- Yukon News
- Carcross audience member
- Audience member
- Inuvik audience member
It's nearly winter solstice when Henry gets out of jail, ready to straighten out his life. Of course it's not that easy. His old buddies just want to party, his girlfriend's moving ahead of him. And then there's the ghost of Johnnie, everyone's hero, who just won't leave the northern lights.
Sixty Below opened on May 9, 2000 at Nakwataku Potlatch House, Kwanlin Dun First Nation in Whitehorse, produced by Gwaandak Theatre, Nakai Theatre and Society of Yukon Artists of Native Ancestry. It toured to the rural Yukon communities of Carcross, Haines Junction, Teslin, Watson Lake, Ross River, Carmacks, Old Crow, Dawson City and Mayo, and to Inuvik, N.W.T.
| Henry | Glen Gould* |
| Rosie | Janis Johnson |
| Johnnie | Daryl Clark |
| Big Joe | Jackson Cric |
| Dave | Wayne Lavallee |
| Ruth | Haron Shorty |
*Actors appear with the permission of the Canadian Actors Equity Association
| Director | Floyd Favel |
| Production Designer | David Skelton |
| Sound Designer | Daniel Janke |
| Production Manager | Jen Jones |
| Stage Manager | Brian Fidler |
| Assistant Stage Manager | Dean Eyre |
| Publicist | Trace de Jaray |
| Tour Manager | Jen Jones |
| Scenic Seamstress | Anne-Marie Sevic |
| Assistant Seamstress | Yteke Visser |
| Poster Photo | Rob Toohey |
| Poster and Program Design | Terra Firma |
ixty Below has been a long journey. It began with interviews with First Nations inmates “up the hill” at the Whitehorse Correctional Centre, who shared their spiritual quests. There was the 1989 Nakai 24-Hour Playwriting Competition: Patti was morning-sick, pregnant with Gwaandak, our company’s namesake. In Giwch’in one meaning is `telling a story’, something northerners do a lot of.
We had consultations with theatre artists from across Canada, supported by Nakai’s Dawn Davies, and a workshop in the WCC with a coupla wild wimmin dramaturgs from the city, Svetlana Zylin and Judith Rudakoff. Director Vinetta Strombergs and Cree actor Kennetch Charlette were pivotal in the 1997 Toronto production which received seven Dora Mavor Moore Award nominations.
We’re delighted that Nakai Theatre and Society of Yukon Artists of Native Ancestry wanted to “play” with us this time ‘round, and we couldn’t have imagined a better director, designers, cast and crew. Sixty Below emerged from our community, written for us, and that’s why we wanted to tour it. We hope northern audiences will find laughs, honest, and hope in this production…and that some will take up or continue with theatre to express who we are, and who we dream to be.
This tour is dedicated to the memory of Mrs. Clara Tizya, who inspired us with her strength, pride and compassion, and recorded Gwich’in legends such as Man Without Fire, to share with her many descendants.
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Sixty Below premiered at the Native Canadian Centre in Toronto, Canada, produced by Native Earth Performing Arts Inc.
This production of Sixty Below was nominated for seven Dora Mavor Moore Awards in the small theatre division, including outstanding new play and outstanding production.
An earlier version of Sixty Below premiered at the Yukon Arts Centre, Whitehorse, Yukon, produced by Nakai Theatre Ensemble.
