I don’t know if I will post on that page or not. Andrew will soon be meeting with Jackie, and I think the matter stands the best chance of moving forward if left in their hands. I regret not being able to contribute the point rather earlier in the conversation, and I don’t think the pot needs more stirring at this point.

I broached the idea to Andrew of opening a discussion on diversity on stages across Canada, without focussing on any specific theatre. He suggested that the topic might be more appropriate for a separate page, and I respect that. Unfortunately, he has dibs on the best title!

This whole conversation is fascinating, both personally and because Council is working on the topic right now.

Thank you so much for this post. It gives me a chance to clarify a couple of things.

1. That was my own mistake in not finishing that thought properly. It has been fixed.

And 2. Those are not my sentiments, but my trying to explain the issues being raised by Andrew Moodie.

But you raise good points and so I’ve included your comments here too.

Thanks and sorry for my lack of clarity.

The Rashomon point is a good one. I don’t know the show. I hope you mention it on the Share the Stage Facebook page.

Cheers.

And thanks for reading my blog.

I’m not certain if I correctly understood your point:

“there has never been a play by a black, chinese, hispanic, etc. author telling those stories”.

I presume you don’t mean that they don’t exist, just that Shaw has _never_ done any.

In the time I have been here, Shaw has presented…

He Who Gets Slapped (Andreyev)
War and Peace (Tolstoy)
Perr Gynt, Hedda Gabler (Ibsen)
Ubu Rex (Jarry)
Watlz of the Toreadors (Anouilh)
Henry IV, Six Characters in Search of an Author (Pirandello)
Lulu (Wedekind)
Drums in the Night, Happy End (Brecht)
The Unmentionables (Sternheim)
Ivona Princess Of Burgundia (Gombrowicz)
The Seagull, Uncle Vanya, Three Sisters, Love Among The Russians (Chekhov)
S.S. Tenacity (Vildrac)
The House Of Bernarda Alba (Lorca)
Hotel Peccadillo (Feydeau/Desvallières)

… representing a range of cultures, nationalities and storytelling traditions.

Shaw has also presented “Rashomon”, a traditional Japanese story (although penned by American authors), in which Nigel Shawn Williams played one of the three leads: a samurai.

I accept that Shaw’s track record in this area is anaemic, and the representation to date is hardly pan-ethnic, but I don’t think it merits the word “never”.

My 2¢