Review: THE TASHME PROJECT at Centaur Theatre

The Tashme Project: The Living Archives is a remarkable piece of verbatim theatre that is based on more than 60 interviews with Japanese Canadians who lived through internment in British Columbia after the bombing of Pearl Harbour.

The play is written and performed by duo Matt Miwa and Julie Tamiko Manning, both of whom had family members who were interned in a place called Tashme during the war.

The play is a heartfelt reconstruction of the pair's creative process, interviews and attempts to grapple with this difficult moment in Canadian history. The two actor-creators explore their personal connection to the stories of the people they spoke with, and who they embody onstage.

Enough cannot be said about the versatility and dedication of these two, who bring to life the narratives of people who lived years in internment camps, many of whom were just children at the time.

The show, which is touring under the banner of Tashme Productions, has an innovative sound and lighting design that proves really effective in the more emotionally fraught moments of the dialogue.

The confluence of personal stories, memory and intergenerational trauma create a really compelling whole that acts not just as performance, but as preservation.

Directed with a deft hand by Montreal's Mike Payette, the show runs 80 minutes without intermission and is followed by a talk-back with the artists afterward.

While the text is rife with poignant moments, it somehow avoids taking on too grim a tone, at times experimenting with the lighthearted and even funny memories of the interview subjects.

The finished product is balanced and refreshing, sidestepping the obvious pitfall of becoming heavy-handed and educational in tone. Certainly it's a story that needs to be told, and one that is oft-overlooked in Canadian history curriculums.

The Tashme Project runs at the Centaur Theatre until Nov. 24.

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