Albanian blood feuds and land disputes are arresting subject matter for a new work of physical theatre — though at first glance, they seems a bit distant from Toronto life.
TOKA will challenge you to look more closely.
A world-premiere work of physical theatre written and choreographed by Theatre Passe Muraille’s (TPM) Associate Artistic Director Indrit Kasapi and directed by 2 Spirit Michif (Métis) artist Cole Alvis, TOKA follows the story of siblings who wrestle with the consequences of a long-standing land dispute which results in generational death and violence. The digital co-production will stream online from April 20th to 23rd, and marks the culmination of lemon tree creations’ multi-year residency with Theatre Passe Muraille.
Albanian blood feud or gjakmarrja (pronounced Jyak-MARR-Ya) is rooted in the Kanun. Dating as far back as the 5th century B.C., gjakmarrja obliges murder to be repaid with murder. In the name of familial honour, male family members must seek revenge or be stigmatized by their community. Although the Communist Dictatorship of Enver Hoxha outlawed blood feuds, the practice saw a resurgence in the 1990s during Albania’s transition to democracy.
According to reports, over 12,000 revenge murders have been committed in Albania since 1991. Many affected by these feuds live secluded lives in their homes, reluctant to venture outside for fear of death. And the cycle of violence and oppression continues – even though the ancient code on which the blood feuds are based encourages reconciliation. This idea offers a resonant parallel to explore themes of land dispute and reconciliation in Canada.
Kasapi drew on his Albanian heritage to create TOKA, which explores themes of forgiveness, reconciliation and familial duty. Under Alvis’ direction, the production is grounded in the awareness of Tkarón:to’s colonial history. This show marks the Dora Award-winning Kasapi’s first staged production with TPM since becoming the company’s Associate Artistic Director last October. The ensemble cast features multidisciplinary performers Christopher Manousos, Kat Khan, Indrit Kasapi, Nicole Joy-Fraser, Riley Sims and William Yong.
SesayArts Magazine spoke with Kasapi about the conception and collaborative development of TOKA and the robust – and deeply, locally relevant — themes that the work will explore.
SM: What a fascinating idea for a choreographic work! How did you conceive the idea of TOKA?
IK: Thank you. TOKA came about because I was reading Broken April by famous Albanian writer Ismail Kadare. He’s a beautiful writer but I found some issues with the novel. And as I was reading it images and text of the play started to appear to me. We were fortunate to have been given a residency at Canadian Stage and along with Jonathan Seinen and William Yong we started working on the project. I had only written one scene when we began so this work has very much been developed in collaboration with a lot of talented minds over 5 years now.
SM: Why did you feel that movement would be the best way to tell this story of a blood feud over land ownership?
IK: Everything I do I see in movement. It is not exclusive to this project. I’m not sure why, but I think it has to do with the fact that I am primarily trained as a dancer, and then I went to theatre school and fell in love with text. I think, because of this, when I create I am always drawn to movement to express things that cannot be expressed with text. Dealing with generational violence and pain required that I dug into emotion that could not be expressed with text only and so from the very beginning we started with movement, which is why I invited the very talented William Yong to join us.
SM: What would you like us to know about the show’s themes, its relevance locally and globally, and what audiences will experience?
IK: I want audiences to understand that, even though this is a story set in the mountains of Albania, it is very much a story about what it means to be living in this stolen land we call Canada today. These characters are trying to find a way to break out of cycles of violence and embrace forgiveness and healing. We continue to live with violence and oppression very much alive. We continue to perpetuate violence and oppression all around us. And it is not just on Turtle Island but it is all around us on a global scale.
Audiences will experience the story of a brother and sister and other characters who are navigating the difficulty and the emotional burden of forgiveness as they watch apparitions from the past haunt and torture to continue the killing in the name of revenge. To continue the bloodshed. It is very painful. The question is how can we live with it so that we can move towards healing?
SM: What has TOKA’s developmental journey been like, especially given the pandemic shutdowns and restrictions? Is there something about this that you would like to share?
IK: It has definitely been a long journey. It has taken 5 years to be here. It started with several residencies including one at the Canadian Stage, and then it has been in residency at Theatre Passe Muraille ever since. I had some writing time with Factory Theatre as well and working with the powerful dramaturges Cole Alvis, Marjorie Chan and Donna-Michelle St. Bernard who were not afraid to ask the right questions and were very patient with me even through some of my ridiculous stubbornness.
When we were ready to premiere the show, I couldn’t wait to share it with an audience. I love theatre and I created this piece for people to experience in a room together. However, COVID interrupted us not just once but two times. This was incredibly frustrating. We lost several performers and production team members due to schedules and other personal reasons. In fact, I was never supposed to be in the show, but I had to step in at the very last minute due to an injury that took one of our performers out right before we were supposed to start shooting. A lot of challenges. However, there has been a lot of love along the way, and arriving at this filmed version of the play has been a tremendously humbling experience. I do hope that one day audiences can experience this work inside a dark room together.
SM: I read in the press release that, ‘under the direction of Cole Alvis, the production is grounded in the awareness of Tkarón:to’s colonial history’. Would you like to speak about this aspect of the show?
IK: Cole is not only a dear friend, but she’s been a close collaborator of mine for several years now, working on several projects through the company we lead together, lemonTree creations. I have a lot of trust in Cole’s dramaturgical process, and as I was still trying to figure out the story and the characters, I was struggling to find exactly what I wanted to say with the piece. Together we started to further investigate generational violence, and then we arrived at what mattered to us the most. When we both understood that even though the story was set in Albania, it was very much a story about Canada. Then we found what we wanted the piece to say.
Together we have worked to honour the Albanian culture and mountains while at the same time her direction opens the door for us to understand how much closer to home this story is than one might initially expect. “Blood has been running like a ferocious river on this land,” whether it is the mountains of Albania or Tkarón:to and Turtle Island.
SM: The final word is yours. What question didn’t I ask you that you wish I had?
IK: Well, I would love to talk about the long list of choreographic collaborators I’ve had the privilege to work with over the course of the development of this piece. Dance, unlike text, cannot be done in solitary. It requires the bodies of dancers to move in space. Without them there it is nearly impossible for movement to materialize. And so I’m very grateful for these bodies to have given me and this piece some of their time Arlen Aguayo Stewart, Tavia Christina, Michael Caldwell, Dylan Evans, Virgilia Griffith, Kat Khan, Christopher Manousos, Pulga Muchochoma, Thomas Olajide, Jack Rennie, Riley Sims, Brodie Stevenson, William Yong.
© Arpita Ghosal, SesayArts Magazine 2022
