Taylor not giving John A. a pass
Sir John: Acts of a Gentrified Ojibway Rebellion play debuts Tuesday at National Arts Centre in Ottawa
Evinrude Centre hosting a public skate for the PA day from 12:15 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. $4 per skater. Also offering $7/person pay as you play hockey from 9 to 11 a.m.
Made in Canada – Really!, a look at the industries and businesses of the past in Peterborough and those that remain, exhibit runs until Oct. 1.At 300 Hunter St. E., Museum Drive, on top of Armour Hill. Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and noon to 5 p.m. Saturdays, Sundays and some holidays. Admission by donation.
The Kawartha Artists’ Gallery and Studio presents 150 Years of Canada’s History, Featuring Works of Peterborough County, an art show and sale featuring works from KAGS’ artists celebrating Canada’s 150th birthday. The show runs until Oct. 8. The gallery is open Wednesdays to Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m. and Thursdays from 1 to 7 p.m. Admission is free. At 420 O’Connell Rd. 705-741-2817. www. kawarthaartists.org.
Globus Theatre presents Bring the Piano dinner and theatre, starring Randy Vancourt, with songs, stories, laughter and the true adventures of a pianolugging musician. Shows at 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Tickets $65. Located at 2300 Pigeon Lake Rd, Bobcaygeon. 705-738-2037. www. globustheatre.com
MUSEUM: ART: MUSIC: CHALK OUT HATE:
Chalk Out Hate event from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday at Peterborough Square, Millennium Park and City Hall, where participants can fill the downtown with positive messages of resistance opposing white supremacy and neo-Nazism. Part of Solidarity Weekend events being held to counter the antiimmigration rally being held Saturday at Confederation Square.
Grand opening of the new Trent Student Centre at 7 p.m., part of the events for the 47th annual Homecoming and Head of the Trent Regatta.
Friday night meals, 4:30 p.m., $7. Main course, dessert, coffee, tea or coffee and games, including bid euchre, bingo, Mexican train or horseracing. Everyone welcome.
GRAND OPENING: MAPLERIDGE: ACTIVITY HAVEN BINGO:
Friday. Ten games, $500 prize board. Canteen opens at 5:30 p.m., bingo starts at 6:30 p.m. $15 per person; tickets available at the office. 180 Barnardo Ave. 705-876-1670.
Tai Chi, taught by George Kerr, at Murray Street Baptist Church, 175 Murray St. (use back entrance). Classes for beginner students Fridays at 10 a.m. 705750-0827.
TAI CHI: AL-ANON:
Are you concerned about someone’s drinking? For more information about Al-Anon or Alcoholics Anonymous call 705-745-6111 or 1-888-4252666, www.al-anon.alateen.on.ca for Peterborough/Bridgenorth Area. Newcomers welcome at all meetings.
Peterborough Farmers Market runs Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m at Morrow Park, Lansdowne Street and George Street.www. peterboroughfarmersmarket.com.
Town Hall in Douro, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Makers and Doers display of locally made products. Silent auction, $5 barbecue meal with locally sourced food. Benefit for Douro-Dummer Public Library and Art Gallery.
The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment will be hosting an open house at the Peterborough Armoury from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Canadian Armed Forces kit and equipment will be on display and there will be some interactive displays. 220 Murray St. Free. 613-966-2108
At Ontario Turtle Conservation Association from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. Tours, activities for kids. See what the OTCC is all about; explore the facilities. 1434 Chemong Rd., Unit 4.
The 99th annual Peterborough County Plowing Match will be held at Dalock Farms, Jim and Tracy Dafoe, 806 Second Line in Havelock-Belmont-Methune Township, just north of Highway 7. With agricultural related displays. There are 12 classes in the competition including 2 horse classes, beginner class, ladies class and various tractor classes. SQueen of the Furrow competition winner will compete at the 2018 International Plowing Match. Politicians and other dignitaries to compete in a VIP class at 10 a.m. for bragging rights and trophy. Free. 705-696-2055.
Trent Valley Archives guided walk through Little Lake Cemetery, meet actors in period costumes who relate poignant, macabre and funny stories about those buried there. Tours run every 15 minutes on Saturday from 6:30 to 7:15 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 1:45 p.m. Cost $22. Reservations required online at www.trentvalleyarchives.com or call Heather at 705-745-4404. 705-745-4404.
Opening reception from 1 to 4 p.m. for Colours Abound, an exhibit of art by Steve Tracy and Julia Veenstra, at the Gallery on the Lake. The exhibit of panoramic light-filled canvasses of islands, waterways and birches filled with brilliant fall leaves against blue and yellow skies will be on display until Nov. 3. At 65 Gallery on the Lake Rd., off County Road 36 on Buckhorn Lake. Open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free. 705-657-1108.
CULTURE DAYS: OPEN HOUSE: OPEN HOUSE: PLOWING MATCH: TOURS: ART:
Drew Hayden Taylor, the “blueeyed Ojibway” playwright and humourist from Curve Lake First Nation, near Peterborough, is the author of more than 70 works and has travelled the world “spreading the gospel of Native literature.”
His latest play, debuts at the National Arts Centre English Theatre on Tuesday for a two-week run.
The play was commissioned by the NAC a year ago as part of its Canada150 celebrations.
Postmedia Network caught up with Taylor by phone in Toronto, where he was attending that city’s Word on the Street festival.
Q: Sir John A Macdonald has been in the news because of the calls to strip his names from Ontario public schools. Is it just coincidence that your play is opening now?
A: I planned all of this years in advance. In fact, I sent a thank you note to the NAC for doing such a good job marketing!
No, in fact, I was contacted by the NAC to see if I’d be interested in writing a play about Sir John A. Macdonald. My immediate reaction was ‘Why me?’ I’m not known for writing plays about dead white politicians. But I thought about it and the idea intrigued me. I asked them why and they said I could provide an interesting perspective about Sir John A. The more I thought about it, the more I thought, ‘This might be cool. This might be interesting. It’s a little out of my comfort zone, but let’s see what I can do with the man, the myth, the reality.’ I said yes and here we are.
Q: As an Indigenous writer, how aware were you of Macdonald’s role in establishing residential schools?
A: I had a cursory knowledge of the man and his long-term generational effects on Canada’s First Nations people. You do your research and you find out more and more. I didn’t know, for example, that while he was prime minister he was also superintendent of Indian Affairs. He was at the top of the pyramid in terms of deciding how Native people should be treated and what would happen to them and where he thought — as a rich white person — Native people belong in the Canadian society.
Q: I recently spoke to an Indigenous man who felt so strongly about Macdonald that he would refuse to accept a $10 bill because it has Macdonald’s image on it. Do you feel that strongly about him?
A: Not that vehemently. I’ll take a $10 bill from anybody. (Taylor makes the sound of a snaredrum rim shot) I’m here all week people ... try the Buffalo!
I’m very much aware, especially after working on this project, how much damage the man did to generations of Indigenous people in this country. I understand it, I accept it, and I support the various levels of vehemence against this man. And I love this quote: ‘You have to understand that Sir John A Macdonald was a man of his time. He was no better or no worse than anybody else. You have to understand it in context.’ I love that phrase. It means I can be the most horrible person I want to be now and hopefully in a 100 years someone will say, ‘You have to understand Drew in the context of his time’ and that will absolve me of everything.
Q: So I guess you don’t give Sir John A a pass ...
A: He did many wonderful things for non-Native people and nonNative people should be fond and adoring of him. He did many horrible and atrocious things for Native people and that’s why they view him that way.
There’s a line in my play where he says ‘All Canadians look to England and see home. Except for the Indians. Except for the Irish. Except for the French ...’
Q: So what can people expect Drew Hayden Taylor’s Sir John: Acts of a Gentrified Ojibway Rebellion play opens Tuesday at the National Arts Centre. from Sir John: Acts of a Gentrified Ojibway Rebellion?
A: It’s a road play about two Native guys going on a journey to John A.’s birthplace and along the way pick up a marooned, non-Native who’s on her way to Kingston. Along the way they discuss John A, Canada, Confederation and Indigenous politics. I’m making it sound very dialogue heavy and didactic, but it’s actually a comedy with lots of music. It asks questions, it answers a few and it will make you laugh and sing. Hopefully, you’ll come out thinking, ‘What the heck was that?’
Q: There’s not many people making jokes about Sir John A. and his role in residential schools these days ...
A: I’m a firm believe that you can learn as much through comedy as you can through anger or through depression. If the message is coated in candy and sweetness, you will linger and listen. If someone is on the street corner angry and screaming, chances are you’ll just walk by.
My mandate as a writer is to educate, entertain and illuminate, in whatever order seems necessary.
Sir John A:
Acts of a Gentrified Ojibway Rebellion Jim Millan Herbie Barnes, Darrell Dennis, Martin Julien and Katie Ryerson. Oct. 3-14, 8 p.m., with 2 p.m. matinees on Saturdays National Arts Centre Azrieli Studio, Ottawa Available online on the NAC’s website nac-cna.ca in person at the NAC Box Office, at all Ticketmaster outlets or by telephone at 1-888-991-2787
Director: Starring: When: Where: Tickets: