Theatre on a bus will move you in more ways than one

In terms of innovative ways to tell stories to playgoers, Talk is Free Theatre has never, well, stood still.

And, in keeping with that tradition, Talk is Free Theatre is bringing the Darrell Dennis work, Tales of an Urban Indian, on a bus moving through downtown Barrie, starting Thursday, May 3. It’s a return visit to Barrie for Dennis and his inventive piece.

Actor Craig Lauzon is featured in the play, and explains it by first clearing up the issue (put in front of us centuries ago by explorer Christopher Columbus) of whether the term “Indian” is still somehow acceptable by white society, given our greater understanding of the needs of Indigenous peoples.

“This play was written about 15 years ago,” Lauzon tells Barrie Today. “The ‘official’ word used by the government at the time was ‘Indian’... and the story takes place one and two decades before that. It's also something today that we (Indigenous people) refer to ourselves as but isn't really accepted from non-Indigenous people; akin to the 'N' word for the black community but not with quite the same connotation.”

Another nagging question for the unfamiliar: how did everybody get on the bus in the first place?

“(Talk is Free Theatre Artistic Producer) Arkady (Spivak) heard of the incredible script from Mario Crudo, former artistic director of Magnus Theatre in Thunder Bay. At that time, the play had only been presented in a conventional theatre setting. It was only when Talk is Free Theatre lost our venue, due to the construction, that the idea of staging it on a bus moving through the community was born. The rest, as they say, is history.”

Lauzon – well-known to devotees of CBC’s Air Farce, as well as having played a host of other small-screen and stage roles –  also considers Tales a coming-of-age story, and “an important story to tell, not because it's extraordinary but because of how common it is. It's the story many of our young men live through when the leave the Rez for the big city. It's also a story of overcoming adversity; Simon (Douglas, the protagonist) comes out the other side stronger and capable.”

In promotional literature about the play, Dennis himself is quoted as saying, “I wanted to tell a story in which an Indigenous character is not defeated by his victimization, but rather, comes to the realization that all human beings possess the power of choice when reacting to their life experience.

“It was also important that, in dealing with the difficult subject that we do in this play, to approach it from a humorous point of view, since humour is perhaps the most important and prevalent survival mechanism in Indigenous society.”

And with the audience (in this case, fellow passengers), in such close quarters to the lead character, Lauzon says there is a fair amount of interaction.

“They (audience members) are somewhat addressed and acknowledged by Simon but they are never asked or expected to take part in the action of the play.”

Nor, Lauzon concludes, are Barrie theatre patrons having all the fun. Tales has previously played Iqaluit, besides also touching down in Missouri. The current tour, besides playing Barrie, makes stops in Collingwood (April 16-29) and in Mississauga (May 22- June 3).

"There are various other national and international stops to be soon announced for the next two years. This run is in fact a beginning of a long tour by TiFT.”

Find out what all the buzz is about by catching Craig Lauzon in Darrell Dennis’ Tales of an Urban Indian, on a moving bus, “back by popular demand,” from May 3 to May 12. For tickets and information, click here.