Robert Lepage meets with Indigenous artists to quell Kanata controversy
These days, when you talk about the new controversial play from Robert Lepage, you really need to specify which one.
Earlier this summer, the Quebec theatre icon came under fire for his production of SLĀV, a show featuring traditional African-American slave songs sung by a mostly white cast.
The show was met with widespread criticism and protests in Montreal, and when it was pulled from the Montreal Jazz Fest, Lepage called the cancellation a "direct blow to artistic freedom."
Just when it seemed that storm was dying down, Lepage has once again found himself at the centre of another controversy.
His new production, Kanata, tells the history of our country by exploring the relationship between Indigenous people and white settlers. While Lepage consulted with members of the Indigenous arts community for their input, the cast features no Indigenous actors.
Now, some of the Indigenous artists Lepage consulted have distanced themselves from the production, and last weekend, a coalition of 30 Quebecois Indigenous artists and activists expressed their concerns in an open letter to Lepage in Montreal's Le Devoir newspaper.
Last night, Lepage met with some of the people behind that open letter, including Kim O'Bomsawin, an Akenabi filmmaker based in Montreal. Speaking with q guest host Talia Schlanger, O'Bomsawin recaps some of last night's meeting with Lepage.
We're going to have to deal with it, and they're ready to face it.- Kim O'Bomsawin
"Mr. Lepage is a friend of the First Nation for so long now, [he's] been working with us on so many things. He knows a lot about us, our stories, our legends," says O'Bomsawin. "We all agree that Mr. Lepage is a very talented artist and that he has this sensibility, but in this case, we still have many concerns."
The result of last night's meeting, according to O'Bomsawin, was that there would be no changes to the play. "We're going to have to deal with it, and they're ready to face it."
T'Cha Dunlevy, arts critic at the Montreal Gazette, has been following this story closely. He also joins Schlanger to shed some light on the controversy.
q invited Robert Lepage to appear on the show today through his publicist, but did not receive a response.
Listen to the full conversation at the top of this post.
— Produced by Stuart Berman