Now (núna) is presenting the production of “Sargent and Victor” by Deb Patterson, the 2010 Cultural Capitol of Canada Theatre ambassador in Gimli next weekend! This new solo play is created from a series of first person accounts gathered through interviews Patterson conducted with past and present residents of the iconic Winnipeg intersection for which it is named, the early urban settlement of immigrant Icelanders. Drawn to the area by a fascination with how neighbourhoods evolve, Patterson has created a mash-up of voices and stories creating a haunting narrative infused with a potent honesty that comes from her capacity to touch difficult and often dark subject matter with humour and grace.
While Patterson, a well-known playwright and performer, collected and compiled the interviews, she kept the words as close to the original speeches as possible. “I tried to catch every intonation right down to the ‘ums’ and the ‘you know’s,” says Patterson. “I really wanted the people’s voices to come through – to give them a chance to be heard in their own words.” Drawn to the area by a fascination with how neighbourhoods evolve,Patterson has collected stories and created a theatrical mash up of voices. For decades, this little patch of our city has been a refuge for people fleeing conflict and strife, arriving from all over the world. “How many tears can this tiny piece of land soak up before it becomes saturated?” asks Patterson. “What happens when that flood of anguish overtakes us? This is what I wanted to explore.”
SARGENT & VICTOR
Friday, October 21st, 2011 | 7:00pm
Aspire Theatre