Children of God
April 5, 2025 @ 7:30 pm
Children of God is must-see theatre for Canadians.
Marsha Lederman, The Globe and Mail
Children of God is a musical about an Oji-Cree family whose children were taken away to a residential school in Northern Ontario. The story of Rita, a mother who was never let past the school’s gate, and her kids, Tom and Julia, who never knew she came, pushes toward redemption. Children of God offers a blend of ancient traditions and contemporary realities, celebrating resilience and the power of the Indigenous cultural spirit. Inspired by First Nations music, Corey Payette’s moving score also includes echoes of provocative Broadway masterpieces such as Fun Home and Next to Normal.
Children of God takes place in two time periods during the 1950s and 1970s, and is set during a time when it is mandatory by law for all Indigenous children to attend residential schools.
Performed in English and Anishinaabemowin, this musical is a tremendously impactful piece that explores the history and intergenerational impacts of the residential school system and provides a platform for dialogue about what happened to Indigenous communities in Canada.
“It’s an opportunity for our settler allies to experience the story seen through the eyes of an Indigenous family. What would it have been like if it had been your child? Once people put themselves in those shoes, we’re going to see real, lasting change in our communities.”
Corey Payette, playwright
Touring for the first time since 2019, we are thrilled to announce that the award-winning production, Children of God, is coming to Yellowknife at the Northern Arts and Culture Centre in April, 2025. Performed in English and Anishinaabemowin, this musical is a tremendously impactful piece that explores the history and intergenerational effects of the residential school system, and provides a platform for dialogue about what happened to Indigenous communities in Canada.
This play contains some content that may be triggering for some members of the audience. For content warnings, please contact our box office at boxoffice@naccnt.ca or 867-873-4950.
CELEBRATING THE RESILIENCE AND POWER OF THE INDIGENOUS CULTURAL SPIRIT
BEHIND THE WORK
Corey Payette is an interdisciplinary storyteller, writer, composer, director in theatre and film. He is a member of the Mattagami First Nations, with French Canadian and Irish ancestry, and lives on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səl’ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples.
Known for his deeply moving, large-scale original musical creations, Payette’s work challenges the public’s notion of what musicals can be, inserting Indigenous perspectives and narratives into mainstream spaces, igniting conversations that inspire social change. Payette’s work explores themes of colonization, Indigenous language revitalization, cultural healing, reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, and the complexity of historic and contemporary Indigenous experiences across music, theatre, and film.
Every once in a while someone as special as Corey Payette comes along with a project as special as this.
SARAH GARTON STANLEY
