Skip to content

Sardis student plays role in Concord Floral

A Chilliwack student will be taking the stage with nine other B.C. high school students in teen thriller Concord Floral.
Erin Brubacher photo
Concord Floral will be making its West Coast premiere on Jan. 19 in Burnaby. Chilliwack's Shanna Anderson plays one of the 10 roles.

A Chilliwack student will be taking the stage with nine other B.C. high school students for teen thriller theatre production, Concord Floral, later this week.

Shanna Anderson, a 16-year-old Sardis secondary student, plays the role of Forever Irene in the award-winning Canadian drama by playwright Jordan Tannahill.

This deeply moving work is set in a massive abandoned greenhouse where 10 teens must find refuge from a plague they have brought upon themselves. Bravely conceived to give youth a platform for expression, Concord Floral is cast exclusively with youth from B.C.

Concord Floral was first presented in Toronto in 2014, and will be making its West Coast premiere on Jan. 19 in Burnaby.

In Concord Floral, audiences will see echoes of Giovanni Boccaccio’s classic work, The Decameron, in the context of the current age, laced with a captivating sense of fear and fury.

When a body is found in the huge abandoned greenhouse — a hangout spot for high school kids where they make and break their own rules — these adolescents must choose between mercy and cruelty, apathy and beauty. They must tell their story to keep themselves alive.

Shortlisted for the 2016 Governor General’s Award, Concord Floral is a co-creation of playwright Tannahill with fellow Toronto-based artists Erin Brubacher and Cara Spooner.

Concord Floral runs Jan. 19-21 at 8 p.m. at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts (Burnaby, tickets.shadboltcentre.com or 604-205-3000); Jan. 25-28 at 7 p.m. and Jan. 29 at 2 p.m. during the PuSh Festival at the Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre (Vancouver, ticketfly.com or 604-449-6000); and Feb. 3 and 4 at 7:30 p.m. at the Studio Theatre at Surrey Arts Centre (tickets.surrey.ca or 604-501-5566).

Tickets are $10 to $25.