Play pays homage to whose who lost all

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In recognition of 500 years of indigenous resistance and survival, Catalyst Theatre launched The Requiem on a three-city Canadian tour.

The Requiem is a theatrical homage by an ensemble of outstanding Native artists to those who lost their country, their land, their dances and their places to dance.

Written from the perspective of the dead, The Requiem will use singing and oration to expose how five centuries of colonization have informed the present. Ghosts are invoked to tell the stories of those who have gone before. Their descendants, the survivors, are the performers and the audience.

Conceived and directed by Floyd Favel, Artistic Director of Native Earth Theatre in Toronto, The Requiem was commissioned by the Museum of Civilization as part of the public programming for their indigenous visual art installation, Indigena. The production is scripted by Warren Arcan with a cast that features Arcan, Rhonda Cardinal and Carrie LaFramboise.

Production design is by David Skelton who has collaborated on a number of projects with Floyd. All of these artists have worked with Catalyst Theatre over the past several years and were involved in Takwakin, an intensive 16-week training project that developed traditional Native and contemporary performance techniques.

The Requiem was presented in Hull at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in late September and early October. It will be presented at the Catalyst Centre in Edmonton from Oct. 15 to 18, and at Vancouver's Museum of Anthropology from Oct. 22 to Oct. 25.