How a play called The Breathing Hole changed, regained language, and modeled the course of indigenous peoples

Article content

breathing hole
By Colleen Murphy and Siobhan Arnaziak Murphy
Co-produced by NAC English Theater and NAC Indigenous
Nov. 30-Dec. 1, Babs Asper Theater, National Center for the Arts
Preview ($15) November 30-December 1, opening night December 2
Tickets and Times: Ticketmaster.ca or call 1-844-985-2787

Article content

Article content

Breathing Hole, which premieres at the National Arts Center next week, is a dramatically different creature than the one that premiered at the 2017 Stratford Festival.

The basic story remains the same, a three-act tale set in the North Pole, chronicling the 500-year adventures of the mythical one-eared polar bear. Its spirit has been transformed.

“This is definitely not a remount,” said Arluk during a rehearsal break this week. “There have been many changes.”

The most important change is the language. Originally written in English by award-winning Canadian playwright Colleen Murphy, it was rewritten after being performed in Stratford, and over the next three years was translated into the Inuktitut dialect spoken in West Nunavut. Translated into a Natiling Miutut. The translation was completed by Janet Tamarik McGrath and the Natilingmiutut language supervision was done by Nilaurak Miriam Aglucak.

Article content

The new version will be published in English and Nattilingmiutut, co-authored by Colleen Murphy and Siobhan Arnatsiaq-Murphy, and presented jointly by the NAC’s English and Indigenous Theater Department.

“The dialect is only spoken in three very small communities in Nunavut, so the fact that it has left the region and been adopted into modern life in the south is unprecedented,” Arluk said. , said that the book is the largest publication of Nattilingmiutut syllables. “A lot of important language work has been accomplished through this play.”

Equally notable is the role of Arluk. The 46-year-old actor and director from the Northwest Territories recently completed his tenure as director of his center in Banff. Indigenous Artistic Director, He was the first Inuk descent in Stratford’s history and the first Indigenous director at the festival in decades. She had never directed such an ambitious play with a cast of nearly her 20, including the largest number of Indigenous actors ever featured in Stratford. Angluak, Polar bear.

Article content

“It was a huge responsibility to be called to do this work as Inuk,” Arruk said. “It meant working with a lot of new[elements]a lot of firsts, and a lot of paths.”

Arluk was performing in the production of Pig Girl in Montreal. This is Colleen Her Murphy’s play, inspired by an indigenous woman who met her fate at the hands of a murderous pig farmer in Port Her Coquitlam. I’m interested in directing The Breathing Hole.

She liked the draft and its “influential” depiction of the climate crisis, but had concerns about its cultural authenticity because the Inuit people had not been consulted. We had to go to a larger Inuit congregation, so I wasn’t the only one providing feedback – the voice of one Inuit.

Article content

A creative partnership was established with the Qaggiavuut Society, an Iqaluit-based performing arts group, and one of the first modifications was a scene in which polar bear meat is consumed raw.

“We made a lot of mistakes in the draft, like having the characters eat raw polar bear meat. In reality, we would have killed everyone by the end of Scene 1,” Murphy wrote in a 2017 essay. I’m here. “It was a silly mistake, because instead of checking that, we assumed all the meat was eaten raw.”

In addition to its harrowing message about the impact of climate change, the play contains moments of humor, including physical comedy, and is aided by the sound design of Carmen Braeden, a talented young Yellowknife-based composer. I’m here. With his 16-man cast chosen for their fluent dialect and connection to the land, Arlook says the next production will draw audiences into “the heart and spirit of this Inuit community.”

Article content

For her, the show is a milestone. An Inuvialuk-Dene-Cree, her Arluk was born in the small town of Fort Smith, NWT and raised in the bush by her grandparents who maintained trap lines. Her grandfather was a storyteller, but she had little exposure to art until she moved south. She was the first Indigenous woman to graduate from her BFA program in acting at the University of Alberta.

“I come from a place that is culturally rich, in a position of power and in the majority,” she said. “When you go down south, you realize that people are really struggling to keep their culture alive. Is it?” I began to think. She experienced a westernized version of storytelling, acting.

lsaxberg@postmedia.com