Presented in association with Border Crossings as part of ORIGINS Festival at the British Library.
Curated by Madeline Sayet, the plays presented are:
Bingo Hall by Dillon Chitto (Laguna and Isleta Pueblos, Mississippi Choctaw – U.S.A.)
Directed by Mariana Aristizabal
Performed by Raphael Ruiz, Acushla-Tara Kupe, Hadleigh Harrison and Vanessa Lee
Wisecracking Edward Anaya makes all the calls in his Pueblo community – at least, he calls the numbers at the senior center’s bimonthly bingo gathering. But college acceptance letters kick-start an identity crisis. Who will Edward be if he leaves the bingo and home behind?
Where the Summit Meets the Stars by Frank Henry Kaash Katasse (Tlingít – Tsaagweidí – Juneau, Alaska, U.S.A.)
Directed by Sani Muliaumaseali’i
Performed by Melissa Veszi, Karim Nathan, and Sammy Attalah
A young Alaska Native woman wakes up on a tugboat after a plane crash, with a mysterious captain who rescued her. She fades in and out of consciousness while flashbacks fill her in.
Women of the Fur Trade by Frances Koncan (Couchiching First Nation – Canada)
Directed by Bethany Wilkinson
Performed by Kaily O’Brien, Giedre Antanaviciute, and Terema Wainwright
Three nineteenth-century women explore their cultural inheritance as they navigate the rapidly changing world of the Canadian fur trade. Using twenty-first century slang, these women share their views on life, love and Louis Riel. Koncan mixes humour and history, shifting perspective on women’s power in the past and present.
The Unplugging by Yvette Nolan (Algonquin Nation, Kitigan Zibi community – Quebec, Canada)
Directed by Raphael Ruiz
Performed by Vanessa Lee, Mariana Aristizabal and Hadleigh Harrison
Forced to rely upon traditional wisdom for their survival, Elena and Bern retreat from the remains of civilization to a freezing, desolate landscape where they attempt to continue their lives after the end of the world. When a charismatic stranger from the village arrives seeking their aid, the women must decide whether they will use their knowledge of the past to give the society that rejected them the chance at a future.
The Third Country by Sani Muliaumaseali’i (Samoa – Vaiala/Fasitoo-uta/Pu’aPu’a New Zealand / Aotearoa -Tamaki Makaurau, Auckland)
Directed by Sani Muliaumaseali’i
Performed by Alan Mosley, Agness Nyama, Melissa Veszi and Kate Milner-Evans
Amira is a child refugee from Afghanistan held in an Australian detention centre in the Pacific. Alone and afraid, her dream world can’t keep her safe forever. Someone is watching. On the mainland the heat gets to Dolores and she wants out. Her decisions unleash repercussions that ignore time and space – but she’s too hot to notice. The Australian government’s policy on detaining children in detention centres comes under the spotlight in this harrowing tale on the state of being human.
The post-performance panel featured director Madeline Sayet, academic Dr Stephanie Pratt, and artist Sani Muliaumaseali’i.
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