Burning Vision by Marie Clements (2002)
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Burning Vision by Marie Clements is a play in four movements, a composition that traces the journey of uranium from its origins in the Sahtu Dene earth, through water, over land and into fire- the bomb that dropped on Hiroshima. A vision unfolds over four see-er songs sung by a Dene medicine man in the late 1800’s. Burning Vision was commissioned by Rumble Productions in Vancouver and was developed in conjunction with Playwright’s Workshop Montreal. Burning Vision was developed in residencies at Rumble Theatre, The Women Writer’s Unit at PWM, and at The Banff Playwrites Colony, with dramaturgy by Paula Danckert, and direction by Peter Hinton.

Burning Vision was produced by Rumble Productions in association with urban ink productions, and premiered at The Firehall Arts Centre in April 2002, garnering a total of six Jessie Richardson nominations, including best original script, best production, and best direction in the small theatre category. In 2003, Burning Vision was nominated for the Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama, shortlisted for The George Ryga Award for Literary Arts and published by Talon Books. In 2004, Burning Vision was awarded The Canada-Japan Literary Award for Excellence.

Burning vision completed its national tour to two prestigious showcases for the best in contemporary theatre in Canada. Once again, Burning Vision, brough together a diverse and dynamic cast and design team to present at Festival de Theatre des Ameriques in Montreal, and the new Magnetic North Festival in Ottawa. The production closed to rave reviews and publication of Burning Vision by Talon books, 2003.

“… a brave new play that bombards the sense and fires up the mind…” – The Globe and Mail

“I think that the best stories happen like the wind; they envelope you, surprise you, chill you, move you, and warm you… Marie Clements knows about the wind.” – Redwire Magazine

“… visually and aurally spectacular.” – The Vancouver Courier

“… sensually compelling.” – The Georgia Straight

“… Stunning and provocative.” – The Ottawa Citizen

(Pictured: Marcus Hondro. Photo by Tim Matheson)