Fredericton playwright tells 'cool New Brunswick story'
Playwright Ryan Griffith came up with the setting of his new play, A Brief History of the Maritimes and Everywhere Else, when he was walking in downtown Fredericton last February.
"It was totally clear and the sun was out and less than two minutes later, it was so heavy, the snow, that I couldn't see in front of my face and I was like, 'Holy cow, how does that happen in two minutes?'" Griffith said.
The play follows a woodcarver and furniture-maker named Terry in the fictional town of Leer in New Brunswick.
Terry takes his daughter skiing, but they get trapped in a cabin in the woods when a snowstorm hits.
"In this cabin in the course of the night, Terry has the chance to just talk to his daughter about everything he knows in the universe," Griffith said in an interview with Information Morning Fredericton.
I think pretty much everyone will like it, and I think different people will like it for different reasons. - Ryan Griffith, playwright
"So he ends up giving her a brief history of the Maritimes and everywhere else."
He said the script "really flew" when he was writing it.
"I've had scripts that I've spent, like, 10 years on, and [they've] still not fully been there, but this one came together quick.
"I had this concept of this older man just trying to tell someone honestly what he thought of everything. Maybe he's right, maybe he's not."
The play runs from March 13 to 17 at the Open Space Theatre in Fredericton.
This is the fourth time Griffith's work has been professionally produced by Theatre New Brunswick.
'Promises to haunt'
A news release for the play says, "This gripping and hugely moving new work promises to haunt audiences long after they leave the theatre."
The play is directed by Theatre New Brunswick's artistic director Natasha MacLellan and features actor Kevin Curran as the lead.
It's a "cool New Brunswick story," Griffith said.
After it plays at the Open Theatre, it will tour the province, with performances in Bathurst, Florenceville-Bristol, Moncton, Saint Andrews, Sackville and Saint John.
"I think pretty much everyone will like it, and I think different people will like it for different reasons."
