Soulpepper 2022: Decolonizing Toronto Theatre

Abstract

This research project, “Decolonizing Toronto Theatre,” examines how Soulpepper, a mainstream Toronto theatre company, and their collaboration with Native Earth Performing Arts are contributing to the equity, diversity, inclusion, and decolonization of Toronto theatre through their recent Indigenous productions: Kamloopa and Where the Blood Mixes. The author watched, read, and analyzed both plays to explore how these two productions transform and redefine the intellectual, political, and artistic conventions of Anglo-Canadian theatre. Her analyses of these plays are informed by the various texts centered around Canadian Indigenous history and Indigenous theatre. She also used an ethnographic approach by talking to people involved in both productions. She conducted interviews with the playwrights, the associate artistic director at Soulpepper, and some artists involved in both plays. These conversations with the people involved allowed her to understand these plays beyond their content: the inner workings of how a production comes to fruition. The conversations also allowed for a reflection on the similarities and differences between the creative approaches the artists involved took as well as the positive impacts these productions have had on Toronto theatre. Finally, by applying ethnographic findings and analyses of the plays, this piece compiles the analyses and research conducted over the course of the internship.