For one performance only, in a semi-staged concert that included excerpts from Ian Cusson and Royce Vavrek’s opera Indians on Vacation, Against the Grain Theatre offered an unusual presentation – Stories Don’t Die: The Artists of Indians on Vacation.
For people unfamiliar with its background, the development of the opera began in 2021 at a workshop presented by Edmonton Opera. It was scheduled for premieres by Edmonton Opera and Against the Grain this year. Near the end of 2025 however, Thomas King, the author of the book on which it is based, revealed that he discovered he had no Indigenous roots. Edmonton cancelled their production after “a few weeks of conversations with local Indigenous Elders, knowledge keepers, patrons and community members from Treaty 6.”
The cancellation meant the loss of work for the artists, although their contracts were paid out. More importantly, the project involved a number of performers and designers – primarily Indigenous – whose work would have benefited from the profile of the Edmonton Opera premiere. When Against the Grain also cancelled their planned premiere, they promised to convene “focused conversations with the creative team, our Indigenous community members and our artistic partners…to consider how and whether this opera might thoughtfully and responsibly continue to evolve.” Stories Don’t Die was created out of some of those conversations.
Indians on Vacation tells the story of Bird and Mimi, a middle-aged Indigenous couple who have travelled to Prague as part of their quest to follow a family history. Mimi is irrepressible in her excitement with their adventures. Bird, on the other hand, is still battling his demons – who Mimi encouraged him to leave at home. She has named the demons Eugene (self-loathing), Kitty (catastrophizing), the twins Didi (depression) and Desi (despair), and Chip (the “chip” on Bird’s shoulder).
Nine excerpts from the opera were performed. Between some of them, members of the company came forward to speak about their Indigenous identities, why they had wanted to work on the piece and what they felt was lost in its cancellation. These monologues were a vital component of the presentation, and they were moving, challenging and funny by turn. As a White, middle-aged man of settler descent, however, I do not feel qualified to speak about them as part of a “review” and will be restricting that to the excerpts presented.
Vavrek’s libretto, which is faithful to the novel, paints a recognizable middle-aged couple grappling with both the excitement and discomfort of travel. Even in their Indigeneity, these are people everyone knows and can associate with. The libretto showed an interesting approach to Bird’s demons, using them as a sort of Greek chorus haunting and echoing his thoughts. I would have liked greater distinction between the individual demons, but it’s possible that would have been included in full work. Cusson’s music has clean vocal lines that allow the text to be easily understood. It is lyrical and accessible, and the orchestration we heard (in what may have been a condensed version) was extraordinary.
Photo Credit: Lauren Halasz
Bird’s demons, from left to right Keely McPeek (Didi), Julie Lumsden (Kitty), Asitha Tennekoon (Desi), Danlie Rae Acebuque (Eugene)
and Giles Tomkins (Chip)
Mezzo-soprano Marion Newman was a delight as Mimi, navigating some of Cusson’s quicker phrases with style, but still able to create beautifully extended phrases in “Ravishing Kwagiulth Woman.” Her voice is rich and full of different colours – she rightfully gave composer Cusson some serious side-eye when he spoke during the audience talkback about the joys of writing for “the voice in its twilight” – and her experience as a performer allowed her to make the most of the concert-style presentation. It was also a delight to see the beautiful “bubble bath dress” designed by Jeff Chief, which was the only one of his original costume designs realized for this presentation.
As the long-suffering Bird, baritone Evan Korbut provided a solid core to the work with an overall strong performance. He has a lovely lyric baritone voice and a charismatic, relatable stage presence. Korbut had most of the sung dialogue sequences in these excerpts, and his interactions with the other characters were straightforward and naturalistic.
The demons, played by Danlie Rae Acebuque (Eugene), Julie Lumsden (Kitty), Keely McPeek (Didi), Asitha Tennekoon (Desi) and Giles Tomkins (Chip), sang well and created a compelling stage picture as a group, while they each brought a slightly different movement language to their individual portrayals. Lumsden, McPeek and Tomkins also had scenes playing other characters, and they sang beautifully and acted with honesty.
Yvette Nolan, who was supposed to helm the premiere of the full opera, used the simple staging, costumes and lights to great effect. Her work with the demons was really exciting, developing a movement language with them that was both frightening and – oddly – funny. Nolan also worked with the artists to shape the entire presentation, helping select excerpts for performance and structuring the alternation of those excerpts with the individuals’ reflections.
I had heard wonderful things about last summer’s orchestral workshop of Indians on Vacation at the Banff Centre, and I had been looking forward to seeing the work’s premiere. Although this was not a complete performance, it felt like positive momentum. But now that I’ve had a taste, I really want to see the entire thing.
Photo Credit: Lauren Halasz
Marion Newman, ravishing Kwagiulth woman, in Jeff Chief’s bubble bath dress
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