This year, Persephone Theatre is opening its youth series with Th’owxiya: The Hungry Feast Dish, a play by Kwantlen First Nation playwright Joseph Dandurand.
Persephone Theatre opens youth series with theatrical ‘feast’
Photo credit: From left, Damion LeClair and Cassandra Bourchier perform Th’owxiya: The Hungry Feast Dish. PHOTO BY STEPH HALLER /Persephone Theatre
Th’owxiya: The Hungry Feast Dish is a high-energy, fast-moving show brought to life with big masks and bright costumes.
What do you get when you cross a hungry basket ogress, traditional trickster tales where the Raven steals the moon, and a dash of Hansel and Gretel? Young theatregoers throughout Saskatchewan are about to find out.
When a sly little Kw’at’el (mouse) steals a piece of cheese from Th’owxiya, a hungry old spirit inhabiting a feast dish full of delicious treats, Th’owxiya gets angry.
To save her family from Th’owxiya, Kw’at’el has to work with the clever Sqeweqs (Raven), a determined Sasq’ets (Sasquatch) and two brave young Spa:th (bear cubs) to trick the spirit.
For actor Damion LeClair, who plays the Raven, being able to introduce audiences to this interpretation of a Kwantlen First Nation tale has been a joy.
“We’ve had audiences with more Indigenous kids, and they’re just so attentive and into the story, because they feel like it’s a story about them and for them,” said LeClair. “To be able to see that, as an Indigenous actor, is pretty rewarding.
