What a fun theatrical production of Savage Society’s Little Red Warrior and His Lawyer, at the York Theatre, on the unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.
I just loved this wickedly funny satire about power, politics, and procreation, Little Red Warrior, the last remaining member of the Little Red Warrior First Nation, discovers construction has begun on his ancestral lands. In a fit of rage, he attacks an engineer, gets arrested, thrown in jail, and assigned a court-appointed lawyer, Larry. Much to the dismay of his wife, Larry invites a displaced Little Red Warrior to stay with them. But when you invite a coyote into your coop, he might just walk away with your chickens. The whole production was well done, lots of laughs. Loved the crown scene and the queen who comes on stage with the perfect music.
Savage Society is known for telling original Indigenous stories which draw upon myth, tradition and contemporary perspectives. Little Red Warrior and His Lawyer, a hilarious contemporary play about land sovereignty, is written and directed by Governor General Award-winning playwright from the Nlaka’pamux Nation, Kevin Loring. “I wanted to tell a Story about Land Claims from the perspective of snk̓ y̓ép, Coyote, our sacred profane Trickster, as told in the Nlaka’pamux Story Traditions,” says Loring. “Not to adhere to any kind of ethnographic accuracy, but to write a play imbued with the spirit of those Coyote Stories.”
Little Red Warrior and His Lawyer runs at The Cultch’s York Theatre until March 13.