Review: Edmonton's Shadow Theatre brings world premiere of The Two Battles of Francis Pegahmagabow to the stage

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You’ll be thinking about Francis Pegahmagabow long after you leave the theatre. As a character, he resonates. As a true story, he’s symbolic. He’s also a person, with frailties and frustrations, that you’ll want to get to know. So props to Shadow Theatre and Métis playwright Neil Grahn for bringing The Two Battles of Francis Pegahmagabow to the stage in this world premiere that launches the company’s 31st season.

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The story opens on Pegahmagabow as a boy. His father has died, his mother has left and he is raised by grandparents who sprinkle his morning bowl of nourishment with gunpowder. Little wonder he grows up to be one of the most decorated veterans of the First World War. Raised as a hunter, the Ojibway soldier comes to think of enemy soldiers as a game on two legs. Pegahmagabow, who was awarded three medals for his military service, was a legendary sniper, who is credited with 378 deaths — the most kills of any soldier, anywhere — during the First World War.

And yet. When he returned from the war, Pegahmagabow was forced to engage in another battle on behalf of his people, who could not even vote. As a farmer who was also a veteran, he was denied the same financial benefits granted to other vets. Pegahmagabow went on to become the chief of his community (located near Parry Sound and today known as Wasaukasing First Nation) and even there he struggled. His own band members refused to back him in a fight against the federal government’s Indian agents, notoriously paternalistic bureaucrats who exhibited inordinate control over the lives of Indigenous people. He also married and raised a family (two boys, who were threatened with compulsory service in the Second World War) with his wife Eva.

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The man had a jam-packed life, and the problem is that seemingly every element of that life is in the play. Structurally, the play flips between war scenes and scenes that take place both before and after the war. There is so much racing through history that the audience doesn’t get the chance to settle in and really absorb the moving depth of Pegahmagabow’s experience.

The war scenes, which have the potential to be the most powerful parts of the play, get short shrift, robbing the narrative of much-needed tension. Pegahmagabow prefers to work alone, often refusing to take along the traditional spotter. He would stake out a hidden position in no-man’s land and wait, sometimes for two days, to narrow in on a human target. The script tells us he was so stealthy that he managed to crawl directly into enemy trenches.

Think about those elements of character, and what they say about the man as a warrior. But the playwright doesn’t stay in those moments long enough to wrest their full emotional impact. The end of the play hints at the utter dissolution of Pegahmagabow but it happens so swiftly, that I was left completely perplexed. These substantial elements, including the shell shock that saw Pegahmagabow threaten to kill a fellow Canadian soldier — were skipped quickly past in favour of post-war accomplishments that, while entirely worthy, lacked the same degree of dramatic impact. There is just too much going on.

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That’s not to say there isn’t a good deal that works within the play, which is co-directed by Shadow’s artistic director John Hudson, and Cree-Métis artist Christine Frederick. Grahn is an excellent writer and the dialogue sings. His focus on Pegahmagabow’s commitment to his Indigenous culture — represented by the medicine bag that he wears around his neck and believes has saved his life — reveals heartbreaking richness.

The set design (c.m. zuby), lighting design (Patrick Beagan) and multi-media/sound design (Aaron Macri) are stunning. A jagged white cloth that descends from above is used to great effect to signify mountains and a giant, glowing moon. Theatrical magic like the black dogs with fiery red mouths that haunt Pegahmagabow feels real to the audience, even though other characters can’t see them.

The cast of five works well together, with four members of the supporting ensemble — Trevor Duplessis, Monica Gate, Julie Golosky and Ben Kuchera — proving strong anchors for the production.

The beating heart of the show, however, is Garret C. Smith in the role of Pegahmagabow. A member of the Piikani and Kainai Nations of the Blackfoot Confederacy in Southern Alberta, Smith grabs and holds the attention of the audience in every scene. We can sense the interplay between his shadow self and his soul; he struggles with his role as a demon in hell. When Pegahmagabow confronts the powerful colonial force of the Indian agents, the audience can feel his very gut clenching while he waits. Always, he waits. He knows, and we all know, that he will never get what he deserves.

REVIEW

Shadow Theatre’s world premiere of The Two Battles of Francis Pegahmagabow

Playwright: Neil Grahn

Director: John Hudson and Christine Frederick

Featuring: Garret C. Smith, Trevor Duplessis, Monica Gate, Julie Golosky and Ben Kuchera

Where: Varscona Theatre 10329 83 Ave.

When: Through Nov. 24 Tickets are available from $25 at shadowtheatre.org or by calling 780-434-5564.

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