In the opening moments of the stage play , actor Mike Shara’s fictionalized Sidewalk Labs CEO takes pains to present himself as a humble servant of the public good. It’s just that, in making his point, he can’t help yelling and interrupting everyone else. Written by Michael Healey, directed, the play chronicles the Sidewalk Toronto saga, which saw the global tech giant make a bold (and ultimately unsuccessful) play to build a neighbourhood “from the Internet up” on the city’s waterfront. This past fall, the production sold out a seven-week run at Toronto’s Crow’s Theatre (and scripts can now be purchased through Playwrights Canada Press). The development process was always full of drama. Now, it’s the stuff of theatre, too.
