GCTC and NAC Indigenous Theatre partner to bring groundbreaking Kiinalik to Ottawa
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – OTTAWA, January 9, 2020 – A multi Dora Award-winning collaboration between Buddies in Bad Times artistic director Evalyn Parry and Inuk artist Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory, Kiinalik: These Sharp Tools is the story of two cultures coming together. It also marks the first collaboration between GCTC and NAC Indigenous Theatre during the first season of Indigenous theatre’s groundbreaking work.
A concert and a conversation, Kiinalik: These Sharp Tools is the meeting place of two people, and the North and South. Inuk artist Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory and queer theatre-maker Evalyn Parry met on an Arctic expedition from Iqaluit to Greenland. Now sharing a stage, these two powerful storytellers map new territory together in a work that gives voice and body to the histories, culture, and climate we’ve inherited, and asks how we reckon with these sharp tools.
“A bracing, beautiful, thought-provoking, unsettling, challenging show.”— Intermission Magazine
Dora Awards 2018: Outstanding New Play, Outstanding Sound Design
Ottawa audiences will be familiar with Bathory’s work through her performances of traditional Inuit dance at the National Gallery of Canada, and through her appearances with Tanya Tagaq. This is her second time performing for NAC audiences, her first being Tulugak: Inuit Raven Stories in 2013.
Parry’s recent shows include SPIN (which played undercurrents in 2015) and Governor General’s Award-nominated Gertrude and Alice (Independent Aunties/ Buddies); recent directing credits include The Youth/ Elders Project (Buddies), and Obaaberima by Tawiah M’Carthy (Buddies, winner of Dora for Outstanding Production).
“We talk about the transformative power of theatre,” says Lori Marchand, Managing Director of NAC Indigenous Theatre. “And if I think about transformation, it’s uncomfortable. Shedding a skin; growing pains. But if we stay static there is also that withering, that loss of energy. There is something about staying still that is stagnant. Discomfort is the way of moving forward in the world.”
Kiinalik: These Sharp Tools
· Written + Performed by Evalyn Parry + Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory
· Created by Evalyn Parry, Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory, Erin Brubacher + Elysha Poirier with Cris Derksen
· Directed by Erin Brubacher
· Live Video by Elysha Poirier
· Original Composition + Live Music by Cris Derksen + Evalyn Parry
· Uaajeerneq and Throat Singing by Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory
· Set Design by Kaitlin Hickey
· Lighting Design by Rebecca Picherack
· Sound Engineer Aleda Deroche
· Stage Manager Georgia Priestley-Brown
· Assistant Stage Manager Rico Manitok
· Seal Skin Shoes by Nicole Camphaug, Enb Artisan, Nunavut
· Jewelry by Matthew Nuqingaq
· Ulu by Mosesie Lewis
OPENING NIGHT FOR PRESS
Thursday, January 23, curtain at 8pm at GCTC (1233 Wellington St W.).
PROLOGUE
Wednesday, January 22, 6:45pm – featuring special guests Lori Marchand and Eric Coates.
TICKETS
Tickets are on sale now at GCTC’s box office at 1233 Wellington West at Holland, 613-236-5196 or. Regular ticket price range: $42 to $58; Rush Tickets $15 for students; $33 for adults.
Tickets can be purchased in person from the GCTC Box Office after noon on the day of performance. Valid student ID required for Student Rush.
ABOUT GCTC
GCTC is celebrating its 45th season in 2019-20. We continue to foster, produce and promote excellent theatre that provokes examination of Canadian life and our place in the world. GCTC aims to increase the diversity on it stages, diversify its audiences and deepen their experience. GCTC also continues to embrace artistic risk and to ensure a wide range of theatrical experiences.
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For more information or to arrange interviews, contact:
Jared Davidson
Marketing and Communications Manager
Great Canadian Theatre Company
613-236-5192 ext. 229