While panhandling outside a coffee shop, Johnny, a Cree woman who lives
on the streets, is shocked to recognize a face from her childhood, which
was spent in a First Nations residential school. Desperate to hear the
man acknowledge the terrible abuse he inflicted on her and other
children at the school, Johnny follows Anglican bishop George King to
his office to confront him. Inside King's office, Johnny's memories are
fluid, shifting, and her voice cracks with raw emotion. Is the bishop
actually guilty of what she claims, or has her ability to recollect been
altered by poverty, abuse, and starvation experienced on the streets?
Can her memories be trusted? Who is responsible for what? At its core,
God and the Indian, by celebrated Aboriginal playwright Drew Hayden
Taylor, explores the complex process of healing through dialogue.
Loosely based on Death and the Maiden by Chilean playwright Ariel
Dorfman, the play identifies the ambiguities that frame past traumatic
events. Against the backdrop of Canada's Truth and Reconciliation
Commission, which has facilitated the recent outpouring of stories from
First Nations residential school survivors across the country, the play
explores what is possible when the abused meets the abuser and is given
a free forum for expression.
Cast of 1 woman and 1 man.
