REVIEW: Otîhêw at Shakespeare in Action
A volcanic eruption and violent colonial expansion has turned the world upside down. Without sun and moon, the realities of famine and smallpox unleash new fears that threaten to unravel the fabric of community.
Shakespeare in Action celebrates their 35th anniversary and their fifth year in Little Avenue Memorial Park with PJ Prudat’s Otîhêw, a Cree-Métis re-imagining of Shakespeare’s Othello.
The play is set in a northwestern factory fort along the Saskatchewan River in 1816, the year after the eruption of Mount Tambora that changed the global climate and caused a year without summer. Otîhêw (Nicole Joy-Fraser) is doing her best to lead her people through dark and terrifying times. She and her community are relatively affluent, able to support those who come to her fort in need. She is married to Desmond (Spencer Bennet), an Afro-Indigenous fur trader, and is the sister to the angry, scheming Hamish (Jonathon LeRose).
Hamish, like Iago, is jealous, and schemes to destroy Otîhêw and her marriage so that he may seize power for himself. But unlike in Othello, it’s her parents who gave Otîhêw her position of power. Hamish is vengeful and confused, a lost boy diving into the world of greed and misogyny, taking out his rage on his sister. He uses Inés (Jewell Bowry) to sow the seeds of jealousy with a linen kerchief, and endeavours to frame translator and valued community member Solomon (Raymond Jordan Johnson-Brown). A little Birdie (Brefny Caribou) sings, and this could-be tragedy is brought to its logical conclusion.
Unlike in traditional stagings of Othello, there is a delightful chorus of adorable sled dogs puppets by Clay & Paper Theatre, performed by Caribou, Bowry, Johnson-Brown, and LeRose. The chorus voices social anxieties, cracks jokes, generally breaks tensions throughout and, ultimately, reminds us to find humanity in others — including the wretched Hamish.
Prudat’s Otîhêw weaves elements of traditional storytelling into a Shakespearean framework — it’s a beautiful way to make Shakespeare relevant in a cross-cultural setting. Like the original, Otîhêw follows the themes of racism, greed, patriarchy, and misogyny, but Prudat offers how a Cree-Métis community led by women might handle betrayal, duty, love, and family/community bonds.
In Prudat’s world, the community is ruled by generosity and care. Otîhêw holds a deep responsibility to her community, using her affluence for the betterment of everyone. She is only rich when everyone is cared for and valued. Otîhêw’s knowledge of her world is respected by all — it’s the glue that holds everything together and helps people survive through famine and war. Even in his scheming and horrible ways, Hamish finds a way to take responsibility for his cruelty, and still have value in his own way — a refreshingly un-Shakespearean ending.
The ensemble, of varying experience levels, is a dream.They have an easy chemistry and work well together, the sled dog scenes highlighting their quick timing and comfort together. For me, both Fraser and Caribou’s performances are standouts.The cadence of their speech, with Fraser as an elder and Caribou playing someone who doesn’t speak much English, matches Prudat’s rhythmic text, creating a distinctly Indigenous-sounding take on Shakespeare.
The script itself is brimming with history, social commentary, and traditional teachings, but it feels almost too full at times. This isn’t so much a critique of anything beyond the duration of the play itself. In an outdoor setting without seating, in my opinion, anything lasting more than 90 minutes is too long to sit comfortably if unable to bring a chair, so though perfect for Shakespeare in Action, I wish there was a bit more space to process the many layers. Anything longer might have made it run too long for the comfort of the audience.
Little Avenue Memorial Park is a cozy little corner of Weston, filled with ambient city noise which is usually not much of a problem, however, on the night I attended, there were some technical glitches that kept the audience from fully hearing Jacob Lin’s sound design, which acts as a kind of interlocutor between the physical and spirit worlds and is important for understanding elements of the plot. Sound glitches are to be expected from time to time in outdoor theatre, but can still be disappointing when they happen during a show’s exposition. Thankfully Lisa Nasson’s direction helped fill in the voids — her use of the stage and the space in front clearly carves out a sense of the fort and the lands outside where the characters often ventured.
In Otîhêw, Prudat shows us that the universality of Shakespeare is in our foibles and frailties – the messiness of being human. How we might respond to these shared experiences is dependent on our values, cultures, and environments. A scheming and villainous Iago might be a lost and broken Hamish in another place and time.
Otîhêw runs at Little Avenue Memorial Park through August 20. Tickets are available here.
Intermission reviews are independent and unrelated to Intermission’s partnered content. Learn more about Intermission’s partnership model here.
Robyn Grant-Moran
Robyn Grant-Moran (Métis Nation of Ontario) is a classical singer, writer, and a jack of many trades who has recently met the requirements to call herself a Bachelor of the Fine Arts (thank you, York University and Indspire!). Along with her BFA, she has also completed the Performance Criticism Training Program with Generator, has studied with some beloved Canadian classical singers, and been in a opera or two. Robyn currently resides in Toronto with her tiny adorable rat dog.
LEARN MORE
iPhoto caption: Photo by Curtis Perry.
REVIEW: GCTC’s Beowulf in Afghanistan blends legend and modern heroism
Beowulf in Afghanistan, directed by Kate Smith, goes beyond simple plot in its exploration of what makes a hero, as well as the aftermath of violence.
iPhoto caption: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory production still by Dahlia Katz.
REVIEW: YPT’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is appropriately sweet
Director Thom Allison’s production embraces Charlie’s many incarnations and tones in a slick rendition that’s both fun sugar high and candy overload.
iPhoto caption: The Lion King production still by Matthew Murphy/Disney.
REVIEW: The Lion King offers audiences a cat’s-eye view of sensory delights
Twenty years after The Lion King’s last open-ended Toronto run, Julie Taymor’s directorial and design concepts remain Pride Rock-solid, spilling out from the stage into aisles, balconies, and above the crowd.
iPhoto caption: A Case for the Existence of God production still by Cylla von Tiedemann.
REVIEW: A Case for the Existence of God makes meaning of platonic intimacy
The play’s urgency and strength come from the gentle way it presents male vulnerability and platonic intimacy — for lack of which men may burn themselves, or the rest of us, to the ground.
iPhoto caption: Photo by Mathieu Taillardas.
REVIEW: Feu Mr. Feydeau! takes charming liberties with a famous playwright’s life
Feu Mr. Feydeau! is an effortlessly enjoyable historical fantasy that takes on death, the creative act, and life's bittersweet disappointments.
iPhoto caption: Dead Broke production still by Calvin Petersen.
REVIEW: Comedy-horror hybrid Dead Broke successfully spooks
While the non-horror aspects of the show lean towards the more amateur, the scares are incredibly successful. This show pulls off the theatrical horror with seeming ease: That’s reason enough to check it out for yourself.
iPhoto caption: Festival artwork by Mishiikenh Kwe.
Weesageechak Begins to Dance invites artists and audiences to explore newness together
Weesageechak Begins to Dance is the annual festival of new and innovative First Nations, Métis, and Inuit theatre, opening on November 6 at Native Earth Performing Arts.
iPhoto caption: Photo by Mike McPhaden.
There is a rift in the time-space continuum at Withrow Park this summer: multiverse Richard III has met Shakespearean universe Richard III for a coronation and some Shakespearean hijinks.
iPhoto caption: Joelle Peters (left) and Tara Sky (right). Original images of Peters and Sky by Ted Belton.
Change for the Better: On Indigeneity at the Stratford Festival
Both [Sky and Peters] want to honour the Indigenous artists who have worked with the [Stratford] festival for years, quietly carving out space for public and visual representation.
iPhoto caption: Courtenay Stevens, Helen Belay, Brandon McGibbon, Courtney Ch’ng Lancaster perform in The 39 Steps. Photo by Sarah Kirby.
REVIEW: The 39 Steps at County Stage Company
A cast of fantastic actors takes you on an equally fantastic journey through some of the silliest places and situations — it’s great fun.
iPhoto caption: Photo by David Hou
REVIEW: Women of the Fur Trade at the Stratford Festival
Louis Riel is SO dreamy. Tall. A little disheveled and unkempt, because he’s an introspective poet who’s busy fighting for social justice. And he wears glasses. He’s the total package.
Survivor on film deepens the humanity of the central character, and how the legacy of residential schools impacts every moment of the survivor's life.
Comments