How Twitter's most popular alien is teaching the internet — and theatre audiences — about humanity
Mercedes Grundy | CBC Arts | Posted: October 21, 2016 9:15 PM | Last Updated: October 21, 2016
Jonny Sun is going from social media to the stage with his zany zombie apocalypse play
It's not often that you encounter someone as multi-talented as Jonny Sun. He's an engineer, architect, researcher, artist — and a bonafide Twitter star better known as Jomny Sun, with over 186,000 loyal followers. And as if his hands weren't full enough between tweeting and earning his PhD at MIT, he's currently pursuing one more passion: playwriting.
Sun fell in love with theatre when he was in high school, and he hasn't forgotten that love amidst all of his other endeavours. His first professionally-produced play, Dead End, is currently on at Factory Theatre in Toronto. The play, directed by Michael Orlando, is set during a zombie apocalypse, with the two main characters stranded in a hallway with one very foreboding zombie. The comedy riffs on many of the themes that have captivated Sun's followers — loneliness, relationships, fear, feeling like an outsider — all in a tone that is as absurdist and existential as his tweets.
CBC Arts caught up with Sun at Factory Theatre in Toronto, fresh off a flight from Boston and about to watch the play performed professionally for the very first time. In this video, Sun speaks about his passion for theatre, using Twitter as a creative outlet, and how it feels to be realizing his high school dreams.
Dead End. Featuring Christian Smith, Chris Wilson, Ceridwen Kingstone. Written by Jonny Sun. Directed by Michael Orlando. Presented by Theatre Lab. To Oct 23. Tue-Sat 8pm; Sun mat 2pm. $25-$30. Factory Theatre, 125 Bathurst, Toronto. www.theatrelab.ca
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