Nyla Carpentier figures her cheekbones came from Tahltan Territory and wonders if her hands come from France.
Writer and solo performer Nyla Carpentier is charming: playful, friendly, and relaxed.
And she can dance. In Dissection of a Indian Aboriginal First Nation Full-Blood Status Non-Status Halfbreed Métis Rez Urban Mixed Heritage Woman, Carpentier explores her French, Scottish, and Indigenous roots and, along the way, she club dances, step dances, and — in the highlight of the show for me — shawl dances. Carpentier spinning, with the long ribbons on her shawl flying, is an almost hallucinatory image.
But her script is rambling. There’s no central story and, as Carpentier pieces the bits of her heritage together, it takes her an hour to ask why she’d have to choose between identifying as white or Indigenous. If you’ve heard this question before — or variations on the theme — you already know the answer.
At the Revue Stage on September 6 (8:45 p.m.), 7 (10:00 p.m.), 8 (1:45 p.m.), and 10 (7:30 p.m.) Tickets
This review is based on a performance at the Victoria Fringe.
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