Tickets are on sale now for the Nogojiwanong Indigenous Fringe Festival (NIFF) and, with the addition of two works by an esteemed local playwright to the bill, the show’s general manager hopes to draw even more guests to the annual Peterborough event.
Coinciding with ticket sales going live for the three-day festival in June, NIFF announced the creative offerings of Drew Hayden Taylor — playwright, television presenter, columnist, and NIFF co-founder — are included in the line-up for the unique-to-Peterborough event.
It’s “exciting to have our famous local playwright represented twice in the festival,” NIFF general manager Lee Bolton told kawarthaNOW.
“My hope is that people think about making a day or evening of NIFF,” Bolton says. “The schedule is set up so there are only short breaks between shows. Come see a couple (or) maybe bring a picnic and make a whole day of it.”
Indigenous artists will showcase their talents through film, music, puppetry, theatre, and more. Considered the only Indigenous fringe festival “in the known world,” NIFF runs from June 21 to 23 at Trent University.
The festival’s roster includes more than 20 performances, special events, family activities, and vendors. NIFF “is going to be jam-packed with performances and events and shows in our 100-seat theatre will sell out quickly,” a media release noted.
“I am excited about all the shows, but it’s neat to have been around long enough — four years — to be welcoming back past artists like Josh Languedoc, Juicebox Theatre, and the Centre for Indigenous Theatre,” Bolton recently told kawarthaNOW.
“I am also really excited to have our first family show with original songs in Anishnaabemowin — Songs and Puppetry with John-Paul Chalykoff.”
NIFF is being held in and around the Enwayaang building on the east bank of Trent University’s main campus, which is located at 1600 West Bank Drive.
NIFF chooses the artists through a lottery process, which is a customary element of fringe festivals. The festival team pulled six live performance companies and a film from this year’s hat, with both local and national artists represented. Each company will have multiple performances.
“Local artists are well-represented this year with the films of Wshkiigmong Dibaajmownan and solo performance ‘There Isn’t 2 Spirits in Me’ by Jess Vossen (Indigiqueen),” NIFF noted.
Drew Hayden Taylor is featured with performances of his play Girl Who Loved Her Horses and a special once-only reading of his play Drunks and Children Tell the Truth, both by members of Toronto’s Centre for Indigenous Theatre.
Other performances include Julia Ross’s The Hummingbird performed by Juicebox Theatre and music from Mama D and The Old New World Revolutionary Rockin’ Ballroom Dance Band.
Tickets for NIFF are available through the website at www.indigenousfringefest.ca, where you can also find the complete schedule.
All tickets are $12 and are also available on a cash-only basis at the door. Select performances of Chalykoff’s “Songs and Puppetry in Anishnaabemowin” and the Centre for Indigenous Theatre’s Girl Who Loved Her Horses also have child and youth tickets available.
