The Elephant on the Far Side of the Mind

At the end of the run of a run-of-the-mill life, a man and his elephant imagine an adventure.

Geoffrey is retiring from the university’s English department where he has taught for the last thirty-five years. It is the morning of his last day and no one notices or cares that he is leaving. Unknown to him, someone has placed a six-foot tall toy elephant in his office. He is accompanied by Asha a spirit elephant who has followed him around since he was a child.

Things move quickly. Before they can get morning coffee and muffins, it is revealed that Asha is the heroic sleuth who foiled a plot by a murderous baker to poison students with chocolate chip muffins. Bored with retirement, Theo an ex-RCMP police horse partnered up with Asha to track down the would-be killer. After an ancient sleeping spell Asha cast on the aspiring assassin goes wrong, ending with him taking his last lumps inside an industrial dough mixer, Asha confesses all to Geoffrey. Geoffrey figures out the true identity of the podcaster who has been swiping the juicy bits of the play and preparing them for a competing broadcast.

It all leads to a surprising conclusion as Asha turns the tables on the play’s director and forces the story to a happy ending. Asha presents Geoffrey with the motorcycle (stolen) he has always longed for. He and Asha and Theo ride off to find an adventure. It is unclear if Asha and Geoffrey can legally get married under Canadian law but they do pledge to spend the rest of their lives together having more adventures.

Themes and issues

Loneliness, friendship, retirement, aging, magic, wizards, fairy tales, fantasy.

Production history

This play has not yet been produced. It is adapted from the story “Tiger Killer” which was published in Queen’s Quarterly (Kingston, Ontario) and nominated for several national fiction awards.

Genre

Comedy, Absurdist / Farce

Acts and run time

Two acts with eight scenes.
Run time: 130 minutes.

Cast

Four actors (3 men and 1 woman).

The Elephant on the Far Side of the Mind is Asha. She is larger than life and she loves to play the fool. (She trained with Shakespeare.) She has licence to say and act as she pleases as she is wise and knowing in her child-like perception of the world that orbits around her. She is ferociously protective of babies, the innocent and the naive, hence her affection for Geoffrey.

Asha is written as a dual role with the actor playing Asha also the voice of Theo the podcaster. This casting is thematically significant. As the action of the play unfolds, it becomes increasingly evident that Asha has been orchestrating almost everything that happens in Geoffrey’s life. As Geoffrey comes to realize that Asha and Theo the podcaster are one and the same, he sees her as the controlling agency in the stories unfolding in the podcasts. This helps him finally understand her for who and what she is: the benevolent and sometimes annoying spirit on the far side of his mind who has nudged him along through the most important moments of his life.

Diversity in casting

Roles may be cast at the discretion of the director with actors of any race. The role of Asha is somehow international, capable of a large and musical dialect, not identifiable as from any one place because she is from everywhere and every time. She could as easily be from Calgary as Calcutta or Kingston Canada as Kingston Jamaica. Maybe she’s from Saint John over there or Saint Petersburg way over there.

Suitable for professional theatres and a version for college and community theatres

This version of The Elephant on the Far Side of the Mind has been written for the small cast requirements of professional productions. Although college theatres and theatre schools as well as community theatres may take on the professional version, the play can also be adjusted to accommodate the larger cast needs of those venues. The playwright can provide, upon request, a casting note that indicates how the play allows for the participation of more actors. For information, contact the playwright.

To request a script or inquire about production rights, please contact the Playwrights Guild of Canada.

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