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THURSDAY, MAY 18, 2017 • WATERLOO CHRONICLE • 23 Ready for Impact Impact 17 reveals ambitious program that hopes to open dialogue between Canadians By Timothy Grier Special to the Chronicle Waterloo Region's ground-breaking Impact theatre festival released its 2017 program this week, promising world-class theatre designed to get audiences talking. Impact 17 runs Sept. 26 to Oct. 1. It is a unique international festival, with theatre from around the world, across Canada, and right here in Waterloo Region. This is the fifth biennial Impact festival, which was founded in 2009 and is presented by Kitchener's MT Space theatre group. Impact 17 boasts the festival's biggest-ever budget and a lineup designed to open dia- logues between Canadians. "We are the only festival in Canada explic- itly aimed at giving the stage to artists who have nowhere else to tell their stories," said festival artistic director Majdi bou-Matar. "Refugees, immigrants, Indigenous artists. We are the only festival that is focused in its entirety on the voices of these culturally diverse creators." Some of those voices include local artists who travelled to Tunisia in 2016 to help cre- ate The Raft, a Canada-Tunisia co-produc- tion telling the stories of refugees "riding the sea" to escape con� ict in the Middle East and North Africa. The Raft is an award-winning visual and emotional journey following a diverse and conflicted group of refugees in a raft on the Mediterranean Sea. They escape one death, only to face another. � e play was created with input from refu- gee survivors, with scenes and dialogue often inspired by actual events captured in hun- dreds of horri� c cellphone videos. "� e Raft puts a human face to the ongo- ing refugee crisis," said bou-Matar, who co- directs the play. "It offers a window on the lives of real people, a chance to hear the sto- ries of refugees in their own words. � ousands of people went missing in the Mediterranean last year, and there is a human story behind every one of them." Impact 17 continues its tradition of bring- ing international Indigenous artists to Can- ada, starting with the Sept. 26 opening night performance of Mana Wahine, by the Okareka Dance Company of New Zealand. Five pow- erhouse performers present a feminist fusion of dance, theatre and � lm, inspired by tradi- tional Maori culture. Pam Patel, who took over the role of MT Space artistic director in 2016, said she is proud that for the � rst time the Impact festival will present a full children's theatre program. � e youth-oriented plays are designed to get families talking about racism, Islamophobia, and Canada's colonial past. "We've always had a strong youth com- ponent at Impact, but new funding for Cana- da 150 celebrations allows us to reach out to younger children and, especially, their fami- lies," Patel said. "It lets us present different points of view on the Canadian story." Map of the Land, Map of the Stars, by Gwaandak � eatre in Whitehorse, o� ers sto- ries from outside the colonial lens of Cana- dian history. We Are All Treaty People, by Cal- gary's Making Treat 7 & Quest � eatre, tells the story of two children visited by a trickster, who reveals stories of their ancestral land. From Montreal, Jabber explores an unusu- al friendship that develops between hajib- wearing Fatima and her schoolyard bully. "Jabber is about Islamophobia, which is relevant to the lives of so many schoolchildren in Canada today," Patel said. "The hope is that if young people see these performances with their parents, they both get a different perspective on the lives of other Canadians. It can open up a conversation within families, between the generations." Bou-Matar, who immigrated to Canada from Lebanon in 2003, founded the MT Space and the Impact festival as a way to encourage audiences to interact with unfamiliar cultures. "� eatre is a very intimate art form that can bring audiences together," he said. "When I came to Canada and discovered this wonder- ful multicultural mix, I felt theatre was a way for all these cultures to learn to talk to each other. "Impact 17 o� ers works you won't � nd in most Canadian theatres. � ese are the stories of our neighbours, stories of today and also stories from deep within Canadian history." Impact 17 organizers also introduced the specially brewed 'Impact Beer' for the festival, a harvest wheat ale by Descendants Brewery in Kitchener. For tickets and festival passes, visit www. ticketscene.ca. Single tickets available at Open Sesame and Kultrun Market. Five powerhouse artists from New Zealand bring stories from Indigenous Maori culture to the stage at Waterloo Region's Impact 17 international theatre festival. ALEX EFIMOFF PHOTO The Raft is an award-winning co-production between local artists and artists from Tunisia. The Raft comes to Waterloo Region this fall as part of the Impact 17 international theatre festival, from Sept. 26 to Oct. 1, 2017. ALTRUISTO PHOTO ARTS FOCUS WATERLOO CHRONICLE Ready for Impact WATERLOO CHRONICLE EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT! CONNECTED TO YOUR COMMUNITY WATERLOOCHRONICLE.CA local news local sports local happenings