10 Days on Earth

He lived alone with very little and more than enough, and preferred it that way. “Simply simply,” he was oft heard to say. He was alone, on his own, and that was okay…

Darrel is a middle-aged intellectually challenged man who lives with his mother. When she dies in her sleep, Darrel does not realize she is gone, and so, for over a week, he lives alone. Tandem to Darrel’s day-to-day routine are the adventures of his favourite children’s book characters, Honeydog and Little Burp. Their search for a home leads the dog and duck duo to an understanding of family, while Darrel’s ease in the world illustrates just how his mother has paved the path for him to be without her. Episodes from the past, like faded colour snapshots from a family album, illustrate this mother’s love for her son in all its honesty and fierce, unwavering will. Simple, tender, funny and unapologetic, 10 Days On Earth asks: If you were alone but didn’t know it, would you feel lonely?

AUTHOR

Ronnie Burkett

Ronnie Burkett has been captivated by puppetry since the age of seven, when he opened the World Book Encyclopedia to “Puppets.” He began touring his puppet shows at the age of fourteen and has been on the road ever since. Ronnie has received numerous awards in Canadian theatre as a playwright, actor, and designer for his work with Theatre of Marionettes, including the Herbert Whittaker Drama Bench Award for Outstanding Contribution to Canadian Theatre, and international recognition including a Village Voice OBIE Award in New York for Off Broadway Theatre. From his peers, Ronnie has received three Citations for Excellence in the Art of Puppetry from the American Center of the Union Internationale de la Marionnette and the President’s Award from the Puppeteers of America. Recognized as one of the world’s foremost theatre artists, his work has created an unprecedented adult audience for puppet theatre, and continuously plays to great critical and public acclaim in Canada, the U.K., Australia, Germany, Austria, Sweden, and elsewhere. Ronnie is the 2009 recipient of the Siminovitch Prize in Theatre. When not wiggling dollies in front of strangers, Ronnie lives in Toronto.