If the most wrenching material in the show concerns those thousands of unmarked graves outside the residential school, the heart and soul can be found in Cardinal's memories of two women in his life. He's also got a new bit about Egerton Ryerson, the architect of that same system, that hits home. This time out, Cardinal has a lot more vitriol for the Catholic church – perhaps because of the Pope's half-assed recent apology for the church's role in the residential school system. The fact that Crow's artistic director Chris Abraham gets a credit that reads "creative co-conspirator" underlines the mischievous aspect of the show. He literally twitches when he says the word "ally," illustrating exactly what he thinks of the people eager to identify themselves as such.Īfter a zinger – "Let's get back to trespassing," he says early on – he'll shoot the audience a look that is equal parts confrontation and mischief. Logan Cracknell's lighting design, as before, is beautifully subtle in its effects.Ĭardinal can communicate lots with an arm gesture, a pause, a double-take. His audience interaction is playful and challenging but never mean-spirited. Because of the particular layout of the theatre, there's more of a stand-up feel to the show this time around. What's thrilling about seeing him pace the stage of the CAA Theatre before a closed red curtain is how beautifully in control he is of the 700-seat crowd while still being open to surprise.
"What they're really saying," he confides, "is 'Tell me I'm one of the good ones.'" Photo by Dahlia Katzīut Cardinal doesn't spare his fellow Indigenous artists' land acknowledgements, either. And there's a lot.įor one thing, he fills us in on how and why he changed the title, even landing a few playful jabs at his new presenter, Mirvish Productions ("Don't worry," he tells us, "David Mirvish isn't here") and the fact that "theatre in this country only goes so far without oil money." Ouch.Ĭardinal airs frank truths about self-righteous white people delivering land acknowledgements, pointing out that they often act as though they're "the last safe house on the Underground Railroad." One of his most quotable lines comes when he describes settler theatre artists asking him what he thinks of their land acknowledgements.
Now that that gimmick has gone we can focus more on what Cardinal is saying – and doing – in the show. In my review, before providing a spoiler alert, I even wrote: "this As You Like It is unlike any other production of the play, past or future," which was literally true.
Reviewers were encouraged to go along with the ruse and not ruin the surprise for future audiences. See what else is currently playing in So Sumi's Toronto Theatre Listings
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