Twenty-two years ago in the Big Secret Theatre a young Ronnie Burkett first created The Daisy Theatre. After successful runs across Canada, and on stages abroad, The Daisy Theatre returns home for a limited engagement until March 7th.
"The very first incarnation was a test run before Tinka’s New Dress, which had improv in it, and I realized I didn’t know how to improv with puppets," Lethbridge born Burkett told GayCalgary over the phone from his Toronto studio. "So we built a stage and a bunch of characters quickly and did it. It had two long successful runs at the Secret Theatre and it kind of was the most successful thing I had done, in a way. For 20 years people have been asking me if I was going to do it again and I was always like no, no. When I redid it, I had that remembrance of what the essence of the Daisy was. Interestingly enough, Edna Rural and Esme Massingill, the showgirl, they went on Street of Blood but began in The Daisy Theatre in Calgary 20 years ago. When I redid the Daisy I was building all new characters and, in the middle of a dog walk one day, I realized I gotta bring those three characters back from the original. So I put Edna and Esme and Schnitzel – who is a little fairy – in, and the minute I put those three back in I realized I could go out there any night. Those three characters are all equal parts of me, no matter what’s going on with the audience or news, I can always talk through them."
We spoke to Burkett, just prior to the show opening, which received rave reviews. This kind of word of mouth has lead to repeat engagements in Vancouver and Edmonton, including a nine-week run in the capital last year.
"You are probably too young to know what Spring Thaw was but, when I was a kid, there was an annual theatre revue that traveled across the country. It had a bunch of musical acts and comedians that would tour every year. When I first started thinking about this version of the Daisy, a couple of years ago, I thought it would be great if it turned into something that could go back annually. When we went back to Edmonton and Vancouver I had built ten new characters, so it was always my idea that every year we would add to it. There are still popular characters, but this year I have more variety acts that I can just throw in that have nothing to do, other than be a little break between things. Every year I am going to just keep regenerating it that way."
So what is The Daisy Theatre? Based on the recent performance it is brilliant, hilarious, touching and, as always, leaves the audience in awe of the puppets brought to life by Burkett. I could heap praise on the show for the rest of the article, but asked the humble puppeteer to further describe the show.
"It is cabaret, and I make the show up every night. It is kind of like a vaudeville improv cabaret show. We have musical numbers and variety acts I can pull from every night, but there’s no script – I can just kind of wing it. There are three characters that appear in every show but, aside from that, it is up to me and the audience to see where it goes."
"It is basically a big dirty adult puppet variety show," he said, adding that it is a departure from his recent scripted works.
"The last 20 years of scripted shows, I have explored stuff that has gotten quieter and darker, and somewhat violent. I think I was getting a reputation as the king of weird. In terms of the Daisy, the biggest change is it is just really fun. We scream and laugh a lot in the show. The other biggest change is I bring people up from the audience every show three to five times. I have never been that interactive with an audience; it was the same show every night telling a story. The minute I bring people up on stage it adds a whole other layer of ok I am not in control of this – let’s see how this goes."
Having fun with the show has inspired a renewed love of the craft.
"Every night it reminds me of why I liked puppetry. I get to go out and have fun. I have to show up ready to go and... have a bunch of ideas, and bring my A-game every night. If you are going to make shit up, and bring the public up to play with you, then you’ve got to be ready to go. It has actually reawakened me in a really great way. I love every single puppet we’ve made. Some of the big story shows – when you make the whole cast – some of the puppets don’t work, but the Daisy cast you never know what they are going to do, so a lot of love and thought are put into them as we build them. It has made it fun again, which I wasn’t expecting. The thing I realized, when I bring people up, is they go along with me. I have thought a lot about that, why people trust me enough to do what we do. I think 30 years ago I wouldn’t have been as clued into the audience, but now I know that my job is about the audience and me, and that conversation. It’s not ok you’ve paid your money; now sit down, shut up and watch for two hours. The show only exists if the audience shows up ready to go."
Burkett’s shows have been part of many seasons at Alberta Theatre Projects. The Daisy Theatre doesn’t quite fit with the ATP style of staging though, which has lead him to promote the shows himself and to seek out a new venue – a daunting task.
"I am still going to create those text-based shows that I am known for. Another one is in the works. The Daisy, for me, needs a smaller room: 100 to 150 people. It is all about the room, and the vibe of the room, and a bar in the room. You can’t do that in places like ATP, or some of the other venues I’ve played. ATP did inquire as soon as I built it, but it’s not really the right room and audience for it. It has to be looser and dirtier. It’s a whole learning curve and it’s scary. I’ve had a business all these years, but it was for a fee. I would show up and, regardless of who showed up at the box office, I always got my fee. This is a big learning curve. This Calgary run is only the second time I have self-produced. I did a run in Toronto and will be doing another self-produced run in Toronto after Calgary. I thought it was kind of a natural step to do, especially with something like the Daisy. It just seemed to me that I wanted to have a little more control over this. I flew out to Calgary last year to look at venues and the last venue I looked at was the Big Secret Theatre. I walked in and went this is exactly where it needs to be. It is pretty terrifying though, because it is about the box office, and how much you make every night that keeps it afloat."
Burkett’s shows are typically sell-out runs, and it appears The Daisy Theatre will continue that trend, as tickets are selling rapidly and weekend shows are sold out.
"I did think if I can’t sell tickets in Calgary, I can’t sell it anywhere. The biggest mistake I have seen from theatres and producers of my shows is them thinking oh Ronnie always sells out so we don’t have to advertise it. You have to let people know you are in town, so it is important to me more than ever to get the word out and let people know that the show is there. I have found that [with] this show the great thing is word of mouth sells it, but you have to get people in there the first week for the word to spread. The other fantastic thing is we have people returning. I had people in Vancouver who came three to five times during the run because every night it is different. Maybe Schnitzel will do his tight rope act, or maybe the French chanteuse will sing instead of the Vegas lounge act. It is fresh every night, so it is something you can come to a few times if you are puppet mad or a Ronnie stalker."
Burkett has also noticed the gay audience has turned up for this particular show.
"It is interesting. I have said to publicists for years not to put your money into the gay press advertising because the 10 who will show up, show up. In Vancouver I noticed a huge gay audience finding the work. There is a camp thing about the show that says here’s an old Hollywood drunken diva in Esme. Because I am not held to anything, the show has a really sweet, campy sensibility. I can have out gay characters come on and do rubbish every night. The gayest character in the whole show is a rabbit – of all things – in a little wrestler’s singlet with the pride colours on it, named Jim Bunny. There is that sense of nonsense, and camp, and innuendo that people are getting. In Vancouver, The Daisy Theatre is a frickin’ bear magnet. I love looking out and seeing a row of bears! Yeah, how did that happen?!"
Burkett continues to inspire actors, puppeteers and audiences, and claims he will continue to perform until he dies. The thought of a quiet retirement, with his partner John and his dogs by the fire, isn’t in his future.
"That’s not me. It will be interesting to see what the ravages of time do to me. I fully expect to keep going until I fall over, but physical stuff happens to puppeteers that say they are never going to stop, and you realized they had to. I am too much of a vampire. As much as I think we are going to win the lottery and I can be a hermit at seven or eight o’clock at night I get a little twitchy, and want to go be in the dark with a bunch of strangers so I can feed off them. I think, after decades of that vampire thirst in me, I don’t think I could hang up the strings and not go have that interaction," he said, adding that he hopes to have left the audience with fond memories.
"I guess I would just want audiences who don’t have a personal relationship with me – I would want them to have a great memory of being in the theatre and something happening that is magical. Beyond that – I don’t know. That I wasn’t a complete dick would be a nice way to be remembered."
Tickets are over 75 per cent sold out for the final two weeks of The Daisy Theatre. You do not want to miss this brilliant and beautiful show.
"It’s a great night out. I can really say that, where you couldn’t say that about some of my other shows. Penny Plain wasn’t a great date night. It was about the end of the world. The Daisy Theatre is a great night out. You can have a drink in the theatre; you laugh your ass off. There is nothing else like it in the world. It is a great night out, which is what people like about it. Come, have a great experience, and leave happy."
