Title : Play about mother and girl facing intergenerational trauma to premiere at Luminato festival
link : Play about mother and girl facing intergenerational trauma to premiere at Luminato festival
Play about mother and girl facing intergenerational trauma to premiere at Luminato festival
One day as she was walking to school, Yolanda Bonnell came across a tiny bug trying to cross the road.
As she watched she had an epiphany related to the struggle of trying to get somewhere and also the fear of getting crushed.
"The treatment and the fear of insects compared to the treatment and fear of Indigenous People, particularly women, wasn't lost on me," said Bonnell.
This moment inspired her play, bug, which is set to premiere at the Luminato performing arts festival in Toronto.
The production looks to show the link between intergenerational trauma and addictions faced by Indigenous People as a result of colonization, informed by her own experiences as an Anishinaabe woman.
Bonnell, from Fort William First Nation in Thunder Bay, Ont., is both the playwright and solo actor in the piece.
The piece has a lot to say about intergenerational trauma, said Bonnell.
"I want people to understand that that's where a lot of the addictions in our community come from," she said.
The story begins with a traditional Anishinaabe creation story and develops through settler contacts, which begins the cycle of trauma and addiction.
Mother and girl
At the centre of the cycle are a mother and a girl, both played by Bonnell, both facing issues with addiction and not necessarily understanding why.
The girl is apprehended by child services at a young age and doesn't know her mother but as hard as she tries not to be like her, the cycle of intergenerational trauma and addiction spirals on.
"I think people have this notion that colonialism was something that happened, but the truth is that it's still happening right now," she said.
"We're suffering still the consequences of what's been done to us."
The mother and the girl never interact with each other and there aren't many details around their separation other than it happened when the girl was very young.
"It's really important that people understand why people are the way they are, when they judge people in the street. There are some things that they've gone through that they have no idea about," said Bonnell.
"That woman on the street is no different from me. We're the same."
Play dedicated to women
Because the subject matter of intergenerational trauma, addiction and family separation can have triggering effects for people, Bonnell said she will begin by letting the audience know that if they need to step out, an elder or healer will be there for them to make sure they feel safe.
Bonnell dedicates the play specifically to Barbara Kentner and Tina Fontaine. Kentner was a First Nations woman who died in 2017 after being hit by a trailer hitch thrown by a vehicle in Thunder Bay, Ont. A teen has been charged with second-degree murder in her death. Fontaine's body was found in Winnipeg's Red River in 2014. A man accused of killing her was acquitted earlier this year.
But Bonnell said the play is also dedicated to all sisters, mothers, aunties and nieces.
The world premiere of bug will run June 20-24 at the Theatre Centre.
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