The Tashme Project: The Living Archives Comes to Centaur Theatre Brave New Looks
By: A.A. Cristi Nov. 12, 2018
Award-winning The Tashme Project: The Living Archives establishes a deep emotional and spiritual connection with the idea of ancestry, encouraging intergenerational dialogue. It is a deeply touching 75-minute documentary-style play that has been carefully pieced together from over 70 hours of interviews from across Canada, tracing the history and common experience of the Nisei (2nd Generation Japanese Canadians) through childhood, WWII internment and post-war deportation. The play is an embodiment of Nisei character, language, spirit and story.
Manning and Miwa want to reframe how people understand the integration process of minority groups, and drive home the fact that traumas of cultural integration and negotiation of heritage are processes that span into the 4th and 5th generations, and do not become less intense or less traumatic with each generation.
Voice-overs from the text with archival photos: Nobody was there but the trees were still growing-vimeo.com/300103981, I always thought it was a Japanese name-vimeo.com/300103943
Cette pièce verbatim de 75 minutes relie les témoignages de 20 nisei, ou Japonais-Canadiens de deuxième génération, de partout à travers la Canada. Maintenant des personne agées, les nisei étaient des enfants au temps de l'internement et leurs souvenirs des aventures et des jeux sont présentés en saillant contraste avec les récits d'internement plus communs et leurs épreuves et injustices. Se déplaçant de voix en voix et d'histoire en histoire avec une fluidité et une grâce construite, la pièce est jouée par ses créateurs (Julie et Matt) comme un hommage à leur communauté et au caractère, language et esprit du Nisei.
This production kicks off a national tour after 3 years of redevelopment, starting with Factory Theatre, Toronto and Firehall Arts Centre, Vancouver
The Tashme Project: The Living Archives: Nov. 16-24, 2018 www.thetashmeproject.com, centaurtheatre.com/brave-new-looks Post show artist talks as of Nov. 17
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