This is a co-presentation with the University of Alberta and the Jeanne and Peter Lougheed Performing Arts Centre.
For livestream registration for this event, click here.
Pawâkan Macbeth is Reneltta Arluk’s groundbreaking reimagining of Shakespeare’s darkest play into
Cree history, legend and cosmology.
Pawâkan Macbeth is set during pre-colonization, when Plains Cree were allied with Stoney Nakoda, and
at war with Blackfoot over territory, food, supplies and trade. When true autonomy existed among
Indigenous Peoples and with that their spirits, their wisdom, practices, makers, tricksters, shifters, their
darkness and light. When the Canadian Government were making their way west with Sir John A.
MacDonald as its leader. Harsh environments brought immense fear, starvation, and uncertainty
together to awaken the darkest of Cree spirits, the Wihtiko – a being with insatiable greed. Through the
exploration of Plains Cree language, history, stories and cosmology Arluk asks, What is it to be human?
What makes a human vulnerable to the Wihtiko? Inspired by working with the youth of Frog Lake First
Nation, and shared stories from Elders in the Treaty 6 region, Arluk has created a terrifying journey
through love, greed, honour and betrayal, with coyote howlers teaching us that resurgence requires
balance.
“Pawâkan is a dream spirit that comes to you during your rite of passage. I see it as a guide that reveals
itself in its time of need. Wihtiko can come to you as your Pawâkan and it needs to be rejected. I ask,
what happens when it arrives and takes you when you are most vulnerable?”
— Reneltta Arluk
“We Cree have a legend of the Wihtiko; it is an evil being with an insatiable hunger. The more it eats, the
hungrier and bigger it gets. The students always draw a comparison between the Wihtiko and Macbeth.
Macbeth relates to many themes that are prevalent in Cree legends: greed, loyalty, love, horror, and
balance.”
— Owen Morris, Chief Napeweaw School, Frog Lake First Nation
Pawâkan Macbeth is a full length play commissioned by The Stratford Festival. The community telling of
Pawâkan Macbeth embarks on a 2020 tour of Treaty 6 territory, bringing professional theatre into these
Indigenous communities for the first time. Performances of Pawâkan Macbeth will be part of The
Chinook Festival in Edmonton, AB presented by Azimuth Theatre. In collaboration with the Northern
Arts and Cultural Centre, Pawâkan Macbeth will also be touring to six communities in the Northwest
Territories (Fort Smith, Hay River, Fort Simpson, Inuvik, Norman Wells and Yellowknife.)
Written by Reneltta Arluk (Inuvialuit, Cree, Dene), co-directed by Barry Bilinsky (Métis, Cree, Ukrainian),
Pawâkan Macbeth features an incredibly talented all Indigenous cast with: Sophie Merasty, Joel D.
Montgrand, Allyson Pratt, Mitch Saddleback, Aaron Wells and Kaitlyn Yott.
Pawâkan Macbeth’s story was inspired by Frog Lake elders: Mary Ann Dillon, Rose Dillon, Henry Smith,
Raymond Quinney, Cecile Dion, and Cultural Advisor Gary Berland. With original development of
concept by Owen Morris and students of Chief Napeweaw School. Some of Pawâkan Macbeth stories
originated from the Frog Lake, Loon Lake, and Onion Lake region on Treaty 6 territory.
