A new twist on an old tale

Adhere and Deny transport The Bedbug into modern times

This one time-traveling bedbug changes everything in Adhere and Deny’s The Bedbug. Supplied

Vladimir Mayakovsky’s The Bedbug, a satire of 1929 soviet bureaucracy and abandonment of the revolution to New Economic Policy men and five-year plans, has been adapted by Adhere and Deny to take place in 1990s North America and eventually, 2042 (after its hero, Bobby Markowski’s body is frozen and thawed in the future).

“I began this adaptation last November,” says director/company founder Grant Guy. “To do the play in its original form would just make the production a historical oddity. In the play was the foundation to satire our current status. The emergence of the Occupy Wall Street movement gives strength to my thesis.

“Is it funny? The answer would have to be subjective. But I believe we have developed a good satire. I would like to think it would make (Italian satirist) Dario Fo happy.”

The company has always been somewhat of an unconventional force in Winnipeg theatre, which has really been one of its strengths. From puppet theatre to collaborations with Video Pool and aceartinc., Adhere and Deny has never played by the rules.

Besides offering the audience a good theatrical experience, I feel it would be a pleasure to have them join us in our transformation from what was to what is.

Grant Guy, director and founder, Adhere and Deny

“Adhere and Deny does not conduct formal auditions. Auditions are a phony environment,” he says. “I prefer just to keep an eye open to what people are doing, seeing them in action. If someone makes me curious about them I will keep an eye on them, and if something arises that they would be suited for I will approach them. I did this with Freya Olafson and Chris Sabel, for example.”

Though finding new players is always an adventure, there are a few familiar faces that will pop up in The Bedbug. Carolyn Gray has been with the company since the beginning, and Mia Van Leeuwen (of the Out of Line Theatre Co-op) makes her Adhere and Deny return, having appeared in Paradise Lost and Still Walking.

Newcomer Coral Maloney rounds out the cast, but there is another key collaborator involved. Multimedia artist James Jansen (a.k.a. jaymez) will provide a video montage component to the show.

This production is quite possibly the final play from the longtime local troupe, but one can never be sure.

“I am known to make sudden jags in my career, that might be why I have never been an art star,” Guy says. “I feel the course I have been pursuing has dried up - not the object side of things, but the solemn nature Adhere and Deny has been known for the past decade.

“Besides offering the audience a good theatrical experience, I feel it would be a pleasure to have them join us in our transformation from what was to what is.”

Adhere and Deny presents The Bedbug at 315-70 Albert St. until Saturday, Nov. 12. Tickets are $10. To reserve by phone call 774-6334. Visit www.adhereanddeny.com.

Published in Volume 66, Number 10 of The Uniter (November 2, 2011)

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