Kristine Dandavino, Conlin Delbaere-Sawchuk and Nicole Joy-Fraser in ‘Canoe’, Photo by Kaytee Dalton

Gathering in a church to witness it creates a charged atmosphere for this story. As it dances uncomfortably up against a residential school survivor’s trauma, any contextually discomfiting Euro-Christian vibes the space gives off are displaced by the telling of this tale. Canoe—an opera presented by Unsettled Scores in collaboration with Native Earth Performing Arts, The Toronto Consort and Theatre Passe Muraille—invites us into the world of two Indigenous sisters in Northern Ontario who reconnect with their family history, heal and harness their power to face a broken world. Continue Reading