I attended the Thursday, October 12 performance of the SETYA (Staging Equality Theatre for Young Audiences) double bill at University of Victoria’s Phoenix Theatre, and it was truly a meaningful experience. And not just for me: the show got a standing ovation in the almost-full theatre.
The night featured The Woman Who Outshone the Sun by Rosalma Zubizarreta, Harriet Rohmer, and David Schecter, and Shi-shi-etko by Nicola Campbell. Initially entering the theatre was a full-body experience. The lighting was dimmed, relaxing instrumental music was on in the bathroom, and light cascaded upon the stage floor; there were flowers projected on to glow-in-the-dark clothes.
The lighting in the show was perfect, and it complemented the choreography, with the shadows in the backdrop making images as a group of individuals danced to act out the story being told. Honestly, it was all so beautiful: the idyllic scenes mixed with the colours of a well-tended garden rich with love.
The Woman Who Outshone the Sun is a Mexican folk tale that tells the story of a beautiful woman who shines bright as the sun in beauty and character. She befriends the river and the people learn to be kind to one another and to not discriminate.
The moral of the story is the river doesn’t discriminate against whom they give water to, that kindness should be shown to everyone, regardless of the difference between them and yourself.
Shi-shi-etko is based on an Indigenous children’s book written about the last days, where the main girl, Shi-Shi-etko, still falls asleep with her belly full, wrapped in a blanket made for her by family, before she’s taken to residential “school.”
I appreciated how they had a lack of colonial violence in the performance. The only thing they mentioned was how Shi-Shi-etko was to be put in a cattle car with the other little children when she would be removed from her loving family.
The story as a whole is incredibly hopeful; it’s also visually stunning to see how she connects with the land. She has relationships with her aunties, uncles, fir tree, mother, bees, cousins, and all her relations.
Overall, the performances and stories were heartfelt, well received, and visually stunning.
The standing ovation was well-deserved.
SETYA Double Bill
Various times and dates, until Saturday, October 21
Various prices (student rush tickets $12 30 minutes before show)
UVic Phoenix Theatre