Written and directed by Matthew McKenzie, Bearsis the story of a First Nations man intimately engaged with the mountains, the rivers, the animals, the fish, and the insects he encounters on a life-changing journey. This is multidisciplinary work, bringing together dance, electronic music, spoken word, and science.
Bearsis little bit jarring at first, the mystery of the art in relationship to the monologue, which was, largely, a recitation of fact. It’s a marriage of science and art, a form of storytelling growing in popularity among artists right now.
Truth is, no one is listening to the scientists. The data that clearly show that we are causing climate change has been available for years, and we’ve done next to nothing to alter our course. Now, the artists are coming forward to take the data and the facts and put them into a new form of storytelling. Turning data into art is another attempt at getting the message across.
There are nine players on stage for the entire 75 minutes of Bears: Floyd, the man on a journey, played by Sheldon Elter; the spirit of his mother—played by Tracey Nepinak—who died of a rare, incurable condition probably caused by tar-sands poison; and seven dancers. The dancers wrapped in shredded whites are nature; they dance endlessly. They are flowers, deer, grizzlies, antelope, butterflies, dead eagles, and schools of gasping salmon. They are giggling strawberries, they are an avalanche, and they are the Fraser River. They are one.
After the play on the night I attended, the audience was invited to stay behind to talk about our reactions. One woman immediately fell back on the old standby: “Well, we all drive cars, so…” She seemed quite satisfied with that thinking, almost as though she could blithely wipe her hands clean of the entire problem. And it did tend to put an end to the conversation. That’s fine for her, but of course the problem hasn’t been solved. Climate change is still coming, and the dancers are going to suffer.
Bears
Until Sunday, February 24, 2019
Belfry Theatre
belfry.bc.ca