Over the past decade or so, prior to a live stage production, an announcement was made that acknowledged what the theatre’s location used to be part of before European explorers arrived at and/or settled on the specific territory as of 1535 and 1642.
Usually, the acknowledgment referred to the Indigenous peoples who inhabited that territory and what it was primarily used for during those many centuries before there were European settlers. However, the Centaur Theatre decided to go beyond those land acknowledgements.
This season, the Centaur is launching the inaugural edition of its Indigenous Artist Residency program, which will present productions that will give many perspectives to their audiences about the culture and history of Montreal’s many Indigenous communities to promote a better appreciation and understanding.
The first production under the auspices of this residency program is the Stone and Bone Spectacular, which is now running at the Centaur until October 26. Using an archaeological excavation site as its base, the play mixes story, dance, song and puppetry to tell the history of the land that served as the home and gathering space for many of its Indigenous communities before it became Ville Marie/Montreal in 1642.
Iehente Foote, one of the Kanien’keha:ka (Mohawk) artists who collaborated with Ange Loft and Barbara Kaneratonni Diabo on the creation of the play, is proud to have it as the inaugural production. “Actually, it’s a different way for today’s society to put their money where their mouth is when it comes to doing something that goes beyond the oral land acknowledgments,” she said during a recent phone interview. “It’s a great way to look back and move forward.”
Ms. Foote also admitted that the creative process that developed the show was a lengthy one, because of the wealth of stories and information that was culled from the diligent research work that went towards that development. “It took a few years, which included countless interviews in order to get the real stories,” she said. “It was a different type of research work where we got the kind of information you can’t normally find in books. These are stories that go back from time immemorial and were handed down from generation to generation.”
“The Stone and Bone Spectacular was a very important and very necessary show to do. Not only did it help us carve out a clear path to future generations to know more about our heritage, but also honour our people’s gifts through our talented cast,” she added.
To sum it all up, The Stone and Bone Spectacular is a clever, original show that serves as an engaging history and a wake-up call to increase further awareness of Montreal’s long standing Indigenous heritage to its current and future residents. Utilizing colorful costumes, dance, puppetry, song, humour and an impressive set design, the show tells the story of Montreal from the perspective of the Mohawk, Haudenosaunee, Huron-Wendat, Anishinaabeg and Abenaki Nations — and how their respective lands and traditions were compromised by the Jesuits and Sulpicians who colonized the land with the French — is quite reminiscent of the Italian commedia dell’arte tradition of theatrical storytelling.
And the wonderful cast that includes Ms. Foote, along with Barbara Kaneratonni Diabo, Waksonti:io Kirby, Veronik Picard, Iota’keratenion Thomas-Beaton and Dylan Thomas-Bouchier, exudes a remarkable chemistry that melds historical facts, traditional stories and folktales, symbolism and familiarization (especially when they juxtapose a mentioned parcel of Indigenous land on the island of Montreal to its current urban name and location). The end result is an innovative way to expose a piece of Montreal’s epic history during the pre-colonization era.
For more information, or to purchase tickets to The Stone and Bone Spectacular, go to centaurtheatre.com.
by Stuart Nulman
Other articles from mtltimes.ca – totimes.ca – otttimes.ca
