Wednesday November 13


OPENING NIGHT


Music Performance
by Mimi O’Bonsawin

Mimi O’Bonsawin is an award winning contemporary roots songwriter who is inspired by her Indigenous and Francophone heritage. Her record Connected is rooted in storytelling and sheds light on her unique perspective of the world that surrounds us. Her newest release TRILLIUM seeks to be a compelling and intimate follow-up. You can find her music at mimi.ca or stream on Spotify.


Sonny’s Way
by Jimmy Blais

Two brothers who grew up together in the same house, in the same community, and under the same conditions, end up taking completely different paths in life. We watch as Jeff and Sonny try to reconnect after many years apart and after life has dealt them many difficult cards.

Examining addiction and how we perceive addicts, Sonny’s Way highlights a terrifying opioid crisis, puts to question the validity of certain “medicines”, and asks us to question why certain ways of dealing with pain and trauma are considered “better” than others. But above all, this is a story of hope and reclamation.

Inspired by James Baldwin’s short story, Sonny’s Blues, this play was originally developed at The National Theatre School’s Indigenous Artists in Residence program.

Director Dean Fleming
Performers Jimmy Blais, Meegwun Fairbrother, Amanda Kellock
Lighting, Sound and Video Designers potatoCakes_digital (Emily Soussana and Andrew Scriver)
Dramaturgs Nick Carpenter, Emma Tibaldo

Jimmy Blais is a member of the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation, and of Plains Cree and French heritage. He graduated from Concordia’s Theatre Performance Program. Over the last 10 years, Jimmy has worked on over 20 professional productions for companies like The Stratford Festival, The Centaur, and Porte Parole. Jimmy spent 5 seasons playing Watio on APTN’s hit series Mohawk Girls. You can catch Jimmy in Porte Parole’s The Assembly at The Segal Centre, National Arts Centre and in multiple German cities in 2020.


THURSDAY NOVEMBER 14 >

 

WEESAGEECHAK BEGINS TO DANCE 32