FEATURE INTERVIEW: Tomson Highway back from hiatus
23 Jun'10

JOHN COULBOURN - QMI Agency

TORONTO - If, like a lot of Toronto and Canadian theatre fans, you've been wondering whatever happened to playwright Tomson Highway, we've found the answer -- and it's all good news.

For, even though he's been off the theatrical radar for awhile, it's not so much that his once-sizzling career has hit a dead end, stopping the flow of plays like THE REZ SISTERS and DRY LIPS OUGHTA MOVE TO KAPUSKASING, but rather that he's simply opted to take a road less travelled.

"Mostly, I've been having the time of my life,' Highway says from Banff, where he's rehearsing his latest project, a hiatus from a nomadic life that sees him spend half of his year in France -- "Where the Pyrenees meet the Mediterranean," he explains, adding that the closest city is Barcelona. He spends the other half of the year in a cabin in the woods outside of Sudbury. And that's the problem, he explains.

"You know how artists are supposed to be riddled with drug problems or financial problems or stuff like that?" he asks with a laugh. "Well, I'm none of that stuff. I'm very much in love and I'm very happy. The way I put it to myself is: 'I'm too happy to produce.' "

Well, not entirely. He is, after all, working on another novel, which he says is about three-quarters finished And then there's the cabaret show that is the subject of our call -- a joint effort featuring Highway, singer Patricia Cano and saxophonist Christopher Plock, titled KISAGEETIN: A CABARET. It opens Thursday at the Berkeley Street Theatre, where it will run through Sunday. It's a production of Mizwe Biil Development Corporation, presented by thunderbird Centre with Denise Bolduc. For the uninitiated, kisageetin is a Cree word meaning "I love you," and you could call it a child of that happiness Highway just mentioned.

"I wrote 12 songs last summer for my partner's birthday," he says, referring to Raymond, his partner of more than two decades. "And that's what we are going to be doing -- with a lot of patter and witty repartee in between." Highway, of course, will be on keyboards ("I play the piano whenever I can," he says), while Cano, a Peruvian-born, Canadian-raised songstress -- and a good friend of his -- will take care of the vocals.

"Her father has a few drops of Inca blood," Highway deadpans, adding that because she was raised in Sudbury, "she's part Inco."

This is the second cabaret the two have done together -- the first toured internationally for eight years -- and Highway is clearly content to do many more. "She's an absolutely stunning artist," he enthuses. "I am convinced she will be (as big as) Lotte Lenya someday. "She's just worth too much to be an overnight sensation or a flash in the pan."

But in the end, the cabaret act is really a diversion. Highway is still working hard on the aforementioned novel, on his music and, of course, on raising literacy in the Native community -- a mission that has become his passion. "As recently as 30 years ago, there was no such thing as Native writers in this country," he says, still a little awestruck at what has been accomplished.

"We now have a national voice that commands worldwide attention. I'm working on things slowly," he continues. "I'm just taking my time. I've done well enough to have a good life. The wolf is not exactly at the door."

So this cabaret act is not about money. "When you have this ability, why not share it?" he asks. "We have so much to celebrate. It's such a great thing to make people laugh, to make people cry with joy, to make people happy. A writer's life is so solitary. This is the perfect antidote."

For KISEGEETIN tickets and information, call 416-468-3110.