Reconciliation play coming to P.G.

The concept of reconciliation with Canada’s Aboriginal peoples is an open conversation on the national and local stages.

The concept is also an open conversation on the dramatic stage, when it is performed by the Theatre For Living (T4L) theatre company. T4L uses the “forum theatre” style of performing, where the play is sometimes interrupted at key moments to allow discussion and audience input to direct the way the scene should play out. It is a style commonly applied to social issues, as a form of entertainment and also a tool for better understanding of complex topics.

Prince George will host one of these performances and the complex topic at the centre of the action is reconciliation. The play is called

“x am t” which is a Coast Salish word that means “home.” It is pronounced Shwa-aw-met.

“This word has so many different meanings to all of us who are living on this land,” said T4L director David Diamond. “Conversations have been bubbling across the country about this word ‘reconciliation’ and what it really means. With the Canada 150 anniversary this past year, and with the closure of the Truth And Reconciliation offices in 2015, there are many questions about what these policies, proclamations, and apologies mean to all of us who call this place home.”

The play has a cast comprised of actors from multiple First Nations and other ethnic backgrounds, including Asivak Koostachin (Inuk/Cree), Madeline Terbasket (Okanagan, Ho-Cak & Anishnabe), Joey Lespérance, Mutya Macatumpag, Nayden LA Palosaari (Cree), Rev. Meg Roberts, and Sam Seward (S wxwú7meshsi & Snuneymuxw).

“What does reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people look and feel like? How does this idea of reconciliation translate into our day to day human relationships?,” Diamond said, outlining some of the thematic questions contained in the play.

As always, in this form of theatre, the audience also brings a lot to the performance, making each show a definitively unique experience.

“This audience interactive play puts real, tough, current issues on the stage about the blockages we all face moving towards reconciliation,” said Diamond. “It asks the ‘what now?’ question in regards to reconciliation, and compels audiences to think about reconciliation not as a ‘thing of the past’ but something that permeates many aspects of all of our lives.”

The performance will happen Saturday in Vanderhoof (7:30 p.m. at the Saik’uz Multiplex) and Sunday in Prince George (7:30 p.m. at the Connaught Youth Centre).

It will travel to about 20 communities on this tour of B.C. and Alberta. Each tour performance will be co-hosted by local Indigenous and non-Indigenous community organizations. In Prince George that includes the Native Friendship Centre and the Global Neighbourhood Network.

Tickets are $10 each, available in advance at Studio 2880 (2880 15th Avenue) and at the door while supplies last.

The audience also brings a lot to the performance, making each show a definitively unique experience.