While panhandling outside a coffee shop, Johnny, a Cree woman who lives on the streets, is shocked to recognize a face from her childhood, which was spent in a First Nations residential school. Desperate to hear the man acknowledge the terrible abuse he inflicted on her and other children at the school, Johnny follows Anglican bishop George King to his office to confront him. Inside King’s office, Johnny’s memories are fluid, shifting, and her voice cracks with raw emotion. Is the bishop actually guilty of what she claims, or has her ability to recollect been altered by poverty, abuse, and starvation experienced on the streets? Can her memories be trusted? Who is responsible for what? At its core, God and the Indian, by celebrated Aboriginal playwright Drew Hayden Taylor, explores the complex process of healing through dialogue. Loosely based on Death and the Maiden by Chilean playwright Ariel Dorfman, the play identifies the ambiguities that frame past traumatic events. Against the backdrop of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which has facilitated the recent outpouring of stories from First Nations residential school survivors across the country, the play explores what is possible when the abused meets the abuser and is given a free forum for expression.
Cast of 1 woman and 1 man.
“A respectful treatment of one of the most painful chapters in Canadian history … We need to hear the stories Taylor is telling in God and the Indian.”
– Georgia Straight
“A moving and meaningful reconciliation drama, God and the Indian asks powerful questions and doesn’t give easy answers”
– PRISM Magazine
Hailed by the Montreal Gazette as one of Canada’s leading Native dramatists, Drew Hayden Taylor writes for the screen as well as the stage and contributes regularly to North American Native periodicals and national newspapers. His plays have garnered many prestigious awards, and his beguiling and perceptive storytelling style has enthralled audiences in Canada, the United States and Germany. One of his most established bodies of work includes what he calls the Blues Quartet, an ongoing, outrageous and often farcical examination of Native and non-Native stereotypes.
…and Outstanding Production. Drew Hayden Taylor’s God and the Indian and George F. Walker’s Dead Metaphor , both of …
…the Vancouver Sun included Drew Hayden Taylor’s God and the Indian – which was produced at the Firehall Arts Centre …
…Drew Hayden Taylor’s God and the Indian is currently being staged by Toronto’s Native … Lisa Ravensbergen (who plays Johnny) here. God and the Indian will also run in Vancouver this month. …
…Talonbooks published in electronic formats are God and the Indian by Drew Hayden Taylor A Matter of Gravity by …
…the season has also arrived: Drew Hayden Taylor’s God and the Indian , a play that explores the aftermath of the …
…played at the Pi Theatre in early 2013. The play God and the Indian by Drew Hayden Taylor, which was produced at the …
…and the world premiere production of his play God and the Indian, which runs through April 20 2013 at the Firehall …
…residential schools and for Canadians as a whole, God and the Indian, will leave you asking: How can these wounds be … How do we build a new relationship of trust? God and the Indian runs April 6-20 2013 at the Firehall Arts Centre …