HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2017-07-13, Page 19THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JULY 13, 2017. PAGE 19.
Entertainment & Leisure
`Berlin Blues' delivers thought-provoking laughs
It's complicated
James Dallas Smith, left, and Nicole Joy -Fraser, right, were in a relationship in The Berlin
Blues, now on stage at the Blyth Festival, but at the same time find themselves on opposite
ends of a contentious legal issue. The tensions rise thanks to the arrival of two German
developers, Catherine Fitch and Tony Munch, centre, who want to turn Otter Lake Reserve into
a theme park. (Terry Mazzo photo)
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Drew Hayden Taylor's The Berlin
Blues suggests a world in which
German developers want to turn a
First Nations Reserve into a theme
park exploiting the culture of those
very same First Nations people.
Perhaps it says something about the
world in which we live today that
this idea doesn't seem very far-
fetched.
Sure, the story is farcical and full
of humour that's maybe a little hard
to picture in our day-to-day lives
(and that's what makes it funny), but
the core fundamentals of the
production are not as alien as maybe
we would have felt in a different
time.
In a time of cultural exploitation,
cultural appropriation and the rising
tension all over the world between
those who see themselves as
"native" to their country and others
who maybe don't share their skin
colour, religion or language, the
world's people seem to be more at
odds with their neighbours than ever.
One needs to look no further than
our neighbours to the south and the
polarizing Donald Trump presidency
that has literally divided a nation for
an example of this.
People are seeing each other for
their differences, rather than their
similarities, more than they have in
decades. So it's against this
backdrop that you could forgive
someone for believing that there
would be a market for tens of
thousands of Germans (many of
whom have an advanced obsession
with North American First Nations'
culture) to visit a gaudy theme park
shrine to First Nations culture.
There are obvious, surface -level
parallels in the story, of course, as
locals are forced to pick up and
relocate their lives from the reserve
they called home to make room for
said theme park. Not all of the Otter
Lake residents are supportive of this
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Saturday, July 15th
2:00 - 4:00 pm
at the Ethel Community Hall
Best Wishes Only
Trying to keep it a �t1i•�
surprise 'til then i(�
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KELSEY KERR
It is with love and joy
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Wishing you a lifetime
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proposal, but as the Euros roll in
from Germany, most everyone
comes on side.
Festival regulars Tony Munch and
Catherine Fitch are brilliant as
German developers Reinhart and
Birgit, who have both made the
theme park, affectionately (to them)
called Ojibwe World, their life's
work. And, as they'll tell you, while
the park will be called Ojibwe
World, its attractions will
encapsulate aspects of all First
Nations cultures, not just those of
the Ojibwe.
Fitch and Munch shine as the
comedic leads in the production.
They perfectly embody the
clockwork -like efficiency often
attributed to the Germans and their
no-nonsense approach is in stark
Continued on page 20
Sitaje,o and quite' Yeanvo, ping iecend Addee
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