As one of Canada’s most successful playwrites, Daniel MacIvor’s work has received critical acclaim even around the world. Audiences who have seen him perform works such as Monster, Communion and Here Lies Henry know that he is truly one of our country’s best artists.

MacIvor retired from doing solo shows for several years, getting married and settling in Nova Scotia. The relationship ended, and the result is MacIvor returning to collaborate with Daniel Brooks on This Is What Happens Next. The one-man show runs January 23rd to February 3rd as part of the High Performance Rodeo.

"I was on the road about 8 months of the year touring with the solos. I felt that doing the solo work was getting in the way of my life, so I retired to get a life. Having got a life I realized that I already had a pretty good life so I went back to the original after having failed at the life part," MacIvor explained. "I called Daniel Brooks who I make the shows with and said I think I have another one in me. We went back to work and it turned out that what I felt was getting in the way wasn’t the work I was doing, it was more the touring. So as a result I am coming to Calgary for three weeks which is easier than the schedule I used to do. It was a rock n roll schedule where I would go to different cities for 2 nights and that is what had me on the road for so long. Now I come and go, so it’s good."

Like many artists, life on the road as a performer is a vital part of his career.

"I was trying to live some idea of a real life by other people’s standards. That just wasn’t me. This is what I do and as real as I get. I went out and I had the relationship and the house and the whole thing and that just didn’t quite work for me. I didn’t do a very good job of it and it was a big mess. That is why I called Daniel and said I need to look at all this stuff and ask some questions by doing a solo show. I did get a dog which I suppose some people would attribute to a real thing, I have managed to succeed at that part of a real life."

Described as a "comic adventure through the dark forest of addiction, divorce, The Little Mermaid and the life of John Denver", This Is What Happens Next explores themes in MacIvor’s life that many people would not want to revisit.

"All the shows were autobiographical to some degree but this show actually has a character named me. That character talks about having been recently married and it falling apart and losing the house, which is all stuff that happened in real life to me. So you start off with a sense that it blurs the line between the performer and me, so in a way it is more autobiographical than the other shows. I have never been shy about telling the truth about where I am at, how I failed and the mess I’ve made of things. That may be one of the strengths of my work. One of the things at the centre of this play is the idea of the pursuit of happy endings. I don’t think my work was about that before, I am asking the question about the possibility of a happy ending. The show goes to some dark places but there is hope in the show."

Addiction and divorce aren’t topics people find to be funny, it is in retrospect that we can find humour in our failures, he says.

"They are funny if you have done it and [are on] the other side of it, but not when you are in the middle of it. How ridiculous are we? When we make bad choices there is nothing funny about it because we are in regret. Once we are out of it and look back at it, our motives are so transparent it is laughable. We think we are making our decisions for the right reasons and on the right road when we are clearly in the ditch. When you look back, that you spent all this time in the ditch pretending it was a road it is pretty funny. It takes some distance, perspective and a little bit of health to look back and see how foolish we are. I just try and tell the truth and find that when I do, a lot of people are going through the same sort of things. That is why the work I do has an autobiographical part. We aren’t all that different. There are different tastes and aversions but at the end of the day, at the bottom of everything we all want the same thing. Peace and acceptance and love of some sort or another. These are the sort of things we share and the rest is the different things."

Being part of the rodeo is a highlight for many artists from around the world. MacIvor has a close connection to the city and is thrilled to be ending This Is What Happens Next here in Calgary.

"It is a big deal for me to be in Calgary because a lot of my work has come from there. I found my voice there and did a lot of work with One Yellow Rabbit. It is also important that it is a co-production with ATP; it is important to see them building bridges with the rabbits and sharing the production. There was a time when I first started with the rabbits, the idea that they would be co-producing with ATP you wouldn’t imagine would ever happen. It is nice to see these kinds of bridges being built. I love the Calgary audiences, I have played in every major city in the country and Calgary audiences are really gung ho and up for it and excited and present. I really love that about Calgary audiences, so it is the perfect place to finish the show. In a way it a coming home for the show, we have done all of our solo shows there except this one, so the idea of finishing the show [in Calgary] is perfect."