Like the spirit it’s named for, playwright Andrew Taylor hopes his show Southern Dandy 75 has only gotten richer with age.
Produced by Saskatoon’s Buttered Ghost Theatre as part of Live Five’s 23rd season, the show is a revival commemorating the 10-year anniversary of the original Live Five production.
It tells the story of a hapless pair of boxcar vagrants who get a hold of the entire supply of a rare, magical bourbon whiskey (the titular Dandy.) All the while, dastardly forces threaten their town and its ragtag residents.
“It’s a madcap odyssey of people coming together to triumph over adversity,” Taylor said. “While trying to hold their liquor.”
The idea to bring the show back came easily, Taylor said. Ahead of its anniversary, he and Buttered Ghost artistic producer and original show cast member Grahame Kent had been reminiscing. And they weren’t the only ones: akin to its namesake spirit, the show generated a buzz.
Taylor has written a new treatment of the script, and actors Luke Pennock and Jared Beattie join Kent in reprising their 2017 roles. It all has Taylor reflecting on how the show has grown alongside them as artists.
“The fact that we hit a milestone made me think it was also appropriate with the theme of whiskey … that this thing we created has now matured into a 10-year whiskey of sorts.”
Southern Dandy 75 started at a 24-hour playwriting competition in 2013, where after hitting a wall Taylor let his mind wander “to something ridiculous.” The first scene of the show was the result.
“I wanted to write something that was kind of poetic but nonsense at the same time,” he said. “A pure indulgence play.”
The show has gone on an odyssey of its own since then.
“It took place over several different cities with different groups of people, and then finally found its home in Saskatoon, which I think is where it was meant to be.”
With its second production, things came together at a much faster pace. It’s a testament to the people involved, Taylor said, a multidisciplinary group of some new, some returning, largely local creatives with director Kenn McLeod at the helm.
“There’s this gratitude that comes from a room of people taking something that you love so much and bringing it to fruition, growing it into something bigger.”
Being part of that process, and being able to re-stage a show 10 years on, has Taylor reflecting on how quickly it all passes by.
“Theatre is so ephemeral, it takes so much time and effort and people to build this thing, and then after two weeks, it’s done,” he said.
Like sipping a “sweet glass of bourbon,” he’s just trying to savour the moment.
Southern Dandy 75 runs until October 25 at Studio 914. Tickets are available at ontheboards.ca
