Director Sanjay Talwar is bringing Jules Verne’s classic novel vividly to life in Blue Bridge Theatre’s newest play, Around the World in 80 Days. Talwar says that his play heavily focuses on the theme of adventure found in Verne’s work.
“It’s the story of Phileas Fogg, who accepts a wager and tries to travel around the world in 1872 in 80 days,” says Talwar. “So, it’s kind of an adventure story with a fun adventure of trying to make boats and trains and carriages and trying to travel around the world… It really does make observations about people, and people haven’t changed very much between 1872 and 2022. The world has, but dealing with people as you travel is something that’s still constant today.”
Talwar says that this play’s acting style is a big difference from both the novel and previous onstage adaptations.
“This play very much leans into the medium of theatre, so its theatricality is a strong point,” says Talwar. “There are three actors who are playing all the roles in the show, so there’s about 25 to 30 parts, so there are a lot of actors doing a lot of costume changes and trying to be two people at the same time, which is a lot of fun.”
Talwar says that the biggest challenge he and his cast and crew faced was figuring out the best way to tell the story.
“The challenges are about trying to engage the audience’s imagination and sense of play and fun,” says Talwar. “The challenge is to get them to go on an adventure with us.”
Talwar says that he feels that it’s the audience’s job to decide what they will take away from the play they are watching.
“I kind of feel that with most plays, you make offerings and the audience can take away what they want to take away from it,” says Talwar. “So, we’re going to do our best to tell the story in a very human way, in a very fun way.”
Talwar says that he feels that the play will connect with all audiences.
“There are elements of the story that are going to appeal to all groups of people,” he says. “It will engage the child in all of us, and there will be things that the adults all understand and identify with all the way through.”
Around the World in 80 Days
Various times,
Tuesday, November 8 to Sunday, November 20
Various prices, Roxy Theatre
bluebridgetheatre.ca