Ross Allen
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A misfit medley of people looking after America’s great open spaces collide with big business in Parkies, my play which premieres at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Each year, seasonal workers arrive at the US National Parks to run the facilities for visitors as they get close to nature. I knows this routine well as I have been one of those “Parkies” since I retired from a career as an accountant.
Parkies is a story about conflicting interests that we can all relate to. We meet a porn star wannabe, a Croatian gap year student and a drag queen-in-training as they sign up as “Parkies” for a summer welcoming the guests. They bring humour, mischief and intrigue as they pit their wits against corporate America and reveal its unsavoury ways.
When the Parkies find the charred remains of a deer, the focus sharpens on the practices of big business. What else will they discover? And who will survive?
In this, my Edinburgh Fringe debut, I draw on my observations of those around me for an insightful comedy. My fellow Parkies love the idea of a story inspired by what they do in the National Park going to the world’s biggest performing arts festival.
I’m a long-time theatre fan, so personally, I’m delighted that Parkies will open in Edinburgh. I’m a bit of a theatre nerd and I’ve always wanted to do something like this.
You can catch Parkies at theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall at 11:45 from 7 to 29 August (except 16 and 23 Aug). Tickets are available through theSpaceUK Online Box Office.
Salvador Kent
Alex Van Ric
Shay Mace
