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Dec 4, 20233 min read

Indians on Vacation by Thomas King

Against the Grain Theatre in collaboration with Edmonton Opera will be staging Indians on Vacation, a new opera based on Canadian writer Thomas King's book. It will be composed by Ian Cusson with libretto by Royce Vavrek. The opera features two characters, Mimi and Bird, who are starred by Marion Newman as mezzo-soprano and Grant Youngblood as baritone. The costume design for this play is based off the narrative of the book and the information of the opera that will premier in 2025. More information can be found here: https://atgtheatre.com/upcoming/indians-on-vacation/.

I very much enjoyed reading this book to the point where I was surprised by how relatable it was. The narrative follows a middle-aged Indigenous couple named Mimi and Bird whom travel to Prague, Czech Republic to uncover some family mysteries. Interestingly, the text shifts back and forth from current Prague to past events in order to allow readers to understand the context of the characters and their actions.

The point of view is from Bird's, the protagonist and the husband, who has been working as a photojournalist for 40 years. Bird is not your typical husband or dad, he is a representative of a mid-life crisis; we are introduced to his five demons, Eugene who represents self-loathing, Didi and Desi, the twins for depression and despair, Cat for pessimism, and Chip for chip on the shoulder. These demons are a embodiment of Bird's current state of mind and life. As the couple venture through Prague, Bird is never eager, or happy to do anything. He doesn't like to sightsee, or walk around and shop, or do anything. He is constantly complaining about how hot it is, despise conversing with people they meet, and is always reminded of how low of a human being he is by his demons who are visionary and somewhat real entities.

I set the design with exactly the setting and environment of the story: tourists in sunny Prague. Considering that there are no quick changes, Bird is seen in one costume throughout. My notes of his costume design below:


Bird: simplistic, shirt, and shorts. Simple runners shoes, a hat maybe, a backpack, not a care in the world for what he wears, likes basic staples instead of fancy, stylish or over-the-tops. Typical middle-age male tourist costume


Bird mentions on page 155 that his daily default is a black t-shirt. We can also note of course that he has far too many problems to deal with to be interested in clothes.


As for Mimi, we get a stark contrast-- someone who is bright, optimistic, outgoing, and extremely, almost too eager. Mimi is Bird's nightmare, someone who seems like a young teenager that has yet to explore the world. Due to her enthusiasm, I decided to put some colored pins on Bird's boring backpack, because it seems to me be something that she would do for her husbands bland attire. As mentioned in the book, Mimi enjoys thrifting and is stylish but modest with her choices. She has much more color, and brighter ones on her such as the flower pattern shirt, and the purple fanny pack; her eagerness is shown through her accessorization like her sunglasses and hat. Below are my notes for designing Mimi:


For Mimi: Minimalistic and unstyled, thrift store— pieces matched up together, a little more on the expressive side compared to her husband, brighter colors, more in-depth silhouettes, still resembling a female middle-age tourist


I am also noting here that because this is a unrealized and conceptual design for Indians on Vacation, the realized version may have more emphasis or physical characters for Bird and his five Demons.

 

Works Cited

King, Thomas. Indians on Vacation. HarperCollins Publishers, 2021.


Furthur Resources:


Announcing Indians on Vacation by Ian Cusson and Royce Vavrek https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNuUvtS0hdw&t=10s



Against the Grain Theatre. https://atgtheatre.com/



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