Manikanetish

Yammie left everything behind to return to Uashat, on the Côte-Nord. She left the Innu community when she was just a child, and it was to teach French that she returned, hoping to rediscover her roots. But she finds that things have changed. Or is it she who has changed? How can a place and the people who live there create such a complex mix of belonging and otherness?

At the Manikanetish school, Yammie meets Marc, Myriam, Mikuan and Rodrigue, her almost-adult students who are trying to build a life of their own. She discovers Nutshimit, 'the interior of the land' in the Innu language, and learns the difference between teaching and passing on knowledge.

As she progresses alongside them "on the path between pride and humility", what Yammie finds in each of her pupils - and in herself - will overwhelm her.

In these voices, these gazes and these northern landscapes, we see struggle and tragedy, but above all, determination, beauty and solidarity.

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Author and teacher Naomi Fontaine is Innu from Uashat. She made a big splash on the literary scene in 2011 with her first novel, Kuessipan, which has since been adapted for the big screen.

In Manikanetish we find her powerful, fine voice, which so aptly embodies the dreams of the young people in her community.

This gallery of deeply human portraits, tinged with luminous poetry, has won critical acclaim and numerous awards. Manikanetish was a finalist for Radio-Canada's Combat national des livres 2019 and for the 2018 Governor General's Literary Award.

The adaptation, by Julie-Anne Ranger-Beauregard in collaboration with Naomi Fontaine, offers a blend of narrative, fiction and complete freedom, featuring a cast of Aboriginal artists. Through these words and characters, audiences will be able to pay tribute to this culture of "laughter, silence and hope".

Manikanetish was published by Mémoire d'encrier. Based on the novel by Naomi Fontaine.

Directed by

Jean-Simon Traversy

Theatrical adaptation

Naomi Fontaine and Julie-Anne Ranger-Beauregard

Cast

Lashuanna Aster Vollant, Charles Buckell-Robertson, Sharon Fontaine-Ishpatao, Marc-Olivier Gingras, Emma Rankin, Scott Riverin, Jean-Luc Shapatu Vollant, Alexia Vinci

Musical direction and arrangements

Marc-André Perron

Production

Duceppe

This show is presented with the support of Voyagements - Théâtre de création en tournée