Flood Risk, Climate Change at the Forefront of Bilingual Theatre Troupe’s New Show
Tintamarre, Mount Allison University’s bilingual theatre troupe, recently staged their activist collaborative comedy VILLAGES on the Windsor Theatre Out of the Box stage. Throughout the play’s creation, community concerns in the Tantramar area were at the forefront of discussions.
“The play really emerged out of the realization that, with so many challenges coming from climate change, communities are going to have to band together,” says Bernard Soubry, a four-year contributor to the troupe. “The question is, how? And how can that adaptation help our communities find long-term sustainability?”
Throughout the play, the residents of the island of Hurlevent and the seacoast town of Port-à-Petit must deal with a falling water table, storm surges, broken dykes, and growing threats to community integrity. (They also deal with recalcitrant figure-heads, a malfunctioning television with very persistent news announcers, and café regulars who will fight for their right to window tables.)
Brie Nelson, a Tintamarre alumna, sees the drama as a reflection of current struggles in the Maritimes. “We were definitely inspired by a lot of the problems that we’re noticing from living in coastal communities. But people have received it so well–we had someone come up to us after a show and say, ‘This play made me feel like a real Maritimer!'”
VILLAGES will tour schools across New Brunswick and Nova Scotia from May 1 – 16.
rcetantramar.org 