DraMétis: Three Métis Plays

David E. Kemp, a former professor of drama at Queen’s University, is
the author of The Pleasures and Treasures of the United Kingdom.

This collection of three Métis plays adds to the growing discipline of
the Métis artistic voice. Greg Daniel’s third play, “Percy’s
Edge,” was produced at the 25th Street Theatre in Saskatoon in May
1995. Written from a Métis perspective, the play deals with socially
marginalized characters who are struggling to survive and find meaning
in their lives. The relationships within the play are totally
believable, and the dialogue, a powerful blend of rawness and lyricism,
has the ring of total truth.

A classical setting and more poetic language are featured in “Age of
Iron” by playwright-actor Marie Clements. The 10-year war between the
Greeks and the Trojans has left the once-proud Trojans vulnerable to
plagues and captivity. This stylistically assured and powerful play
draws remarkable parallels between the plight of the Trojan warriors and
struggle of the First Nations people. The audience is left with an image
of Troy that is as recognizable as the streets of an inner city.

Margot Kane’s “Confessions of an Indian Cowboy” is a brave and
experimental work in progress that employs Aboriginal storytelling,
commedia dell’arte clowning, and improvisation and mime for its
effects as is explores such themes as nobility and alienation. Excellent
biographies of the playwrights are included in the book.