CHILDREN OF GOD PROFOUND AND POWERFUL
Imagine a childhood in which you eat slop for every meal and authority figures are determined to scrub the brown off your skin. All in the name of the Good Lord.
Such was the reality for thousands of indigenous children torn from their families and forced to attend residential schools, where the mildest form of discipline was the strap.
Punishment for more severe offences, such as speaking your own language or longing so deeply for your family that you run away, included withholding food, being hosed down naked and/or solitary confinement in the cellar.
This shameful treatment of children represents an outright racist chapter of Canadian history and is depicted in the powerful new musical, Children of God, a creation of Vancouver’s fearless Urban Ink theatre company.
Seven years in the making, both music and storyline were written by Corey Payette, who is 30 and grew up in Northern Ontario not knowing much about residential schools despite his Oji-Cree heritage. “It wasn’t something people talked about,” he writes in the program.
Now they’re not only talking about it, but singing, too.
Children of God is a musical, of all things, with a score that ranges from rousing anthems to sorrowful and heart-wrenching ballads.
On Friday’s opening night of a run at the NAC, it proved to be a surprisingly effective method of telling a difficult story.
Keep in mind the show is new, having premièred in Vancouver just last month. Musicals require a huge amount of work and resources; this one was produced in collaboration with the NAC’s English Theatre department and is presented in association with the NAC’s Canada Scene festival, which means it’s closing out the NAC Theatre season as well as kicking off Canada Scene.
In many ways, the production is a triumph. The story is compelling, the stagecraft is impressive and the acting is excellent. Also well-executed is the haunting musical accompaniment, performed by a talented ensemble on cello, piano, viola and guitar.
Set against a skilfully lit background that served as sky, walls or forest, depending on the scene, the stage trappings were minimal but evocative, including austere iron beds, stiff wooden desks and vintage telephones.
One could tell it’s a new work that will ripen with time.
There were a few pitchy stumbles in some of the musical numbers, sure to be smoothed out with repeat performances.
The play alternates between two moments in time for the central character: Tommy, the little boy at residential school, and Tom, the unemployed adult with a drinking problem and soon-tobe-ex wife.
Actor Herbie Barnes is terrific as both little Tommy and grownup Tom, nailing the mannerisms and speaking patterns of a kid, as well as the anger, pain and frustration of a grown-up. And dividing the timeline is a potent way to illustrate the lasting effect of a cruel school system, and why it’s still a concern a generation later.
Other characters in the tale include Tommy’s mother, Rita (Cathy Elliott), powerless against the law and church, his tragic older sister Julia (Cheyenne Scott), and a handful of schoolmates, as well as an evil, bullying monster of a priest — Father Christopher (Michael Torontow) — and the well-intentioned Sister Bernadette (Trish Lindstrom).
The subject matter is intense, and two scenes struck me as especially disturbing. One was subtle in its depiction, though, while the other was a bit heavy-handed on the shock value. Included in the program notes, by the way, is a handout with distress-centre phone numbers and a note that emotional support workers are available for on-site counselling.
But don’t let the potential for discomfort deter you from seeing this work. Like Gord Downie’s Secret Path project of last year, Children of God is a major step toward reconciliation. Everyone should see it to better understand the pain caused by the system, and stoke the desire to move forward over the next 150 years.
This is theatre that resonates on a deep emotional level. Hearing the heartbeat of the drum and the rhythm of indigenous language in a big musical makes for a profound experience — plus it has the feel-good ending of the year.