Produced Plays

“Taylor uses a light touch to open up painful subject in his entertaining new play… delivers some great one liners, sets up a juicy conflict and quickly and credibly captures the white parents in their amusing, affectionate, assured banter… he has allowed something painful to be examined and easily entered into by a laughing native or white viewer.”

Go ahead. Try not to cry. I dare you. Saskatchewan Native Theatre Company has staged a play so poignant that it will burrow in your heart and stay there hours after you’ve left the theatre… It offers sweet resolution to those who have seen the first two installments and stands alone beautifully for those who haven’t… 400 KILOMETRES is a stirring play that show how both sides are guilty of cultural superiority… It’s a gem.”

“…a funny and touching examination of contemporary cultural divides…The writing is snappy, fresh, and direct, resembling the warm and witty contemporary domestic dramas of Norm Foster and Neil Simon, but with a Native twist thrown in that tempers the melodramatic kitchen-sink aspects of the confrontations …Taylor never lets his characters indulge in speech making; self-reverential jokes, apologies and good manners always get in the way, much to the audience’s delight. And yet, the author never shirks form the difficult issues of culture, identity and acceptance that drive the play… (he) successfully bridges white and First Nations worlds, neatly wrapping up the whole trilogy with a sense that reconciliation is not only needed and necessary, but also absolutely inevitable. Sharply written….warm and funny without being cloying and sentimental.”

“Everytime a play by Native playwright Drew Hayden Taylor appears on the roster of productions being presented by the Lighthouse Festival Theatre, audience can be assured that they will be enlightened as well as entertained.”

The racial tensions in Caledonia give real life relevancy to the Lighthouse Festival Theatre production of 400 KILOMETRES… Taylor’s message touches a nerve and raises awareness in the middle class theatre audience as to cultural and value differences among Canadians. It needs to be spread to the community at large…”

“400 Kilometres’ wraps up triology on cultural conflict beautifully”

“KINCARDINE PREMIERS A RIOTOUS REPAST: DREW HAYDEN TAYLOR SERVES UP SENSE, FUN, IN alterNATIVES… a feast of social commentary heavily spiced with some very fun lines…The play has a pace like fireworks. Explosions burst out in unexpected places all over the stage…although comic characters, they have been made real and fascinating by the playwright and actors…alterNATIVES simmers and boils with new revelations and entanglements. And it expounds on up-to-the-moment social trends without coming across as a lecture…In alterNATIVES, Taylor provisions us with food for thought as well as good cheer.”

“alterNATIVES exposes enough poison to kill a lab full of rats and the medicine going down is both sweet and sour. The result sparks both laughter and question…wickedly funny play…it’s worth going to see for yourself.”

PLAY HAS ALL THE RIGHT STUFF…tight writing…Taylor’s writing is crisp, his characters are more than stereotypes and he has built into his structure a well balanced ebb and flow which keeps the audience off-balance and expectant…This play will make you laugh but you will also walk away puzzling over some of the issues that it raises.”

“alterNATIVES is like an anthropological laboratory, with all the correct subjects on hand, making for a PC (perfectly cheeky) evening at the theatre.”

“…alterNATIVES is a blast…alterNATIVES is hilarious, with more one-liners than a Rodney Dangerfield routine…highly recommended.”

…a blend of comedy and drama…alterNATIVES is entertaining and frequently funny.”

“Drew Hayden Taylor has a deft touch for mixing comedy and commentary in an entertaining and all-Canadian form of social satire.”

Cottagers and Indians, on now at Tarragon Theatre and set in the cottage country of central Ontario, is an unravelling of a neighbourly feud with a significant twist.

Drew Hayden Taylor’s Cottagers and Indians, currently playing at the Tarragon Theatre, is a light and warm take on the conflict between native culture and bourgeois property owners. From the first moment we see Arthur Copper in his canoe and Maureen Poole on her cottage dock, we know exactly who each of them is and the audience can settle in for an uplifting piece of current Canadiana.

“Contains moments of touching insight… believable language and plot development… (Taylor) does ease in plenty of hints about the realities and expectations of Native peoples, about the links between art and individuals, stereotyping of aboriginal people and cultural differences with urbanites.”

“There is no arguing that Danielle’s is an interesting story… bold and colourful strokes.”

“Drew Hayden Taylor is a fine storyteller. He enjoys spinning a story and his audience enjoys hearing it. In fact, both playwright and audiences are so busy enjoying the telling that we’re in danger of missing the point of the tale… Taylor’s dramatic approach is relaxed and efficient, powered by good-natured repartee with a smart-alack touch.”

In Drew Hayden Taylor’s gripping play, a residential-school survivor comes face-to-face with the Anglican minister she believes sexually abused her.

There’s no way to undo the damage of the residential school system, but stories about them need to be shared, explored and honoured, as is done in Drew Hayden Taylor’s new play God And The Indian produced by Native Earth (in partnership with Firehall Arts Centre). It captures an evening between two people, Assistant Bishop George King and Johnny, a Cree woman who has recognized him from her youth in a residential school and followed him home. It’s fiction, but like all good art, it tells truth.

 

A vital piece of Canadian theatre, God and the Indian is a reminder of one of our country’s darkest secrets. More importantly though, like the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, it is also a path forward.

…what Taylor does, I’ve seen him do this in his other plays which greatly impresses me, is that he never makes anything easy… I really enjoy watching this back and forth between these two men… There are skeletons in closets all over this fine country and every now and then people go in and rattle them up. And put them on stage. In this case, so we can thank Drew Hayden Taylor for that.”

“Worlds collide in In A world Created By A Drunken God; White and Native, well-off and poor, sick and healthy, Canadian and American. Drew Hayden Taylor’s new play presents us with an interesting and original dilemma… A crucial element in making things palatable is the generous and quite unexpected quantity of humour. Taylor’s writing style is full of wit and sass, and he’s got an excellent ear for a well-placed one-liner.”

“Ever the consummate playwright (Taylor) pays homage to classic theatre while sprucing it up for the 21st century… Smart, riveting, and yet complex.”

“Playwright Drew Hayden Taylor has fashioned… a powerful domestic drama… and a major leavening of humour when sibling tensions threaten to reduce the exchanges to over-used cliche make the play work. Dialogue lets performances glow with an almost melancholy sense of generosity as sisters and pals quest for inner peace. The result is a smart, simple production that played to its strengths, notably confident acting and the writer’s clarity of vision.”

“One of Native Earth’s best… one of the most satisfying evenings of theatre this company has staged in several seasons… a solid, straightforward piece that manages to pack an emotional punch that delivers a knockout blow in the message department. There is wit aplenty here but there is also an honesty… **** out of five.”

“Many of the accolades must go to writer DHT whose work walks the fine line between humour and heartfelt drama without slipping too far into either… ONLY DRUNKS AND CHILDREN TELL THE TRUTH succeeds both as a stand-alone play and as a shining example of Aboriginal theatre’s ongoing development. Given its popularity through out the run, it also achieves another goal, one sought after by all entertainers – always leave the audience wanting more.”

“This is a fine show… a combination of heartache and hilarity that works wonderfully thanks to Drew Hayden Taylor’s writing… What is most effective about Drew’s writing is the way he can take a specific detail, like decaffeinated coffee, and let it serve as a window into a variety of observations about some very particular people. He can make you laugh one minute, then cry the next, and leaves you with lines and images that you will remember long after the curtain comes down. This is not just a great native production. This is a great production. Period.”

“LAUGHTER AND TEARS CROSS CULTURAL BARRIERS. It is a rare playwright who can have an entire audience erupting in laughter while still wiping tears from the previous scene.. this is nothing short of amazing…one of the best performances to enchant our city lately. It’s definitely a don’t-miss.”

I laughed. I cried… the play plumbs all kinds of loss; in exploring the differences between Native and white cultures, it also unearths all kinds of tasty humour. The thing I like best about this play is its willingness to pull at your heartstrings one minute, and blow a raspberry in your face the next… There’s something here that’s common to some of the best Native writing: honest feeling that never becomes pompous.”

“I would call it a fist in a velvet glove… They lure you in there and then they give you some serious things to think about… The dialogue is good. It is an actor’s dream… I think one of the great strengths of the play, besides the humour, of course, is the levelling of the stereotypes that goes on. And the fact that there is no preaching and yet there is a great message in it… You’re brought in, you get a lot of laughs, you feel very comfortable with these people, and then Taylor tells you a story. …so that you can put a human face on this chapter of our history.”

“Drew Hayden Taylor is a confident storyteller and a tireless jokester… snappy dialogue… the relationship between Barb and Janice – which develops from wary mistrust to tentative bond – is economically and suggestively drawn. Taylor allows them difficult emotions – Barb resentment of her prodigal sister, Janice guilt and fear – and eschews a pat resolution…making the sometimes unsympathetic Janice the compelling centre of the piece. NNN out of four.”

“ONLY DRUNKS A FUNNY, MOVING PRODUCTION… Taylor writes in a forceful, realistic style that betrays his journalism background. His characters and their situations have a fresh immediacy… Taylor achieves a rare and very human balance of comedy and tragedy… a surprisingly satisfying conclusion… funny, poignant and ultimately moving; it’s a play that succeeds on almost every level.”

“A STIRRING, PASSIONATE PLAY ABOUT IDENTITY… perhaps the most moving, down-to-Earth, realistic play of the year… a remarkable play that has something to say and says it well.”

“Only Drunks And… has a jarring title, but it takes audiences on an intriguing adventure… Inside the play is a brilliant stroke… this one is rich in American Indian dilemmas. It’s also expressive, comical and earthy.”

Drew Hayden Taylor is a playwright who knows how to use the edge of a pick axe of one liners as well as the spade of humour to search for emotional truth… This is a warm theatrical experience with a lot of entertainment along the way… a curious mixture of the women’s emotions and the men’s comedy but the two blend surprisingly well by the end of the show.”

“There are plenty of one-liners to keep you buoyed… warm, engaging and genuinely funny. The mixture of yucks and sighs was pretty potenty.”

“TWO CULTURES MEET, OFTEN HILARIOUSLY. The trouble bridge between whites and Natives is studied successfully – even elegantly- in this new production… Janice, the play’s most complex character, is a largely successful study of the troubled bridge between white and Native cultures.”

“The end of the first act has some of Taylor’s best writing in an attempted seduction of Janice by Tonto that turns into a surprising philosophical monologue… Tonto is the best written and most interesting character, more thoughtful and worldly than he initially seems…”

“HUMOROUS DRUNKS TELLS HONEST STORY… Drew Hayden Taylor’s script is funny, bordering on glib. When you begin to dismiss him and ONLY DRUNKS, the heart of the play begins to beat like a drum. Janice’s story is painful and the way back to the Reserve is plagued by mistrust, defensiveness and doubt. Laughter is not a bad companion along a thorny path… Taylor hardly misses an opportunity to make us laugh, but considering the emotional intensity of the material; it’s for the best… laughter keeps it afloat, sincerity keeps it honest.”

“Algonkuin’s finely acted ‘Only Drunks’ is both serious and funny”

The NAC has pulled off a theatrical perfect 10 in Drew Hayden Taylor’s Sir John A:  Acts of a Gentrified Ojibway Rebellion.  It is a thought-provoking play about various issues such as First Nations relations,  the struggles of youth, reconciling with history, justice and finding your place in the world.

Who knew the relationship between Canada and her Indigenous people could be so fun?

Yes, fun. Sir John A: Acts of a Gentrified Ojibway Rebellion, the new play commissioned by the National Arts Centre in honour of Canada’s 150th anniversary, unpacks the issues that divide us in a smart, punchy production that’s bolstered by sharp satire, a quirky musical score and a cast that displays near-perfect comedic timing.

“SOMEDAY is a pretty special day. … wildly successful…turns light into dark with a flick of a verbal switch… mixes humour and misery perfectly… sharp writing.”

“Kindles a genuine emotional warmth… the work’s bittersweet end can’t sweep away the powerful emotions between the members of this much extended family.”

“SOMEDAY is bittersweet gem… touching…”

“…a fine piece of theatre indeed… It is impossible not to like these characters, and once you are attracted to them, once you have formed an emotional attachment, it is impossible not to be moved by their story… Taylor’s script is insightful and witty…the wonderful characters Taylor created and the touching story he has to tell… a Canadian playwright who has the ability to go beyond specific matter to give his work universal appeal.”

“Gently humorous dialogue… It is heart-rending to watch this family… entertaining and enlightening.”

“SOMEDAY WILL MOVE YOU. ..an effective and funny play about loss from a First Nations’ point-of-view. SOMEDAY achieves a literal force that is undeniably moving… Author Taylor handles these relatively delicate domestic situations by building a gentle weave of everyday details…SOMEDAY’s most striking moments are the ones where characters relate to each other while doing mundane everyday things – looking at photo albums, drinking tea or telling jokes. Those small exchanges provide the greatest insight into First Nations’ life. They build into a crescendo of melancholy that climaxes with the dawning realization of the desire for, and impossibility of, true cultural reconciliation …the rare feat of making a uniquely aboriginal story seem quite universal. Gently funny, vibrant and touching, SOMEDAY is effective theatre indeed.”

“SOMEDAY is an undeniably charming show that engages both the heart and the mind.”

“SOMEDAY you might consider seeing this fine play …sensitivity and simplicity …lets both the humour and the horror of the story unfold in a relaxed manner that actually works quite well with such a serious subject.”

“Centaur gave us a gentle bittersweet Christmas present with SOMEDAY …is one of those rare works that tells a deeply human story in a deeply human way and makes everyone happy …contains some of the most heartbreakingly simple moments it has been my privilege to see in the theatre.”

“Beneath the witty dialogue… lurks a stinging social commentary …packs an emotional wallop and is Taylor’s most accomplished work to date.”

“…filled with humour and clearly-drawn characters ends on a rather poignant note, but one that rings true. …it’s a good one…”

…many in the audience were deeply moved…there is enough in this evocative evening to provoke both thought and emotion.”

“SOMEDAY A CHALLENGING, SMARTLY CRAFTED WORK …compresses a lot of hard experience and pain into an entertaining family drama. The characters are very lovable, casual people. The enormity of what’s happened to them tends to hit you after the play is over. During the play, you just want to belong to the comical, big-spirited family… SOMEDAY is so skilfully written to be about people first, that the issues are a part of the fabric of the human experience… It is the kind of play, especially with Taylor’s choice not to opt for a happy ending, that shows its magic to you after it is over.”

“The awe of how these (atrocities) could be portrayed with such beautiful humour and inspiring gentleness…i t’s a real drama of real pain experienced by all Native society… SOMEDAY is a Sensitive, Ominous, Moving, Emotional, Dramatic and Delicate, an Affirmation of healing and Yearning for healing to occur among all peoples.”

“My favourite play of those I saw was Someday by Drew Hayden Taylor… painful things did indeed get talked about, but the play also included some marvellous humour, some touching relationships and some very realistic, very human dialogue and action touches… A tough topic handled with skill an delicacy, always ringing true.”

“I like Drew Hayden Taylor’s SOMEDAY very much… certainly the handsomest piece of work to come out of Firehall …has a sensibility at once tragic and comic; the play reflects some of the pain of decades of oppression but it also possesses a wonderful buoyancy …made me laugh a lot and brought tears to my eyes. I admire it tremendously. It’s certainly worth seeing.”

“…it’s impossible not to be charmed …a funny, honest and unsentimental look at mistakes of the past.”

“One of the 50 Essential Canadian Plays”

Algonkuin’s ‘Someday’ a poignant look at a cruel separation”

“…it contains more then enough magic to make the visit worthwhile… (the script) has rich and politically relevant themes, a number of juicy characters, some terrific ensemble scenes, and a lot of punchy, pointed humour. All these elements work beautifully in the outdoor setting, as does the character of the Wendigo… I applaud the directors for pairing Taylor with Brecht: there is potent satire here and the directors have wrung some exquisite theatre from it.”

“Taylor has crafted a script in the style of a Brechtian marsterpiece.”

…a comedy with a serious message…the message is delivered through music, sophisticated scripting and many stinging one-liners…the play functions as biting social commentary, on another level, it’s purely entertaining.”

“…a rowdy and often moving journey off the highway of life and onto the dirt roads of memory…this farce is amiable and lively…Underneath the wisecracks is a very 1990’s tale of accepting your inner (and your outer) child, growing up and accepting responsibility.”

The second instalment of Curve Lake writer Drew Taylor’s four-part Blues Quartet gives its audience scant time to rest between chuckles. (Amos) serves up advice with a humorous slant in the reserved demeanour of an elder which gives the two-act play its most memorable moments…Taylors’s script evokes creative wit …from commonplace situations.”

“…confronts Native situations with a gentle kindness that comes only with dramatic comedy…witnessing Native Canadian expression in a performance where no one gets shot or killed, was not only refreshing, but also profoundly moving. The Baby Blues is a tragedy of riches. Taylor’s dialogue is so rife with side-splitting sight gags and lightning-quick exchanges that the audience’s laughter often drowns out the next joke.”

Written in the hundred-gag-a-minute style of Neil Simon or Woody Allan, Taylor gives the work that is filled with both rollicking humour and finely illustrated themes…The Baby Blues emphasizes what we should already know. We’re not that different at all.”

“SOMETIMES YOU JUST HAVE TO LAUGH…traditional pratfalling British farce takes on a distinctly indigenous flavour…Taylor has developed a firmer hold on a charmingly glib and witty theatrical voice, touching ever so lightly on issues of social relevance…an amusing winner for both a Native and a much broader audience.”

“The characters are funny and the story applies whether or not the trickster’s skin is red… fast moving… The dialogue is bitingly entertaining and the surprise ending, although telegraphed is still funny… This off-beat comedy is fun to watch…sharply -etched characters…”

CENTRE STAGE PRODUCTION OF `THE BABY BLUES’ STRIKES A FUNNY BONE. Taylor attempts to capture… the Native sense of humour and he does so quite successfully… All the ammunition needed for an eye opening and entertaining evening… The play takes off directly from the first scene and for the most part flies without hesitation…It waxes cute but holds much more worth taking home. Taylor succeeds handsomely with this play: He leaves one both smiling and thinking.”

“…Summer is a hilarious parody – and we’ve all met her…There are many funny moments, and some good one-liners. But what is moving about the moments of reckoning is that they so resemble the fantasies kids have about unknown dads, dreams in which an absent father finally appears and discovers his love for the abandoned child.”

“Taylor … gives his characters a lot of smart, witty lines seldom heard from the mouths of Natives. These jokes and asides ring true. Even if you didn’t know Taylor’s Ojibway background, you’d believe he knows people like these.”

Native American theatre can be funny. It can be very funny. The best example of this that I have seen is currently running at the Autry National Center… {THE BERLIN BLUES] displays a healthy sense of humor and involves a buffalo stampede (or is it bison? Wait, it’s tatanka), a musical revue of Dances With Wolves, and a 44-meter laser-beam dream catcher. Playwright Drew Hayden Taylor is a connection to real-life native people for thousands around the world. A member of the Ojibway Nation and resident of Ontario’s Curve Lake Reserve, he has lectured in 16 countries including Germany and Austria. For all the fun he pokes at Germany, “That’s part of the irony of the play,” he says, “I’ll be doing my sixth lecture tour of Germany.”

“BOOTLEGGER BLUES is a sure cure for the summertime blues…The production is full of …effective one liners that are sure to delight audiences of all ages…An enjoyable experience…thanks to a talented cast and a slick, witty script.”

“Hilarious…the gentle pokes against native stereotypes are humorous rather than insulting…fabulous dance sequence.”

“Hilarious one-liners and self-depreciating sense of humour…jokes and wisecracks are frequent enough to keep audiences in an agreeable frame of mind.”

“All the ingredients to become a perennial favourite…the play works well with some good one-liners that poke fun at Whites and Natives alike.”

Actually I can’t believe it’s taken so long for a Canadian play about bootlegging to finally surface. It’s made for the northern lifestyle. This is funny stuff…”

“This play stands on its own feet – stands and usually delivers in fact…its an amusing story and a well written one, laced with drop-dead one-liners…and arranged with momentum in mind…it’s a charmer.”

There’s a wonderfully earthy, warm humour that defines Drew Hayden Taylor’s latest work…(the cast) has a genuinely funny script to work with, one in which even the groaners bring delighted audience reaction.”

“…very funny and mischievous…a real hoot… I truly enjoyed the belly laughs, and I’m sure everyone who attends will be thoroughly entertained.”

“…hilarious comic moments…one liners hit their mark and the action hums along.”

“BOY IN THE TREEHOUSE ACHIEVES LOFTY GOAL…Drew Hayden Taylor makes an inspired choice in the setting of his touching new children’s play about identity…young viewers are both visually and intellectually stimulated by The Boy In The Treehouse…delivers an engaging story with an assuring message about the spirit of deceased loved ones always being there to help.”

“SIMON’S VISION QUEST THOUGHTFUL, ENTERTAINING… lots of funny lines… presents some serious cultural and personal issues in an entertaining and pleasing form.”

“I can’t remember when I’ve laughed out loud so many times during one play…. packed with more funny lines then a Johnny Carson highlight tape. At one point, I counted five rapid-fire punch lines in a row. And each one was funnier then the ones before… Taylor is telling a beautiful love story (actually three love stories) without ever being preachy about the plight of the Native person. Humour more effectively does the trick… but it is Taylor’s words that truly make this play come alive…. You’ll laugh out loud many, many times. You’ll love the characters. Then later on you can think about all the issues that are raised: knowing who you really are; honouring your past and accepting others for who they are. This is truly a play for all seasons.”

Buz’Gem is sprinkled with enough wit to make for another enjoyable evening brought to the Lighthouse Festival Theatre.”

“Has plenty of funny lines and comic situations…. Taylor has plenty of fun crashing these conflicted figures into one another, and his way with a one-liner and sharp eye for absurdity keep the laughs coming.”

“Sparing no one, his characters serve up bannock, caribou and pithy commentaries on life… This may be Taylor’s best work to date… IT’s a stew: funny observations on white folk, aboriginals, academics, men, women, ethno-fusion cuisine and bingo. And while Taylor might argue he’s just out to entertain, there is meat in this dish too.”

“The Buz’gem Blues is a sweet little romance bulging with punchy one-liners, clever quips and cornball humour. It’s almost as though Playwright DHT can’t write a line without aiming for a laugh… Buz’gem is a genuinely funny play that manages to poke gentle fun at Native American ways. Thankfully it’s not preachy… Taylor’s humour is so universal. Certainly the mostly white audience got all the jokes at Wednesday’s press opening… Taylor’s brand of humour, knee-slappers by the yard wrapped around the universal theme of fining love in all the right places… Again you don’t have to be Native American to get The Buz’Gem Blues, do be prepared to laugh though.”

Drew Hayden Taylor has created a very genial, unchallenging play… who live to shamelessly churn gags, albeit with a hint of his Nation’s flavour. It’s funny. It’s cuddly…Audience members of delicate sensibilities should be warned that Spam is both uncanned and lustily consumed in full view of the house.”

“If intelligent, life-affirming theatre is what feeds your soul, “the Buz’gem Blues beckons you to Providence… is good for a lot of laughs…Perhaps most impressively, by skewering his subjects with humour and wit, Taylor avoids the common pitfall in plays of this type of coming across as overtly moralizing… manages a tough theatre trick: it examines an important subject- how our misperceptions of others impact their and our daily lives – in humourous and prepossessing way that is accessible to anyone. Go to see if for the message or go to see it to laugh out loud.”

How often do you see a Native play and laugh your guts out? Drew uses comedy to explore the numerous ways in which Native identity is policed from within and without and also suggests that people think about how they “play out” their identity and at what cost…Some may see the important issues of sovereignty, racism and tradition mocked in this play; but if you can laugh about the “isms” that foist certain identities upon people, then you will see that these characters/caricatures are really advancing the larger theme that Drew continually explores in his plays: how to be Native and authentic at the same time in the contemporary urban spaces.”

“When are more playwrights going to catch on to theatre’s humbling little secret – that theatregoers just wanna have fun? Storytelling satisfaction abounds in this regional premiere of DHT’s The Buz’gem Blues… and is polished to sparkling. It’s a flat out comedy, and much satisfaction comes from appreciating that it’s not just another pack of funny lines. Comedy is a soul-wrenching job, with so many ways to be dishonest just to get a laugh… Such wisecrack opportunities fill the air like low-hanging fruit, and sometimes it seems that no one here can take two steps without plucking.”

“The Buz’gem Blues is both funny and fascinating… dealing with very human, everyday issues from the attitude of comedic creatures. The writing is sharp.”

“…it’s all done with great comic flair. There are a lot of corny jokes, self-deprecating humour, and a good deal of sweetness too… This play is light and fun and full of good laughs.”

“COMEDY PROVIDES LAUGHS, MESSAGE… Characters that begin as caricatures soon revealed deeper qualities. Along the way, there were lots of opportunities for laughter.”

“[Buz’gem Blues] is nothing if not likeable. In fact, it comes on like an overanxious puppy that won’t stop licking your face… To his credit, DHT has a gift for zingy one-liners. He also has a knack for creating sympathetic characters… He is also willing to gently satirize political correctness.”

“The delights of [the play] lie in its ambivalent attitude toward true love. Just like real relationships, the back-and-forth between men and women in this bright comedy is more often about friction than fraternity…properly played, his sharp and snappy pokes at the peccadilloes of Native Canadians cans till appeal to anyone.”

“What makes this flawed comedy- much like a TV sitcom – about male-female relationships come alive is that it never takes itself that seriously…Long live the Elders conference and these Red Knights in Shining Buckskin!”

“…definitely a fan favourite. I like this play a lot… Terrifically funny. Drew Hayden Taylor is the hardest working man in show business.”

“I enjoyed it a great deal. I had a lot of fun at this one. The place was alive with laughter… What we see here are questions of identity and the kind of things that maybe some people have trouble saying to one another in terms of political correctness or how do I talk about this kind of thing, and what Drew Hayden Taylor does is just come right out and asks these things. He doesn’t side step questions of identity, questions of race, authenticity, he just walks right into them…. It’s a great play.”

“…amusing characters, juggling funny situations. Adding to the hilarity is Taylor’s witty word -play…Taylor has a unique ability, to quote SCENE colleague Sheila Martindale, “to highlight” Native and non-Native issues and interactions, “with humour and grace,” while at the same time drawing attention to social problems…. Drew Hayden Taylor never fails to make me both laugh and think. THE BUZ’GEM BLUES is no exception!”

“Playwright Drew Hayden Taylor has been referred to as ‘the Native American Neil Simon.’ It’s easy to see why… Buz’Gem has plenty of laughs and a fair amount of pithy cultural commentary. It’s not an Indian play exactly. It’s a play whose central characters just happen to be Indian. That’s all part of Taylor’s richly inclusive style… Taylor gleefully inverts tired Indian stereotypes, punching holes in the tintype and allowing a little more light and air to filter through… It’s all in good fun and richly entertaining… the actors hunt and gather laughs with native skill.”

“…absolutely wonderful… despite the non-stop laughs, there are serious moments in the production that resonate with the audience. …Even the most unromantic souls will find themselves laughing out loud at Drew Hayden Taylor’s clever script.”

“BUZ’GEM BLUES SINGS A TRUTH THAT TOUCHES US ALL… Taylor prefers to find messages of hope in the way a kind of brilliant serendipity touches our lives… Taylor’s plays are about ordinary people living ordinary lives… the play has plenty of satire and a number of interesting turns… The Buz’gem Blues us a play that engages us with its warmth and emotion. There are, at the end of the day home, truths here. Truths that speak to us all, what ever our languages or heritage.”

“For something so simply constructed and directly put, the current dramatic offering at the Grand Theatre’s McManus Studio speaks volumes. It leaves you thinking…Dreamer’s Rock is a hopeful play…Taylor merits consideration as more than an emerging playwright.”

Charming…the play is packed with witty repartee..What makes Taylor’s play work so well is the way it carefully treads the line between reverence and self-depreciation, idealism and practicality…but there’s a serous message under the play’s jokey surface.”

Tightly written, not too preachy… TORONTO makes its points credibly and with some flair.”

“If laughter is the best medicine, then get yourself out to see TORONTO AT DREAMER’S ROCK for a little healing.”

“Taylor’s ear for dialogue and keen sense of humour make TORONTO AT DREAMER’S ROCK a show that speaks to young audiences as well as older viewers…essentially human in dealing with themes that share in comedy and pathos…(Taylor’s) hit upon one of the truest uses of theatre – to involve the intellect while engaging the feelings.”

“****out of five. …this very funny, touching, tough-minded play…a sense of humour so blistering it could peel the hide off a Toronto lawyer. Taylor’s hip, quick-witted script [provide characters that] are real flesh and blood. It’s not very often you see a show that probes cultural identity with so much humour, heart and economy.”

“…It’s a brief, ballsy piece of theatre for young people and it’s an acerbic winner…Taylor has constructed an effective and entertaining critique on the survival of First Nations people.”

Drew Hayden Taylor is probably the second most successful Canadian native Playwright after Tomson Highway…Like Shaw’s play, it’s really an embedment of a set of ideas of arguments, in this case, three characters…It’s very clever. Even though he is dealing with some very serious issues – you know – cultural genocide, Native alcoholism and so on, he sugar coats the pill substantially with laughter. It’s a delightful play.”

“TORONTO TACKLES HEADY ISSUES WITH HIP HUMOUR…a poignant comedy of misunderstandings…is a highly entertaining, well-acted piece that contains many worthy messages about being true to yourself and protecting the Earth from what the playwright sees as impending environmental ruin. But the play’s most meaningful message is the importance of spirituality…four out of five stars”

NATIVE PLAY FUN AND ENCOURAGING…highly recommended…In only 50 minutes, the fine all-Native cast tells a simple, clear, encouraging story related without whitewashing the age-old difficulties encountered by anyone trying to keep their culture alive. It’s also surprisingly funny. This is the best MTYP offering of the season… Four and a half out of five stars”

This is an extremely intense piece of theatre, with dramatic performances…all contribute to the magical quality of the play and evoke strong emotional responses…a compelling and authentic work. This kind of thing will do more for native/non-native relationships than anything the politicians can dream up.”

“…filled with the type of humour that typifies Drew Hayden Taylor’s scripts …through humour the play explores deep issues and makes them easier to handle. Mr. Taylor does a remarkable job of recapturing the voices of the three characters in the sequel, creating characters that seem to have aged naturally.”