It costs about a million dollars to bring a play from Saskatchewan to Edinburgh, Scotland. Just kidding. But it costs a lot. And yes, WE choose to do this crazy thing. So, it's on us. But fyi, here are just a few of the places closer to Edinburgh than Saskatoon, SK, Canada: Nigeria, Kyiv, Jordan, Afghanistan. Now, we are being VERY proactive when it comes to raising funds to get us there including applying for grants, saving dimes and nickels, looking for sponsorships, and - of course - fundraisers. Like this one! If you believe in our plucky little company called RUMPUS, and our fantastic play, Iago Speaks, or you just like even one of us as human beings, AND would like to donate something to a very worthy artistic cause, all you have to do is click on the GO FUND ME title above to make a donation. We will be forever grateful.
A little history of the play, Iago Speaks
Not so long ago, (well...within our lifetime), playwright Dan decided - for once - that he wanted to write a comedy. No, no. A REAL comedy. His plays are always funny but often as dark as shit, and they shift between the comic and tragic as fast as you can blink. Think Velocity, think A History of Breathing, or even Blow Wind. He wanted this play to be a romp! A no-holds-barred, be-ready-for-anything, laugh-till-they-cry, freaking comedy. BUT...he also wanted it to be about Iago, the villian from Shakespeare's Othello, stuck in his dungeon cell immediately following the end of that play. Hilarious!! You're laughing already!! And then, one day - or rather, one draft (so many early drafts) he conjured up...the Jailor, a hapless, somewhat lost clown of a character who - more than anything - wants to be...like Iago! Someone with something to say, with a past, with a real life! A history! The Jailor wants to truly live, to figure into things! To...matter. And from there, the play started to find its way. Suddenly it was funny! And Iago, who was supposed to be the lead character became the Jailor's sidekick. More drafts, workshops, readings, and redrafts, it finally premiered at Shakespeare On The Saskatchewan (Saskatoon) and then was subsequently produced at Shakespeare In The Ruins. (Winnpeg) And now...Edinburgh. This...comedy.
