Collateral Damage

Todd Pettigrew teaches English at McMaster University.

This play is about three prisoners: Henry and Jeanne, a couple who have
been placed in a cell for reasons unknown, and Han, a Native woman whose
history is only slightly less murky. In an effort to stave off fear,
boredom, and insanity, they tell stories, argue about which language
(French, English, Native) should be spoken, bicker over what each has
the right to do with words, and eventually battle each other using words
as weapons.

Initially, Collateral Damage, with its subtle interplay of language,
sex, and power, is exciting. Robinson’s dialogue moves from the
stunningly real to the astoundingly poetic with remarkable ease. As the
play progresses, however, the prisoners’ mysterious incarceration and
continuing word battles become tiresome (Jeanne and Henry abuse one
another over assimilation, discrimination, and other elements of
Canadian angst), and one finds oneself reading a vague morality play
where the prisoners are taken over by language. Eventually, the play
runs out; it doesn’t really end—Robinson just stopped writing.