The Scavenger’s Daughter
Roy Street Collective
November 20 – 30, 2003
Written by Joseph Shragge
Directed by Alison Darcy
This five-act comedy is set in an anachronistic medieval world ruled by paranoia, greed, violence, cruelty and magic. An embittered, old Merchant creates automatons (golems) to act as unpaid workers for his clients. A trio of impoverished Shepherds buy into the con, but when the automaton breaks down, panic breaks out: all believe themselves somehow accountable and fear the penalties of the law.
A comedy of errors follows, in which the Merchant’s assistant is kidnapped by a group of rogue theatre players, and the Third Shepherd is convinced that he has become the automaton. Mistaken identities drive the plot, as the automaton lurches from scene to scene causing confusion and havoc. At the height of the madness, the Shepherd’s wife is forced to identify her real husband in order to save the Merchant from being tortured in a grisly new device called the Box.
With disembodied body parts, a rogue theatre troupe and life-size torture devices, The Scavenger’s Daughter is part miracle play and part farce, exploring technology, illusion and the line between innovation and fraud.
Credits:
Writen by Joseph Shragge
Directed by Alison Darcy
Produced by Dashiele Haskin
Music by Brian Lipson and David Oppenheim
Stage Manager: Barbara Zsigovics
Production Manager/Stage Management Advisor: Melanie St. Jacques
Designers: Paul Chambers, Dashiele Haskin, Ben Klein, Allison Katz
Poster Designer: Alison Darcy
Cast: Andy Bunker, Zach Embree, Mike Hughes, Jason Katz, Joseph Paul Messiano, Mike Paterson, David Potter, Ivana Shein, Amy Sobol, Jeese Todd, Toma Weiderman
Reviews/Awards:
“A witty and idiosyncratic story about the human condition…Shragge’s wit is very dry, and his characters are at the same time caricatures and complex human beings who serve as hilarious foils to one another in The Scavenger’s Daughter… Mike Hughes split the audiences’ sides as the paranoid, manipulative shepherd who convinces his friend to wander the forest dressed as an automaton. Andy Bunker as the third shepherd inspires much pathos as he begins to lose his grip on reality, and Mike Paterson as the aging merchant is both hilarious and touching.” (The Link)
Voted among the best plays of 2003 in Montreal Mirror.
Excerpt appeared in Matrix Magazine, 2004.
The Scavenger’s Daughter was produced before the official founding of Scapegoat Carnivale Theatre. It was however, written and directed by the company’s future Artistic Directors.