PLAY ABOUT METIS LEADER PROVIDES FOOD FOR THOUGHT
A play about Gabriel Dumont has innocently found itself in Saskatchewan in turbulent times.
The National Arts Centre play has been in the works for years. But here it is in the city of its local co-producers Persephone Theatre, Gordon Tootoosis Nikaniwin Theatre and La Troupe du Jour, not long after the Gerald Stanley verdict — a travelling show pausing in a place where emotions are raw, communities are feeling misunderstood and persecuted, and cynicism abounds in the back alleys of (anti) social media.
But if we’re the wound, maybe Gabriel Dumont’s Wild West Show is the iodine.
Trust artists to take the chance to facilitate understanding and maybe allow people to breathe and laugh for a minute.
It’s a project as unwieldy as they come: conceived by a FrancoOntarian and Franco- Quebecer, involving 10 writers with French, English, First Nation and Metis ties, co-produced by three theatres, presented in four languages and shaped by a director born in Iran.
This irreverent mixture of fact and imagination focuses on Gabriel Dumont’s struggle on behalf of the Metis in Saskatchewan, the growing threat he becomes in the mind of Prime Minister John A. Macdonald and the inevitable violent confrontation that results.
It’s a rare treat to see Dumont onstage. And then there’s the show’s carefree silliness and cutting comedy, none of which take away from the sadness. The creators are smart enough to know that the darkest shadows come on the sunniest days.
Charles Bender strikes a heroic pose as Dumont, a man of action more than words. At one point, humorously, the Metis flag is used as a Batman beacon to summon him. He’s in great contrast with Louis Riel (Gabriel Gosselin), a smoothie in a purple blazer whose religious devotion is played for laughs.
Not overlooked is the story of the women, their wisdom, warmth and inherent toughness. And look out for Montana Madeline (played by Saskatoon’s amazing, multi-talented Krystal Pederson) — the crack of her whip can make your ears ring.
The pre-show features archival film of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West (projected on a backdrop that should have had been stretched better to avoid the wrinkles), featuring stereotypical cowboys and Indians re-enactments.
Show co-inventors Jean Marc Dalpe and Alexis Martin play circus ringmasters, shining in various comic moments. At one point, Dalpe is Don Cherry (with ’70s footage of roller derby on the screen!?) doing play-by-play of an actual battle. When he insults his sidekick about how the French don’t like to mix it up in the corners, he earns a giant “f-you” and big laughs.
Ultimately, through the layers of manic mirth, pain seeps through. The bayonetting of a very old Batoche fighter, brilliantly directed as chillingly nonchalant and impersonal, sets you back. And when the residential schools are addressed, uniquely, artfully and with simple animation on the screen, it’s profound.
This show plays for fun, but it also plays for keeps.