Somewhere in the realm of Plato’s ideal forms, nestled in the “fringe” subsection, there is an economical one-hander with scatological humour and sacrilegious zings on Christianity, plastered with the adoring stars of 1,000 divine critics. If this play existed, its audiences would laugh themselves hoarse. It would make a million, billion dollars.
Then there’s David Trimble. One of the most recognizable ducks in the cozy Calgary pond, the prolific character actor is preparing to mount a production with Ground Zero Theatre that flies in the face of traditional fringe fare. Simply, Urban Reality is a bit of a downer.
As its title suggests, Urban Reality sees the first-time playwright return to some of the city’s darker recesses, the kind seen in Trimble’s award-winning solo fringe run of Eric Bogosian’s Drinking in America in 2006. A two-hander featuring Trimble and Lena M. Davis, Urban Reality begins as a young drug addict named Sandy enters a tattered apartment, ready to buy and shoot cocaine. With her newfound dealer, Jimmy, seeming to play the voice of reason to Sandy’s desperation with offers of cold Kraft dinner and gentle words of advice (in addition to the cocaine), the scene soon twists into a cycle of dependence and abuse whose graphic climax offers some small hope of redemption at the cost of shocking brutality.
“It’s hard and terrifying,” says Trimble of creating and assuming the role of a bottom-feeding exploiter. “(The play) goes to the darkest place you can go, so it’s hard. You have to commit to it. The piece is so visceral, you have to play it for real. But we’ll get around it.”
The play is based on the experiences of Trimble’s wife, a former social worker whose ultimately tragic work with an underage prostitute led to her leaving the profession. Trimble is suitably upfront about the play’s message. In addition to the play’s clear social content, one dollar from every ticket will go to Woods Homes’ EXIT Community Outreach Program that helps at-risk teenagers living on the streets.
It’s engaging theatre of the kind that Trimble prefers himself, even if it doesn’t quite fit the mould of the traditional, escapist fringe show. “For me, in my taste, I like seeing visceral theatre, dark comedy,” he says. “I love satire, seeing past (the play), through it. For me, what keeps me coming back is that I get it, and I like it, and it serves more than just pure escapism, even though there is a place for that.
“Theatre is so visceral,” he adds. “To see it live might compel someone to make a difference, or look at (the disadvantaged) differently.”
For better or worse, though, any artistic decision always comes with commercial costs. Somewhere in the hazy world of ideal forms, the perfect fringe show is still waiting for its box office-bursting revenues, ready to dispense escapism and absurdity to an eager fringe-going public. Here in the physical world, however, there’s another ideal at stake. For Trimble, the play’s commercial viability doesn’t enter into the equation.
“It doesn’t diminish what I honestly believe is the necessity of the piece,” he says. “If you change one person’s perspective, that’s more important than revenue at the door.”
City of Origin: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Playwright: David Trimble
Director: Lester Fong
Cast: David Trimble, Leda M. Davies
At MOT: Aug. 10, 7:30 p.m. Aug. 11, 5 p.m. Aug. 12, 1:30 p.m. Aug. 16, 10:30 p.m.
Aug. 18, 6:30 p.m.
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