ALMIGHTY VOICE AND HIS WIFE

THEATRE REVIEW OF SOULPEPPER PRODUCTION

Almighty Voice and his Wife by Daniel David Moses consists of two distinct but related plays aboutCanadian natives. It is not promoted as such but the differences are obvious asare the connecting threads. The play receives a sensitive and superb productionat Soulpepper directed by Jani Lauzon.

Almighty Voice was a Cree who lived in Saskatchewan in the late 19^thcentury. He killed a cow for food and was arrested by the Mounted Police andthrown in jail. He escaped and managed to elude capture. But in the meantime hekilled a Mountie and after a massive manhunt was found and shot dead.

The first half of Moses’ two-hander is a lyrical, comic and beautifullytold story about Almighty (James Dallas Smith) and White Girl (Michaela Washburn),a Cree woman that he courts and marries. The courtship has elements of romance,humour and beauty. The rest of the segment is dramatic and moving.

In the second half we are presented with a minstrel show in a schoolwith the ghost of Almighty Voice and a white, male Interlocutor played by Washburn.The act contains songs, dance routines and “humorous” sketches. TheInterlocutor wears a bright red Mountie tunic and the show is a satiricalburlesque and serious critique of the type of show that showed indigenouspeople and especially black Americans in one of the many ugly manifestations ofracism. Almighty Voice of course deals with Canadian Aborigines.

The second act is self-consciously theatrical as the Ghost of Almightyand the Interlocutor work to entertain the audience of the minstrel show. Onthe surface it is all supposed to be jolly good fun but one can hardly miss theallusion to the treatment of Aborigines when the Interlocutor brags that “wehave the guns…we did it to the buffalo. Do you want to be next?”

The supreme irony comes when the Interlocutor sings “The Sioux Song” tothe tune of “Amazing Grace.” There is no grace here, only exploitation ofAborigines. It is followed by “Sweet Sioux” about the exploitation of nativewomen and the corruption of the legal system where Aborigines are involved.

Some marvelous things happen at the end but I will not disclose them.

Almighty Voice is a wonderful play for the two actors and the director.The first act is a conventional story involvingAborigines and, as I said, it is moving and funny. Smith and Washburn handle itwith aplomb. The second act is far more complex and requires a great deal offlexibility and acting talent. The two go through a number of phases and itlooks almost like a test in acting school about how many things they can do.They do them all with expertise, confidence and panache. Outstanding acting.

Director Jani Lauzon may have a simple task in the first act, but herwork is decidedly cut out for her in the second act. She must guide the actorsthrough the numerous phases with precision and a sure hand and she does sounfailingly.

Set and Video Designer Ken MacKenzie and Lighting Designer JenniferLennon provide the numerous set designs and lighting changes to accompany themany scenes. Kudos for work well done.

The fate of Canada’s Aborigines, from reservations to residentialschools, is a blot on our history. The stories about them in the media arealmost invariably negative. There are plays about them that are more reflectiveand searching but not enough. Moses is a prolific writer who has written asignificant number of plays about Aborigines including Almighty Voice andhis Wife which premiered in 1991. They are a part of what may changeour perceptions and the realty of their fate.   

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Almighty Voice and his Wife by Daniel DavidMoses continues until November 10, 2019 at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts, 55Tank House Lane, Toronto, Ontario. www.soulpepper.ca