The Breathing Hole/Aglu opens with an Inuk woman who adopts a one-eared polar-bear cub in 1535 in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut. The village is located on the traditional territory of the Nattilik Inuit (Nattilingmiut). Playwright Colleen Murphy wrote the play in English, and it was performed at the Stratford Festival in 2017, but much of the essential dialogue has since been translated into Nattilingmiutut, a dialect of Inuktut spoken by the Nattilingmiut people. The play’s first act focuses on conversations among members of the Nattilingmiut, so this translation adds authenticity and depth to these key characters.
Else Charham Danielsen in The Breathing Hole/Aglu. Photo: Fred Cattroll.
The widowed woman Hummiktuq, a tribal elder, raises the polar bear cub to adulthood. From there, we embark on an epic odyssey across 500 years. In 1845, we meet members of the doomed Franklin Expedition, British explorers who searched for the Northwest Passage and whose ships, the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, were frozen in ice. From there, we skip forward to the years 2025 and 2031. A mega-corporation has purchased the sacred land of the Nattilingmiut, and a group of savvy entrepreneurs are assessing the current disintegration of the Arctic to determine how best to monetize the situation for future tourism. This action brutalizes the traditional territory of the Nattilik Inuit, laying waste to the seal-created breathing hole that is the epicentre of the play’s setting and theme.
Throughout the play, the polar bear Angu’ruaq leads the audience through time, appearing in puppet form from cub to adult. His mate Ukuannuaq is also depicted. We witness the lives of the Nattilingmiut, their connection to nature, and their bond with the ice. Their conversations take place in Nattilingmiutut, but projected subtitles allow the audience to understand their stories.
Joylyn Secunda and Gisle Lars Henriet in The Breathing Hole/Aglu. Photo: Fred Cattroll.
The costumes (more than mere puppets) have mechanical parts that transform the actors into polar bears. As the play proceeds, the costume of Angu’ruaq tears and darkens to mirror the disintegrating Arctic. These costumes, plus the traditional dress of the Nattilik Inuit, amplify the production’s voice while the stunning visuals, sets, music, and lighting infuse the stage. The cast is incredibly talented, and their collective performance merits global recognition. I was captivated by these scenes and the cast as the play seemed to breathe onstage.
Colleen Murphy’s play signifies a call to action for the impending climate crisis that is unfolding across our planet. What elevates this performance from play to activism is the depiction of the Nattilingmiut’s eventual cultural eradication, foreshadowed by an image of black water mentioned by Hummiktuq in the play’s opening lines. Through the eyes of a polar bear, an Arctic archetype, we can observe how colonialism and greed create this black water that eventually overtakes the northern seas and will seep southward.
The Breathing Hole company. Photo: Fred Cattroll.
The play’s depiction of a polar bear living in the Arctic and caring for his Nattilingmiut family by providing them with enough food during scarce times stands in stark contrast to our own urban environment. That he lives to observe the once-blue waters of the Arctic changing to ink suggests our cultural and ecological demise is imminent. The play’s representation of the Nattilingmiut and the preservation of their culture creates a space for all theatregoers to stand in and breathe. This space should be shared with humanity. I urge you to attend this production.
The Breathing Hole/Aglu continues through December 10 with evening shows at 7:30pm and a matinee at 1pm on Saturday. Tickets cost $17. Learn more and purchase tickets here.
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