News Release

NAC INDIGENOUS THEATRE PRESENTS ARTICLE 11’S ACCLAIMED PRODUCTION OF DEER WOMAN
A special on demand broadcast premieres on NAC Website February 14

February 10, 2021 – OTTAWA (Canada) – “My name is Lila and I am a proud Blackfoot woman. What I am doing is illegal.” So begins Deer Woman, a solo-warrior-woman story of righteous vengeance created by ARTICLE 11.

To mark a national day of action to Honour Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, the NAC Indigenous Theatre is proud to present an online broadcast of Deer Woman, a provocative theatrical work written by 2020 Siminovitch Prize winning playwright Tara Beagan. The play, which captured powerful reactions around the globe, will run February 14 to February 21 on the NAC website. The play was performed and recorded with Downstage Theatre on Mohkinstsis, home of the Kainai, Piikani, Siksika, Tsuut’ina and Stoney-Nakoda Nations, and Métis Nation Region 3 and aired in October of 2020, and is now available to watch on demand for NAC audiences for a week.

Deer Woman tells the story of a missing and murdered woman in a country where over 1,600 Indigenous women and girls are officially recognized as being missing or murdered.

Lila (Cherish Violet Blood), one missing girl’s big sister, refuses to stand idly by. She is the daughter of a hunter who taught her all he knew. She’s ex-army, too. When circumstances converge, Lila finds the perfect opportunity to avenge her baby sister’s murder while exercising the skills taught by the Canadian government.

“The reality of the innumerable of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in our country is so profoundly upsetting. It can leave a person feeling powerless. Deer Woman is a way to demonstrate the power Indigenous women have.” – Tara Beagan.
Deer Woman premiered at Tawata Productions’ Kia Mau Festival in Wellington, Aotearoa (NZ) in June of 2018, with the season taking place at BATS Theatre. Deer Woman was hailed as a highlight of the 2019 Sydney Festival, playing at Carriageworks to sold-out houses. 

After a widely successful tour in 2018 and 2019, ARTICLE 11 and Downstage Theatre planned to host the Turtle Island premiere, before the pandemic caused the 2020 tour to be cancelled. Not to be deterred, both companies partnered this fall to transfer the play to film for online broadcast.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

This online performance will be available to watch on the NAC website as of Sunday, February 14, 2021 at 10:00am EST, until on Sunday February 21, 2021 at 11:59pm EST.
https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/28163

Deer Woman contains extreme, graphic, historical and contemporary violence, disturbing content and descriptions of sexual violence. Restricted to ages 16+.

ONLINE SUPPORT RESOURCES

NAC Indigenous Theatre has gathered a collection of mental health resources aimed at maintaining and improving mental health and well being. If you or someone you know is struggling, the resources listed on the NAC website are there to support you.

PRODUCTION CREDITS

The Creative team for Deer Woman includes Playwright and Director Tara Beagan; Director and Designer Andy Moro; Collaborating Sound Designer Luca Caruso-Moro; Original Music Composition and Performance by Lacey Hill; Lila’s Makeup, Camera & Slate Imajyn Cardinal; Nourishment and Transport Michelle Thrush; Camera Operators Caitlyn Pantherbone and Davey Jerry; Publicist: Aldona B. Creative; Downstage Producing Support Clare Preuss and Danielle Whyte.
Deer Woman is performed by actor and activist Cherish Violet Blood.

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS

Indigenous Theatre at Canada’s National Arts Centre is made possible through the support of many generous individuals and organizations from across the country. Thank you to Season Sponsor BMO Financial Group, Hotel Partner The Embassy Hotel and Suites, and Official Rail Partner VIA Rail.​ The National Arts Centre Foundation also wishes to acknowledge the leadership support of Shirley Greenberg, C.M., OOnt, Frank and Debbi Sobey, Kenneth and Margaret Torrance Endowment for Indigenous Theatre, the Vered Family, and an Anonymous Donor. We also express our sincere gratitude to the Government of Canada and the Canada Council for the Arts for their longstanding support of the NAC and the arts in Canada.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE

The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams—the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety—and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabeg Nation.
 

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