Spotlight: Jeremeo talks 'Jerry'

Vulture Productions' previous live reading of Pizza’s Here has morphed into a one man show, Jerry, soon on stage at the Artscape Theatre Arena from 29 June to 2 July, and this is an exciting twist of events indeed.

Sitting down to talk about this development with Jeremeo le Cordeur, who the last few years has donned the director’s hat, he pronounces, “It is time to act, I owe it to myself as an artist.” As a very versatile creative mind and the brain behind Vulture Productions, it is quite a treat to see him embrace the role of actor again and giving expression to that side of his character, as he excitedly tells me what to expect of this new perspective of Pizza’s Here in the form of Jerry.

In essence the original story revolves around two brothers, Dean, a self-proclaimed ladies’ man with all the right fancy footwork to entertain, and Jerry, an imaginative, Glee watching, socially inept computer nerd. Their relationship takes a turn toward the unexpected when they “magically” receive a pizza delivery unleashing a series of misadventures.

Fast-forward to Jerry sitting handcuffed in the police interrogation room, being questioned as to what really happened that night… “It is the Pizza’s Here story told through Jerry’s perspective”, Jeremeo explains, “as a super hero story, but not a superhero story”.

Not only is it different in giving you purely the 'skewed' subjective perspective of the main character, but also very unique in its post-modernist comic book style use of stunts and non-traditional lighting to shape and isolate the different scenes as the plot unfolds. It basically reveals two shows in one: Jerry’s monologue telling of events, and break-away character scenes as revealed through Jerry’s memory flashbacks. In doing so, it invites you to build a puzzle, with various possible plot outcomes that may have you and your friends debating for days what really happened, as this is not so much a 'whodunnit' but rather a 'why did he'?!

What further intrigues about this approach is that Jeremeo called on various friends in the acting community to help him direct the various characters featured in Jerry, resulting in the final product of a play directed by a diverse collective. Jerry therefore promises to give the characters each their own unique style and flair, even when showed through the singular memory of just Jerry.

In giving him so much versatility in approach, Jeremeo regards the chance to embrace both the play and the character of Jerry as an opportunity to present himself as a full creative package: actor, director, stuntman, and a little bit of a magician in the making too. It is a bold choice, no doubt, “going left when everyone else is going right”, but a story such as this deserves some boldness.

Jeremeo excitedly explains that Jerry is “a true underdog story, where the everyman can be the hero, revealing that you have to fight your own fight; as such it is a metaphor for life, where everyone must be their own unconventional hero”.

In the end, as you witness the night of pizza-related misadventures unfolding before your eyes, it is up to you to decide “is it real, or is it all make believe?" So book your tickets today at Computicket, and go experience theatre through a comic book inspired lense. Hint, hint, if you book for opening night, there is a 2-for-1 ticket special on offer too!