Solo Joe toured western Canada in the fall of 2013.
Solo Joe is the story of a church custodian – Joe, who for 23 years has longed to realize a moment that he dreamt of when he was 17. All those years ago he dreamt that the curtains opened, that he stepped into the spotlight and heard the applause of heaven. Now, quite miraculously, in the midst of turning 40, preparing to teach a Sunday school lesson on Joseph and watching his youngest child graduate, Joe finds himself in the middle of that which he has nearly forgotten. There is a set, an audience and an orchestra of one – but the spotlight won’t go on. Are dreams reserved only for those with technicolor dreamcoats, or can Joe sing, dance and imagine his way to a new revelation?
“I believe Solo Joe resonates with audience members at all stages of life,” says James Popoff, Artistic Director of Burnt Thicket Theatre and creator of Solo Joe. “In the biblical story of Joseph it says that when Joseph’s brothers bowed down, Joseph wept because he remembered his dream. Does this mean he forgot? What then enabled him to carry on as his dreams got pushed further and further to the back of his mind? What does this mean for our interpretation of Joseph’s story and what does it mean for us and our dreams – realized, failed or forgotten?”
Created by James Popoff with Stephen Waldschmidt. Music by Mac Mackenzie, Directed by Karl Sine.