Stone's Throw Productions Presents DANNY AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA

Battered, bruised, and desperate for connection, Danny and Roberta collide in a grimy bar in the Bronx. As they battle their pasts and each other, they must decide if they dare to lower their defenses and risk truly being seen. From the playwright of Doubt and Outside Mullingar, Danny and the Deep Blue Sea is a violent, funny, and intimate portrait of two broken people fumbling toward hope.

John Patrick Shanley is a New York-based American playwright, screenwriter, and director. His work has garnered him the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, a Tony Award, and an Academy Award, among many other honours. Shanley has written more than 23 plays which are produced around the world. Danny and the Deep Blue Sea, his second play, premiered in 1983.

"Danny has a quirky, almost surreal poetry, which sets it apart from other plays about couples whose relationships depend on a certain amount of violence" -NY Daily News

Danny and the Deep Blue Sea is subtitled "An Apache Dance", which is a violent dance for two, originating in Paris. The dance is a gruelling ordeal in which the woman pursues the man and is subjected to increasingly violent rejections. Danny turns this dynamic on its head- Danny and Roberta trade blows and swap the roles of pursuer and pursued. Shanley dedicated this play "to everyone in the Bronx who punched or kissed me, and to everyone whom I punched or kissed."

"There's something about these two characters that demands complete truthfulness and vulnerability. As an actor and a human being, it's a complete physical and emotional workout." -Paige Louter, Producer and Performer

Paige Louter is producing and acting in Danny as part of her acting apprenticeship at Pacific Theatre. She is a graduate of Redeemer University College (BA Performance and Writing) and the National University of Ireland, Galway (MA Drama and Theatre). Recently, she has played Grusha in The Caucasian Chalk Circle and #46 in the Pulitzer-nominated The Wolves. She has been acting since she was six, and fell in love with Danny and the Deep Blue Sea the moment she read it.

Classically trained, Joel Butler has tackled everything from Shakespeare to Tennessee Williams. Taking on roles like Jerry in Edward Albee's The Zoo Story and Eddie in Fool for Love by Sam Shepard, Joel finds himself attracted to the more gritty realism that these works have to offer. After attending the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Joel has come back to his hometown of Vancouver to pursue theatre and keep his passion thriving.

Kenton Klassen is a Vancouver-based theatre artist and co-producer of Cave Canem Productions. He holds a B.F.A. in acting from U.B.C. and is a former Pacific Theatre apprentice. He's directEd Smaller projects before, but Danny is his full-length directorial debut. Kenton is also an actor, with numerous stage credits and the upcoming projects of the comedy series #MyTrueStory and The Lonesome West by Martin McDonagh (Cave Canem).

Directed by Kenton Klassen. Featuring Paige Louter and Joel Butler. Stage Management, Lighting and Props Design by Phil Miguel. Sound Design by Shona Struthers. Set and costume design by Paige Louter.

June 28-July 1. Wednesday-Saturday. 8:00pm.

Pacific Theatre, 1440 W 12th Ave (at Hemlock), Vancouver, BC

$15

Photo by Jalen Laine