WAiting for Godot - Inuktitut
A creative collaboration by 662 OVA (Nunavut) & Volcano (Toronto) Produced in association with the Great Canadian Theatre Company, NAC Indigenous Theatre and the NAC's National Creation Fund
Written by Samuel Beckett
Translated by Ruth Angutiqjuaq, Tatanniq Idlout, Carol Saqpinaq Kunnuk, Kaittaasi Peter, and Mary Petooloosie
Directed by Tatanniq Idlout and Ross Manson
The Story
Waiting for Godot - Inuktitut is a project conceived by Nunavut-based Inuit artist Tatanniq Lucie Idlout, who, along with her collective 662 OVA, is working with Volcano to develop a translation and production of Samuel Beckett’s masterpiece in the most widely spoken indigenous language of the North. Five translators are bringing the project into a nuanced and powerful Inuktitut version: Ruth Angutiqjuaq; Tatanniq Idlout; Carol Saqpinaq Kunnuk; Mary Petooloosie and Kaitaasi Peter.
Tatanniq writes:
“I developed a deep connection to Samuel Beckett’s masterpiece when I was eighteen. Beckett didn’t know anything about the North. But he knew hardship and horror. He grew up in a place with much poverty. Beckett never visited Nunavut, but for me, Waiting for Godot is somehow the most contemporary Inuit story I know: the relationship of powerlessness to power; the place of humour in dealing with a hard life; the idea of endless waiting; the disappointment; the need for patience; and the adversity the main characters face everyday of their lives.
Although the play itself is not political, it can act as a metaphor in the Inuit context: reflecting the historical relationship between the government and Inuit across Canada, and connecting easily to some of the issues we face in the north, such as the residential school horror, and the extreme environmental imbalance that Inuit live with first-hand. So Beckett’s play seems a potent way to connect Inuit to the south, and – through touring – also connect the wider world to the plight of Inuit: a people who have much in common with the characters in Beckett’s landscape."
Workshop photography and videography by Jonathan Lorange, John Lauener and Ross Manson
Music for video trailer: Sounds of Sadness by Tatanniq Lucie Idlout
Our Team
CAST
CREATIVE
SPECIAL THANKS
For the generosity, wisdom and knowledge they shared with us in Mittimatalik (Pond Inlet), and Igloolik during Volcano’s summer 2021 research trip, we would like to thank elders Susan Avingak, Niawuttiaq David Irngaut and Regalee Ootook.
For their supremely good hosting (!) in Mittimatalik, Igloolik and Iqaluit, we would also like to thank Zacharias Kunuk, Teena Kakee, Edward Atkinson and the many people we met along the way who offered advice and help.
OUR FUNDERS
We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Government of Nunavut’s Department of Community Services, the Government of Nunavut’s Department of Culture and Heritage, The National Sixties Scoop Healing Foundation of Canada,
The Qikiqtani Inuit Association: Qikiqtani Community Language Program, and The K.M. Hunter Charitable Foundation.
We are deeply thankful to these funding bodies for their support of this storytelling.
