Theatre - Catalyst: The Invisible
Many thanks last night to Kristi Hansen for inviting me to see The Invisible, playing at the Cultch. It was wild to go out to a theatre show after two years of staying literally as far away as I could from any manner of human.
It was wonderful to see old friends, many of whom I have not seen in years. Shout out to Lana Larisse Matthew and Michael Caron who it was lovely to see. And for Patrick who came with me to ensure I didn't stab anyone who coughed too close (or to help me bury a body if necessary).
I have a myriad of thoughts about the show, some of which I discussed last night with crew and friend, some of which need to percolate through my brain as I consider them and reflect. But one I will share is that I think of the me of ten years ago, and my own views as a younger man of Catalyst shows. Which was the strange contrast of grotesque beauty we were all transfixed by. The combination of sound, music, movement, and design made its ethereal qualities engaging. The Catalyst that I watched then however was dominated by whiteness, they were European stories, done by white performers, with no voice given or space shared for anyone else. This weakness was overlooked because Catalyst was so 'amazing'. Or so we told ourselves then.
The Invisible, I'm pleased to report does have People of Colour represented, (and is entirely performed by Women as well!). Though it is again a predominantly European story, there are people of colour on stage, telling metaphors about colonialism, and not just in a token way, but there are great strides being made forwards. Is it perfect? Well no, no piece of theatre really ever is. But they perform, they bring their voices, they bring their stories, and those things are intricately woven into the fabric of the spectacle that is a Catalyst show. They aren't merely tokenized and discarded, at least that was my feeling. If you told me, even five years ago that this is where we'd get to, I'd have scoffed at you. "That is not a theatre that cares about the voices of the marginalized that way." And yet last night, I am happily proven wrong.
I'm glad to have gone out last night to see it. If you get the chance, either in Vancouver or sometime in the future, I would encourage you to do so as well.
Break legs friends.
