ONE TIGER TO A HILL : Inside an aging Federal Maximum Security Prison an inmate in isolation has died under suspicious circumstances according to inmate rumour. This despite external reviews and recommendations for change that warden and staff have failed to implement. In a demand for justice within the prison and a chance at freedom two lifers, Metis Tommy Paul and Gillie, an African Canadian inmate, have taken three hostages, one a female rehabilitation officer guards suspect is in on the plan. Their suspicions are based on their belief in her having an intimate relationship with Tommy Paul in his counseling sessions.Tommy Paul wants his criminal defense lawyer as negotiator along with a political activist for prison reform. He gets his activist but his lawyer is replaced by one who normally deals with corporate law. The max prison is unknown territory for him. In attempting to mediate for a peaceful resolution the machinations of the prison administration and guards plus the unpredictable actions of hostages and inmates, result in a loss of trust on all sides, and betrayal is in the air. A compelling, complex and compassionate look at what happens inside, inspired by events within the New Westminster Maximum Security Prison in the 70’s.

GENERATIONS : Despite early years of homesteading hardship Old Eddy Nurlin managed to hang onto the family farm as neighbouring homesteaders were losing theirs. Now the Nurlins face a new challenge. The Natives from a nearby Reserve have blocked their access to water in protest against federal government policies. “It’s the farmers who’ll suffer, not the government” Old Eddy tells an elderly Native friend he’s known for years. His appeal for a lifting of the blockage goes nowhere. Now drought has struck but the Natives remain firm in their government protest strategy. To top things off Young Eddy who left the farm to study law returns with a plea for the family to sell off a section to finance his career plans. His younger brother David, totally committed to the family farming heritage is anything but happy, while father George, mother Margaret, and Old Eddysee what the family has struggled to preserve and pass on is placed in jeopardy. A family drama about land, place and relationships, an ode to farmers everywhere.

First public performance: Theatre 3, on March 12, 1980, Edmonton.

Director: Keith Digby.

0920316239 (bound)