Description
Strange things are happening to workaholic Jerry Daniels. Office desks are chasing him. Self-help tapes are talking to him. Umbrellas are raining from the sky. But the world of advertising is no place for weakness, especially when a big promotion is up for grabs! Though without a product for his advertising campaign and with a therapist who has more problems than he does, Jerry is in trouble.
Puppets wreak havoc and the stage comes to life in this award-winning comedy and theatrical feast. When you lock your life in a briefcase, don’t be surprised when it wants out.
Renovation
Chasing The Whale began its life back in 1999 when a strange image popped into my head. A man in a suit being chased by a desk.
Intrigued, I began unpacking a story out of that image.
I’ve been doing it ever since.
The first version was performed at the Australian Theatre For Young People, directed by David Berthold. The second was at La Boite Theatre Company, directed by Sean Mee. Both were called The Dance of Jeremiah (a name I later abandoned), though they shared little in common. And what it is now is different as well.
Time and time again, I’m drawn back to this play. The central idea remains the same. The tired man, damaged by ambition, haunted by his creations. Yet every time it shifts and changes, absorbing who I am now. Ideas that once worked fall away and new ideas grow in their place. Over and over. Coming and going, like waves on the shore.
I’m certain I’ll never be done with it. I’m sure it’s waiting for me down the road, ready to reflect who I’ll be when I get there.
But here it is now. Here I am now.
Still chasing the whale.
History
Chasing The Whale was first produced as ‘The Dance of Jeremiah’ by La Boite Theatre Company on 18 October 2005.
ISBN: 978 1 925338 45 4
