“There are episodes of violence that are forms of resistance, and there are episodes of violence that are forms of oppression. It is important for us to differentiate between the two.”
These words belong to Métis playwright Caleigh Crow, and they describe a distinction at the core of her play, There is Violence and There is Righteous Violence and There is Death or the Born-again Crow, which won the 2024 Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama. Inspired by Crow’s life and beliefs, the play’s story explores the distinction between these two types of violence, and with it, the responsibility we have for each choice to respond to or initiate violence – a crucial topic in a society where capitalism reigns amid chaos. The play is being presented for the first time in Ontario at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre in collaboration with Native Earth Performing Arts until March 29th. The production is composed of several Indigenous and mixed-indigenous people, with Jessica Carmichael as its director, and its cast performed by Tara Sky, Cheri Maracle, Dan Mousseau, and Madison Walsh. Sesaya Arts Magazine sat down with Crow to discuss the ideas at the core of the play, how these relate to her life, and her aspirations as a playwright and artist.
The play is inspired by Crow’s own life and feelings when she was around 20 years old – a stage when she sought to forge a path as an independent person and find meaning in life, confronting the unpleasant reality of the society in which she found herself immersed. The main character is Beth, a young woman who has been fired from her minimum-wage job at the Superstore after an unspecified act of “violence” in response to mistreatment and injustices she has experienced. When the play begins, Beth has moved back to her mother’s house in a rapidly gentrifying suburb. As the days pass and Beth avoids talking about what happened, she feeds crows. One of them will begin to form a mystical relationship with her that will aid in her personal journey of freedom and resilience.
That journey is also the audience’s journey: like Beth, we need to understand and embrace the idea that “righteous violence” can be a legitimate act of justice and resistance. We live our daily lives amidst wars, displays of power, indifference, discrimination, and countless other types of violence. This reality is what Beth carries, so she tries to make sense of the actions she has taken in her work and her personal life. The incident at her work was an act of “rebellion” against poor working conditions, her boss’s acts of discrimination, and an unfair pay gap. For Crow, addressing employment conditions is important, since this is something that “disproportionately still affects women and women of colour.” At the same time, Beth is facing violence from her ex-boyfriend and a personal crisis of mental health. Crow also sees an exponential increase in depression and anxiety, which are becoming normalized in society.
Another issue that Crow seeks to address through Beth is the breakdown of the relationship between human beings and the land we inhabit. The place where the story is set – a backyard in a suburban area — is inspired by the edge of a suburb in northeast Calgary where Crow grew up. She remembers how that suburb grew, absorbing the houses she once saw in the distance and the nature she once found around her. In the play, the suburbs and new “rich people” have come to Beth, subjecting her to anger and aggression from the wealthy homeowners’ association, while she suffers encroachment on what she felt was her home: a “sanctuary, and by extension… her freedom.”
In this kind of environment, Crow views justice as a precious concept to cling to, for everywhere “we are seeing now how the concept of truth has devolved.” And understanding justice requires accepting and defining the types of “righteous violence”– whether that be “resistance to oppression” or “self-defence against violence.” So, as the story of The Born-Again Crow progresses, what happened at work to Beth – the reasons for her dismissal and her act of violence – come to light. A flashback and an inner voice strip bare the “truth” in an exquisite, psychedelic and eccentric on-stage sequence. In the Buddies production, this “revolution” that Tara Sky performs as Beth is a stunning joint effort that fully leverages Shannon Lea Doyle’s set design, Hailey Verbonac’s lighting design, and Chris Ross-Ewart’s sound design.
The resolution to Beth’s crisis comes about thanks to two characters who accompany her throughout the play: her mother Francine and the talking crow. Her mother plays a caring, comforting, and protective role. She is the one who first gives Beth the crow feeder, motivating her to take up the habit, which brings her in contact with the crow. On the other hand, the crow is more radical in his advice, urging her to take action and control. For example, the crow repeatedly tells Beth that she must understand the cause of the actions of the people “harming” her. Of those who harm, the playwright explains simply that “they push back because they are strong and powerful, and they don’t accept any threats to their own.” At the same time, they are the dominant forces in society: “bosses, heterosexuals, people who don’t experience mental health issues like Beth does.”
The play ultimately shows how life is a path of choices. Each situation Beth faces is the consequence of a decision made or an action taken. In her play, Crow seeks to raise our awareness of how we are constantly immersed in making decisions, and it is critically important that we discern, assess and assume their consequences: “There will never be a single answer to why things happen. We participate in life, certainly, but we only recognize whether we have made the right decision after we have made it, when we see what happens next.” This is not just a play about violence, for in Beth, Crow also highlights the miracle of life—the gratitude we should feel for being alive because “we can experience everything.” The cycle of life (natural and human) is full of transformations and decisions. It is a place where “truth and justice are possible” – if we make decisions that contribute to equality, empathy, and a community-focused society.
Crow concludes our interview by emphasizing how important it is to her that her work impacts people: “When you are writing, you don’t know what is going to be. The work will take you somewhere. So once it’s done and it’s being produced, I just hope it can make people think about their lives.”
I have watched The Born-Again Crow as it is powerfully being produced at Buddies in Bad Times. It is a blend of mystic mystery and ugly reality, featuring an explosion of emotions between the characters and the audience. It is an exquisitely-staged full-sensory experience. It is a devastating critique of our capitalist society that runs on indifference, discrimination, and violence. It is a treatise on the critical importance of the decisions we make.
I can certainly attest that it made me think about my life.
There is Violence and There is Righteous Violence and There is Death or, the Born-again Crow is presented at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre until March 29. Reserve tickets here.
© Alejandra Jimenez, Sesaya Arts Magazine 2025
