“The Edward Curtis Project…is a phenomenal piece of contemporary theatre.”
- PLANK MAGAZINE
Written and directed by Marie Clements
Based on the original production commissioned and produced by presentation house (Vancouver)
NAC English Theatre / GCTC co-production
April 02, 2013 – April 21, 2013
The Irving Greenberg Theatre Centre, home of the GCTC
1233 Wellington Street West (at Holland), Ottawa
Showtimes:
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday: 8pm
Saturday: 4 & 8:30pm
Sunday: 2pm
While on assignment in the far north, Angeline, a Métis reporter, stumbles upon a story that is so haunting, she is unable to erase the images, and it compels her to question the role of reporters as witnesses and the accepted notions of the strength and spirit of aboriginal peoples. Along the way she challenges Edward Curtis, the iconic turn of the century photographer who created a photographic record of “the vanishing race of the North American Indian”. Poetic and visually stunning, her journey is brought to life through video, photography, music and choreography.
Marie Clements asked photojournalist Rita Leistner to create a parallel photographic investigation of Edward Curtis’ work—to question the practice of documentary photography with the very medium under scrutiny. Leistner spent two years retracing Curtis’ footsteps, traveling to First Nations communities throughout North America. The Edward Curtis Project Exhibit by Rita Leistner will be on display in the Lorraine Fritzi Gallery, upper lobby of GCTC.
THE CAST
Kathleen Duborg: Clara Curtis/Dr. Clara
Todd Duckworth: Edward Curtis/Chief
Kevin Loring: Yiska/Translators
Quelemia Sparrow: Angeline
Three sisters and their mother are forced by the American government to relocate from Oklahoma to Los Angeles. As these four women try to re-establish connections to a new land, they each find themselves lost. Inspired by true events, Tombs of the Vanishing Indian is a poetic excavation of the lost stories of displaced Aboriginal people.
