Pawâkan Macbeth – A Cree Takeover
Event Ended- Where
- Backstage Theatre, ATB Financial Arts Barns - 10330 84 Ave NW, Edmonton, Alberta View Map
- When
- Buy
- Buy Tickets
- Ages
- 14 +
- Website
- http://www.akpiktheatre.com
- Contact
- communications@fringetheatre.ca 780-409-1910 (Akpik Theatre, Expanse Festival, Chinook Series)
This take over by Indigenous playwright Reneltta Arluk, sets Pawâkan Macbeth in Cree territory in 1870s Alberta, with the cannibal spirit, Wihtiko. Pawâkan Macbeth happens before the numbered Treaties were signed, when Plains Cree were allied with Stoney Nakoda, and at war with Blackfoot over territory, food, supplies and trade. The Canadian Government were making their way west with Sir John A. MacDonald as its leader. Harsh environments brought immense fear, starvation, and uncertainty together to awaken the darkest of Cree spirits, the Wihtiko – a being with an insatiable greed. Through the exploration of Cree language, history, stories and cosmology Arluk asks, What is it to be human? What makes a human vulnerable to the Wihtiko? Inspired by working with the youth of Frog Lake First Nation, and shared stories from Elders in the Treaty 6 region, Arluk has created a terrifying journey through love, greed, honour and betrayal, with coyote howlers teaching us that resurgence requires balance.