“There’s lots of quick movement … Things are just kind of moving all over the place. I feel like it might be a little disorienting, but I kind of like that.”
He believes Martina, a professor in the U of S Drama Department who teaches acting and movement, loves that aspect of the play.
Martina credited the western popularity of this play to its ability to connect with young people.
“It really speaks to teenagers and those in their young 20s that are having a lot of conversations around identity and this world that is consumed with consumerism and climate devastation and urbanization, and what all those impacts mean for their future,” she said.
Reaney believes the overall message is the importance of listening. Everyone wants to be heard.
“I hope that the audience just takes an opportunity to be a bit more empathetic … and just to listen.”
Concord Floral runs Nov. 18-27, 8 p.m., at Greystone Theatre in the U of S John Mitchell Building, with no Wednesday or Sunday shows. Live and streaming tickets range from $17 to $30 and are available at artsandscience.usask.ca/drama/greystone/greystone-theatre.php. The play includes mature content.
After the play’s run, Jordan Tannahill will host a Zoom lecture entitled Staging Wild: Non-human subjectivity in performance. The free lecture on Nov. 29 at 3 p.m. will address some themes that can be found in Concord Floral. Register at jordantannahillusask.eventbrite.ca.
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