A Ryga-Rita Rethink: A Panel Discussion

This article is an edited transcript of a panel convened at the Ryga Arts Festival, held in Summerland, British Columbia, in 2017, about Ryga’s groundbreaking 1967 play The Ecstasy of Rita Joe. Issues discussed include the play’s legacy fifty years after its premiere and how twenty-first-century issues such as appropriation of voice have impacted the play’s continued production on Canadian stages. The panel, chaired by Canadian Theatre Review founding editor Don Rubin, includes contributions from the play’s original composer-singer-actress Ann Mortifee, opera composer Victor Davies, film-maker Gina Payzant, and writer-critic Patricia Keeney.