Native spirit

Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar reshaped by native artist collective

“You have to emerge from the theatre changed in some way, or else the whole thing is a waste. You can be mad at it, or you can be provoked to action, but some change has to occur.”

These are the words of Yvette Nolan, co-adaptor and director of the latest English theatre production at the National Arts Centre, Death of a Chief. With her colleague Kennedy C. MacKinnon and the artists of the Native Earth collective, she’s living the result of a three-year process of artistic collaboration and cultural mélange that has resulted in a unique new piece of theatre for this city involving a singular troop of skilled native actors, including Monique Mojica and Keith Barker.

Death of a Chief is an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar set in the speculative future of a self-governing Indian nation. The ancient and universal tale of corruption and power unfolds as it always does, except this time the loosening cords of morality are those tying together a community still recovering from its colonial past. “How do we govern ourselves after having lost track of our structures?” asks Nolan. “If we can figure this out here [on stage], then maybe we can translate that into reality.”

The play finds itself situated at the locus of these complex issues: The language of Shakespeare is often retained, though some scenes are adapted to the cultural beliefs of the native community. The plebeian dialogue is also translated into a native language, and spirits carry more than the austere Shakespearean foreboding from the afterlife and are adapted to the beliefs of the First Nations people.

Artistic director Peter Hinton continues his project of focusing NAC resources on questions critical to real culture – who we are and where we are going. “It’s a great risk for Peter to take on a show like this,” states Nolan, “but the only way to effect change is to effect change. You just have to do it.

“Theatre is political. Everything is political. Getting up in the morning is political. There’s no separation between people, art and their work. That’s how we ended up here in the first place.”

As appeared in the Ottawa XPress – Feb 14, 2008
http://www.ottawaxpress.ca/stage/stage.aspx?iIDArticle=14008