Danny and the Deep Blue Sea

It was a jocular crowd on Friday night when I went to check out Pacific Theatre's production of Danny and the Deep Blue Sea. Written by John Patrick Shanley, the same playwright who brought the Tony-award winning and Pulitzer Prize winning Doubt to the stage, this was a huge undertaking for the little theatre that could.

As the first part of their "Shanley Series", Pacific Theatre will be doing two of Shanley's plays this season, the other being Doubt (March 2 - 31). I'm so excited about this duel programming; thank you Pacific Theatre for helping to bring more great works to Vancouver's arts scene!



Danny and the Deep Blue Sea has no intermission, and is a two-person powerhouse play about two strangers who meet in a bar and reveal their deepest darkest secrets, fears, and hopes to one another. It's a one night stand to the extreme. Full of swearing, violence, and sexuality, this isn't the type of show you'd expect to find in a church basement. This only goes to prove Pacific Theatre's daring to push the envelope within its community. And the audience is all the better for it!

I didn't start this blog so I could rave about everything I saw. But the past three plays I've seen in this city, including Danny, have all been exceptional and worthy of a Broadway stage. The two actors in this show, Lori Triolo and Aleks Paunovic, are directed by Jason Goode and give amazing and emotionally draining performances. The intimate theatre made me feel like I really was in some dingy bar and feeling the pain of these two characters.

The show has been on since January 20th, but it doesn't show any signs of slowing down. Friday night's attendance was quite high, considering the production ends this week. So if you haven't seen it, and you get a chance for a night out, you don't want to miss out on Danny and the Deep Blue Sea! On now until February 4 at the Pacific Theatre.