For the first two weeks of March, Cantala was immersed in the world of theater and it was a fantastic experience. The play we were performing in was called “The Events” by David Grieg, music by John Browne and directed by Alan Dillworth, the artistic director of Necessary Angel Theatre Company. The play explores our bias’ and thoughts around racism and takes us through the process of trying to understand the person behind a mass shooting in Norway in 2011.

It is a heavy subject, no doubt. And there is not a lot of laughter in the dialogue, but the brilliant actors, Raven Dauda, who plays the main character Claire and Kevin Walker who mainly plays “the boy” both take on this work with passion and focus. They take us on a very poignant journey to figure out how to be at peace with these horrible world events. Sweetly, the end the play ends with the words "we’re all here” highlighting the beautiful fact that we are all in this together. Yes, its complicated. Yes, it doesn’t make sense. Yes, it is horrible and devastating. But we are all in it together.

My favorite part of the play was when Claire takes the “the boy” (assailant) and describes him in the minutes after his birth. He, like us, starting out as everyone else does-as a baby, searching for a mothers breast, often milky blue eyes, strong cry, wet hair matted in blood and amniotic fluid…..and how vulnerable and helpless we all are. With the music director, Jacqueline Teh humming Brahms' lullaby in the background, the atmosphere was silent, still and just plainly magical. There was a collective eerie peacefulness that came over the whole theater.

The play starts with the boy describing how an aboriginal person might have felt, being isolated for millions of years only to see one day, on the horizon, a ship with people and belongings, all new to him and his community of people. The boy asks the question to the audience “wouldn’t he have been terribly scared? and wanting to get out his guns and armor to defend himself and his people?”. At the end of the play Claire address’ this question when she visits him in jail and says “that aboriginal, the one that saw the ship could he have maybe thought ‘Thank f#@&ing God! Finally something different is happening around here!’ and welcomed them with open arms and warmth?”

Many things to think about as our world becomes increasingly multicultural and we overcome hate and racism towards others that are different than we are. Thanks, Alan, for reaching out and inviting Cantala to be part of your wonderful “necessary” theater. I believe “the Event” held a message we all need to ponder and continue to think about now and in the days and years ahead.