God and the Indian

“There’s truth and there’s reconciliation, but what about good old-fashioned revenge? … God and the Indian is a departure for Taylor, known for his earthy, accessible and occasionally outrageous sense of humour. His past work has been primarily comic, his Blues Quartet series of plays penned specifically as a way to counter a preponderance of “tragic” or “stoic” portrayals of Canada’s First Nations people. … Though it toys with revenge tragedy, God and the Indian ultimately shares in the purpose of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada that is winding down its work the day after the play closes in Vancouver. It’s fuelled by the desire for the stories of residential schools to be shared and listened to and for what happened to be remembered – and for bystanders as well as perpetrators to accept responsibility, and accept that responsibility does not end with official apologies and photo ops.”
– Globe & Mail

“Taylor’s script digs deep into the uncomfortable side of reconciliation, questioning the worth of official apologies and asking who gets left out of the official processes. … The humour can be hard to connect with, coming as it does amid stories of trauma and abuse, but it feels true to the character. … It’s not a script that pins things down neatly, preferring to revel in the ambiguity of memory, forcing the audience to interrogate who they believe and why. Is Johnny mixing up the terrible events of her childhood or is the assistant bishop lying? … The story becomes a kind of endless dance of guilt and trauma that can be overwhelming for an audience hoping for a clear resolution. For those who are wrought by the experience, support workers from the Indian Residential School Survivors Society attend every show. For the rest of us, these are the kind of stories we need to hear over and over, no matter how uncomfortable they might be.”
– Vancouver Sun

“A respectful treatment of one of the most painful chapters in Canadian history … We need to hear the stories Taylor is telling in God and the Indian.”
– Georgia Straight

“…an emotional experience. We witness an aboriginal woman, a survivor of abuse she endured while in the residential school system, face her abuser in his office. They engage in this highly tense argument that has crescendos and moments of total mental fatigue. And we, as the viewers, aren’t entirely sure of whose account we believe. Talking about the power of humour in the context of this play might seem a bit disjunctive. But in God and the Indian, humour is essential, powerful, and heartbreaking.”
– Jazz.fm

“A moving and meaningful reconciliation drama, God and the Indian asks powerful questions and doesn’t give easy answers”
– PRISM Magazine