TIFT taking show on the road with play on city transit bus

NEWS RELEASE
TALK IS FREE THEATRE
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After hundreds of bus rides in Barrie, the GTA, across Canada and around the globe, Tales of an Urban Indian will celebrate its 750th performance in Barrie on Oct. 10 at 12 p.m., as part of a longer anniversary run taking place from Oct. 9 to 26, 2024.

Staged entirely on a moving city bus, Darrell Dennis’s dark comedy, which had its Talk is Free Theatre (TIFT) premiere in 2009, is performed by a single actor. Over the years, several performers have portrayed Simon, a contemporary Indigenous man who grows up both on the reserve and in the “big city.”

Nolan Moberly, who most recently played Simon when Tales was part of a trifecta of productions TIFT took to Auckland, New Zealand, this past January, will reprise the role for the Barrie run. But for the special anniversary presentation on Oct. 10, most of the previous Simons will return to perform sections of the play, including the play’s director, Herbie Barnes, and the playwright himself, Darrell Dennis.

Other actors revisiting their Simons are Jonathan Fisher, Craig Lauzon, Ryan Cunningham, Justan Myers and Nolan Moberly.

This will be the fourth run of Tales in Barrie, the last one having taken place in 2018. TIFT has taken the play across the country to North Vancouver, Whitehorse, Grand Prairie, Kitchener, Collingwood, Mississauga, Kingston, Ottawa, Saint John and Halifax.

Internationally, Tales has visited Chile, New Zealand, Suriname and the U.S., has toured Argentina, and was part of three festivals in Australia. A school tour took place in Brampton in 2022, with another taking place in Barrie concurrently with this run. A Toronto premiere of TIFT’s version is scheduled for next winter.

“We count Tales as one of our proudest achievements,” says artistic producer Arkady Spivak. “It has been one of the key vehicles driving us towards our mission to connect cutting-edge theatre with as wide an array of people as possible, and to do so with this deeply meaningful and poignant play has been a gift that keeps on giving.”

For over 20 years, TIFT has specialized in unexpected, drastic reimaginings of established works, neglected classics and new creations. Founded by Spivak and colleagues, TIFT develops and produces a wide range of work from the periphery of the mainstream, emphasizing the development and production of off-centre, story-driven musicals and new types of site-specific, immersive creation, among others.

While producing full seasons at home in Barrie, TIFT also tours its productions to destinations near and far, with recent stops including New Zealand, Chile, Argentina, and Suriname.

In addition to producing theatre, TIFT has developed significant service projects designed to care for artists and their well-being, including Artist BIG, ARCS, childcare subsidy, and two-way mentorship. TIFT also expands accessibility of the art form to communities across the country and around the world through their Canadian Musical Theatre Database and ARIA Translation Glasses projects.

Tickets are available now at www.tift.ca or by calling 705-792-1949. Regular: $44, plus HST; artists/students: $22, plus HST (must show ID at pick-up).

TIFT acknowledges, with gratitude, the ongoing financial support of the Department of Canadian Heritage, Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council and the City of Barrie.

Event listing

Tales of an Urban Indian, by Darrell Dennis, directed by Herbie Barnes.

Staged on a moving city bus, which visits locations matching those in the play’s plot, Tales of an Urban Indian is the story of Simon Douglas, a contemporary Indigenous man, who grows up on both the reserve and in Vancouver. This play conjures up many characters that appear in Simon’s life, all played by one actor.

Dates

Oct. 9 to 26, 2024
Anniversary performance: Oct. 10 at 12 p.m.

Venue

Moving city bus (meet at Five Points Theatre, 1 Dunlop St. W., Barrie)

Schedule (Approximate running time: 90 minutes, with no intermission)

Wednesday, Oct. 9, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 10, 12 p.m. (Anniversary Performance)
Friday, Oct. 11, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 12, 8 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 17, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 18, 8 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 19, 2 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 19, 8 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 24, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 25, 8 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 26, 2 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 26, 8 p.m.

Tickets

Regular: $44 , plus HST; artists/students: $22, plus HST (must show ID at pick-up)
Purchase here: www.tift.ca/shows/tales-of-an-urban-indian or call 705-792-1949

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