Last year’s production of Buffoon at the Tarragon | Photo courtesy of Cylla von Tidemann

Author and playwright Anosh Irani will be debuting his new play, Buffoon, at the Granville Island Stage. Viewers can transport themselves into the bigtop and delve into the inner world of the complex and boisterous circus performer. Buffoon will run from Oct. 22–Dec. 6.

Buffoon may be Irani’s first one-man show, but he is far from a novice of the literary world and stage. Irani has published four acclaimed novels and has been nominated for several prestigious literary awards, including the Man Asian Literary Prize, Dublin Literary Award, CBC’s Canada Reads, among many others.

In his novels, Irani often refers back to his origins in Bombay. He has been a resident of Vancouver since 1998, but his home city is deeply intertwined in Irani’s writing style and subject material. Irani grew up as an only child and sought out adventure whenever possible with his cousins. Gallivanting around Bombay on motorcycles and holding on for dear life was a common after-school activity. Irani posits that toeing the fine line of exhilaration and danger may have spurred his love of storytelling and drama.

Irani used another childhood experience for his newest play, Buffoon. This play focuses on the trials and tribulations of one circus performer named Felix. Irani took inspiration for Felix’s backstory and experiences from his own tangled memories of the circus he went to as a child.

“I was never taken in with the razzle-dazzle,” he says, “and I ended up noticing the costumes, how ill-fitting they were, how injured the performers were and so on. I ended up imagining their inner lives, even at that age. It had an impact, and I never went to the circus again until I was an adult. I write about the things that disturb me.”

Writing multiple genres

Author and playwright Anosh Irani | Photo courtesy of Nirmal Shah

Irani is acutely aware of the work and collaboration required to create the perfect stage show and environment. Adjusting to various genre-related challenges is just part of the job for Irani.

“With the novel, I am in complete control of what I put out there. It’s just me and the editor. That’s about it. In a novel, it’s all about the internal world of the characters. A novel is reflective, meditative. Or it can be, and I enjoy that,” he says.

Buffoon, in particular, posed a new creative challenge for Irani. His first one-man show is years in the making, and not until late in the process did Irani realize this was Felix’s story to tell all on his own.

“This was probably the hardest play for me to write,” says Irani. “It took over a decade. It started off as a play set in the circus with a full cast of about seven or eight. But then one day the clown decided he wanted his own show. He just walked out of the play and said, ‘To hell with you all’ to the rest of the characters. The character of Felix literally demanded his own show. He was quite a bundle, and I knew I had to tell his story.”

A Buffoon is born

Felix may be in an unorthodox profession, but don’t unorthodox people tell the best stories? Irani hopes that Felix’s challenges in love and career ambitions can relate widely to anybody who has ever felt like the buffoon of their own story.

“Felix’s life is drenched in defeat and sadness,” says Irani. “The circus is a metaphor for the mayhem that is life but also for what’s possible, the light that humans are capable of creating. What we need more than anything right now is love and forgiveness. I don’t see it coming from anywhere but from within ourselves. Everyone is waiting for someone else to do something, for some kind of inspired leadership. What if it doesn’t come? Will we keep waiting? Felix’s journey is eventually about not waiting for someone else to love you; it’s about loving yourself, forgiving yourself, and – even though the world is cruel – having empathy for others.”

To learn more, visit www.artsclub.com.