Le Radeau

Because of the Mud by Corinne Donly is an allegory for queer identity and surviving the climate crisis. Directed and choreographed by Nate Yaffe, an intergenerational and pluridisciplinary cast dances this story from the perspectives of an aspen grove, and two small rocks, one quartzite, the other granite.

What does it mean to be an individual, yet inseparable from the whole? This central quandary of the play cuts to the heart of both the queer experience and our relationship to nature. For us, it also guides how we come into collaboration. How can we work as an ensemble while retaining agency over our bodies and voices, needs and desires?

The aspens are one unified organism joined at the roots, yet are also individual trees, all named Roberta. When one of the Robertas comes out as Robert, they are faced with the complex nature of identity both within one body, and as a community. This queer story sits within a larger story of an environmental crisis, where the aspens and the boulders have divergent needs and experiences, neither resembling what we humans face.

Credits

• Director, choreographer Nate Yaffe
• Playwright, artistic advisor Corinne Donly
• Culture Minder Coman Poon
• Performers Alexis O’Hara, Moe Clark, George Longshadow, Ivanie Aubin-Malo, Sophia Gaspard, Anne Caines
• Dramaturge Hanako Hoshimi-Caines
• Rehearsal coach Michael Martini
• Production manager Émmalie Ruest

Financial support

• Canada Council for the Arts