What: The Rez Sisters
When: Tonight through Oct. 19 (Tuesdays-Saturdays at 8 p.m.; matinées Sept. 24 and Oct. 1 at 1 p.m., Saturdays at 4 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m.)
Where: The Belfry Theatre
Tickets: $23 to $48 at 250-385-6815 or belfry.bc.ca
There’s a line in the Rez Sisters that stands out to director Peter Hinton.
Although the play about a group of women living on a Northern Ontario reserve debuted 28 years ago, it continues to ring true.
“There’s a line in the play where [character] Emily Dictionary, in the second act, says: ‘It’s so f---ing hard to be an Indian in this country,’” Hinton said.
“When the women speak that line, I feel the energy in the room and the presence of how true that statement remains today.”
The Rez Sisters, by Cree playwright Tomson Highway, is the story of seven women living on the fictional Wasaychigan Hill Indian Reserve on Manitoulin Island, who plan a road trip to Toronto when they hear about “The Biggest Bingo in the World.” Each imagines how the jackpot could change their lives, which have been marked by personal demons, abuse and illness.
And while there’s heavy material, Hinton said one of the most remarkable things about the story is the way Highway infused it with sharp wit and humour.
Hinton, who saw the first production in 1986, calls it a groundbreaking work.
“This voice came forward in Tomson Highway that was so electric, so exciting, so artful, articulate, poetic, funny, bawdy, heartbreaking. It had so many different colours and tones to it,” Hinton said.
“Tomson really changed not only the way aboriginal artists saw theatre, but changed so much of the dramaturgy of English-language theatre.”
Highway writes from a place that blends his upbringing in Northern Manitoba and the stories he heard from his aunties there, with his experience living in Europe as a classical pianist.
“There’s this classical discipline and traditional storytelling that he’s merging together. That’s a really central part of his genius,” Hinton said.
Hinton has maintained the story’s place in the 1980s, before social media gave people an ease of connection. Idle No More would later spread through Facebook, but in 1986, letters and oral communication were paramount.
“If you were to relay that play to 2014, social media gives us so many more ways to envision other places. And what’s beautiful about the 1986 setting is that they have to imagine what Toronto is,” he said.
The original production also made an impression on actor Tantoo Cardinal, who plays eldest sister Pelajia Patchnose in the Belfry Theatre’s production.
“I really hoped that, one day, I would be able to do it. And so here it is,” Cardinal said.
Cardinal, who is Cree-Métis, is well-known for her performances in films such as Dances With Wolves and Legends of the Fall. She is also an outspoken activist, and said she shares that spirit with her character.
“I’m a very political animal and I can’t stop it,” she said.
“A lot of what Pelajia faces is very much a part of anybody who wants to see change. You would love to see the community come together and get stronger and get happier and healthier.”
She said much has changed since 1986.
“I think it’s important for people to realize that it’s [representing] a space in time. Now, we have cellphones and Idle No More and the Tsilhqot’in decision. There’s a lot of big changes that have happened since then,” Cardinal said.
But the division between First Nations and non-aboriginal cultures is still huge, she said.
“As indigenous people, we have had to bring back our culture, our religion, our language, our clothing, our worldview. All of that stuff, we have had to drag back from hopeful oblivion. … It’s a lot of work to come back from there.”
Activism and performance are inseparable for Cardinal, who said she believes the arts can be an avenue for effecting change. She compared theatre to a river channel.
“It’s like water. Water can get through places where maybe a textbook or a lecture or something like that might not necessarily get through,” she said.
“So hopefully we tell our story and hopefully it will open up some new ideas.”