Careless Walking by Brent White

Geoffrey Hall

2 months ago

This summer the Notable Acts Theatre Festival was 'Taking it to the Streets.'

"Careless Walking" by Brent White was one of six winners in "Street Scenes: Site Specific Plays," part of the 2024 Notable Acts Summer Theatre Festival.

Upper Canadian tourist and tech exec Evans Brockhurst, a man determined to disrupt all the paradigms with his new, cutting-edge technology, runs afoul of the local constabulary in the tech-averse Luddite haven of Fredericton, NB. His crime: walking while using his cellphone. Will his fancy devices and team of lawyers get him out of this jam, or will analogue rule (and digital rue) the day?

Directed by Len Falkenstein
Featuring Isaac Gilbert, Kaylee MacNeil, Esther Soucoup, and Kat Hall
Videographer Clarissa Andersen-White

Location: the SE corner of Church and King streets.

Writer's Note:

"Careless Walking" tackles a big issue we are facing in society: how do we deal with the extraordinary force and societal transformation stemming from the technology revolution?

From the rise of a handful of what we may well call monopolists - Amazon, Apple, Google, Facebook to the fears provoked, by the rapid developments in Artificial Intelligence and robotics, to our discussions of smartphones in the classroom, various observers have tried to motivate their readers about our need to control big tech, its billionaire class, and the internet, if we still can.

My short play portrays a fictional Fredericton that has formed an island of resistance, so to speak, against this sea of change.

Hopefully, this play will bring the audience a few smiles, while at the same time leaving it with something to think about.

Brent White