Review: A deft touch and humour soften the serious topics in Theatre Calgary's Awoowaakii
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Awoowaakii is a comedy that deals with some serious issues.
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The Indigenous characters in Theatre Calgary's latest play have sought the help of Rosie Running Eagle, an elder, to give them traditional names which reflect their personalities. When it comes to Toni Twigg, the most flamboyant of the characters, Rosie chooses a name meaning butterfly, saying Toni always brought levity and laughter with him, even in the most serious situations. This is also true of playwright Sable Sweetgrass, who keeps her show from becoming maudlin and preachy by sprinkling everything with gentle humour.
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It's a tricky situation, to say the least, because Sweetgrass has created the most untraditional of families. Chrissy Sipatsimo is a transgender woman who is raising her dead sister's son, Richie, with her friend Toni, who is a gay drag queen. Chrissy is pretty certain that Richie knows Toni is gay, but she doesn't think he knows Toni is a drag queen. This, and Richie's issues at school, are the biggest problems the little family faces until Chrissy's father, Joseph Two Guns, arrives and mistakes Toni for Chrissy. This throws the little family into complete chaos, and introduces themes of abuse, alcoholism, sexuality and residential schools. Sweetgrass wisely laces everything with the kind of humour the audience got used to in the first part of the play.
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The play opens with Toni doing a drag performance, which is a clever way to let the audience know they are in for the unconventional. It also leaves Toni in drag, and Chrissy trying to hide him from Richie. She literally sticks him in the cupboard. It makes for a raucous opening, which is what this play needs.
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Garret C. Smith throws subtlety to the wind to play Toni and has great fun doing so. He never lets Toni become obnoxious, instead keeping him mischievous.
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As Chrissy, Marshall Vielle does all the heavy lifting. He is the heart and soul of Sweetgrass's play. He has a speech in the second half in which he explains what a mother's role is and what it means to be transgender. It's a powerful speech, and Vielle gives it the kind of conviction that earns the biggest response of the evening.
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Jenova Calixto captures Richie's frustration, not just with his home life, but with his school. He has a beautiful speech in which he explains how Chrissy and Toni are the pillars of his life, and how he is treated at school. There is a touch of anger in how he delivers it that keeps it from being overly sentimental. He's not asking for pity, just understanding.
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