After Almighty Voice, a young Cree, was jailed for slaughtering a government cow, he fled and killed a Mountie. A massive manhunt ensued. Almighty Voice was cornered and died on a Saskatchewan farm in 1897. He was 22. In “Almighty Voice and His Wife,” he (Derek Garza) has a wife called White Girl (Paula-Jean Prudat).
The play is divided into two parts. Act I focuses on the couple in poetic and minimalist overtones. Act II takes place in the afterlife, where the Interlocutor (Prudat), a character dressed in Mountie attire, is awaiting Almighty Voice. The latter becomes the participant of a show created to shatter his own legend.
“Almighty Voice and His Wife” is much more than a celebration of the young Cree’s last years. The play challenges fabricated history – a method used by conquering races to suit their ideologies – and offers an uncompromising look at one of the darkest times in Canadian history: the Residential School System and its direct impact on generations of Aboriginal Peoples. The result is 90 minutes of intense, shocking but cathartic truths, served by surreal lighting (David DeGrow) and realistic sound (Richard Lee).
Two-character plays are always demanding. More often than not, one actor is outclassed by the other. “Almighty Voice and His Wife” stands as an exception in that field. Garza and Prudat are both equally excellent and their chemistry enjoyable, despite a few off-key moments in Act II.
Warning: The play contains strong language not suitable for a younger audience.
"Almighty Voice and His Wife" was written by Daniel David Moses and directed by Michael Greyeyes. Cast: Derek Garza and P.J. Prudat. The performance reviewed in this article took place at the Rachel Browne Theatre, in Winnipeg, on November 7, 2010.
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Cendrine Marrouat is a freelance writer/freelancer, published author and translator living in Canada. Official Website: http://www.cendrinemarrouat.com
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