First Nations Theatre [Native Canadian Theatre, Canadian Aboriginal Theatre]

Literary/ Cultural Context Essay

Robert Appleford (University of Alberta)
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From the early days of contact, non-First Nations people have been fascinated with the image of the indigene, and playwrights have been inspired to write plays featuring indigenous characters, histories, and mythologies. But it is only relatively recently in the history of Canada that First Nations playwrights and performers have begun to challenge dominant preconceptions about First Nations peoples.

Representation of North American indigenous peoples began with the first theatrical event ever performed in North America. Entitled Le Théâtre de Neptune (The Theatre of Neptune in New France), the play was written in 1606 by Marc Lescarbot (1570-1629?) and performed on the shores of Port Royal (present-day Nova Scotia, Canada) to celebrate the return of the outpost's founders from an

2448 words

Citation: Appleford, Robert. "First Nations Theatre [Native Canadian Theatre, Canadian Aboriginal Theatre]". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 24 February 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=1712, accessed 19 March 2024.]

1712 First Nations Theatre [Native Canadian Theatre, Canadian Aboriginal Theatre] 2 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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