Vancouver’s rising theatrical circus company is seeking performers for a theatrical live music and circus show, set in between completion of the two trans Canadian railroad lines. The show is a blend of concert, play, traditional circus and contemporary circus.
The protagonist, from a working class family left destitute when the first trans Canadian railroad was completed and workers were left unemployed. The protagonist craves attention and when they end up hopping a circus train, finds that craving becomes a desire to be in the spotlight. This desire becomes their downfall, however, as the protagonist ends up roaming from place to place ruining their own chances of success with their need to be the center of attention.
At the bottom of their luck, the protagonist sells their soul to the devil at a crossroads for time in the spotlight, only to be tricked into signing a short contract. Eventually, the protagonist comes to realize that deities and devils are psychological constructions, created subconsciously to externalize human strife.
The show is set to live blues and canadian folk music, and narrated by the lead singer of the music ensemble. As the show is set at the beginning of the 1900s, some of the circus is in traditional style (one scene is set in a three ring tent circus, another in a cabaret theatre setting), while throughout the show contemporary circus acts are used to express emotion or set scenes.
