by Cliff Cardinal
October 10-25, 2015
Aki StudioOn Tour January 2016
Directed by Karin Randoja
Starring Cliff Cardinal
Fresh off the critical success of Stitch, Native Earth kicks off their 33rd season with another daring solo show by award-winning Indigenous playwright Cliff Cardinal, one of the most exciting new voices in Canadian theatre.
REVIEWS
“Huff took my breath away.”
– J. Kelly NestruckN N N N
“strong, uncompromising storytelling”
– NOW Magazine
“Huff is a heartbreaker.”
– Torontoist
“Cardinal is an artist to watch”
– Stage Door
An “unflinching solo show”
– Globe and Mail
“a charming kind of chemistry”
– Toronto Star“Excellent” – Sprockets and Greasepaint
“Must-See Theatre” – Paula Citron
“so poignant & so very important” – Hye Musings
Huff is the wrenching, yet darkly comic tale of Wind and his brothers, caught in a torrent of solvent abuse and struggling to cope with the death of their mother.
Wind’s fantastic dream world bleeds into his haunting reality, as he’s preyed on by the Trickster through the hallways at school, the abandoned motel he loves more than home, and his own fragile psyche.
With his signature biting humour and raw, vivid imagery, Cardinal expertly portrays over a dozen characters in his captivating solo performance.
Winner of the 2015 RBC Tarragon Emerging Playwright Prize; Winner of 2012 Buddies in Bad Times Vanguard Award for Risk & Innovation.
Huff has been developed, in part, through The Collaborations, an initiative of Canada’s National Arts Centre English Theatre.
The development of Huff has also been supported by VideoCabaret.
Set & Costume Design by Jackie Chau
Lighting Design by Michelle Ramsay
Sound Design by Alex Williams
Stage Managed by Jennifer Stobart
“Soon the trickster preyed on him in his dreams.”
Audience Advisory: Explicit Content. Mature Audiences Only.
Running Time: 70 mins with No Intermission.
Photos by akipari
PREVIEWS
“You know you’re not in for the usual sort of theatre.”
– NOW Magazine
“To be a little Indian kid in some of these situations… You have to stand there and feel like you’re not good enough. ” – CBC
“Chaos breeds more chaos.” – Mooney on Theatre
Playwright & Performer – Cliff Cardinal
Cliff Cardinal made his theatrical debut with Native Earth in Freeman’s Wake by Yvette Nolan in the ’05 Rhubarb Festival. Cliff’s work has been recognized across the country including a Jessie Richardson Memorial Theatre Award nomination for Outstanding Performance for Tales Of An Urban Indian by Darrell Dennis with Green Thumb Theatre. Cliff’s first play Stitch premiered Toronto’s SummerWorks Festival to great acclaim, winning both The Spotlight Award for Performance and Theatre Passe Muraille’s Emerging Artist Award for notable artistic impression and Huff was awarded the 2012 Buddies in Bad Times Vanguard Award for Risk & Innovation. Of Cardinal’s play Maria Gets A New Life, NOW Magazine said “This captivating tale of an off-grid mother solidifies Cardinal as one of the most talented and intriguing writers in the country.”
Huff Tour
From January to March of 2016, Huff can be seen in cities across Canada. From Vancouver to Montreal and beyond,
Huff will take the country by storm.
TOUR DATES