The Ministry of Grace

It’s 1950 in the deserts of Southern California. Evangelist Brother Cain has a booming trade; his tent revival show moves from town to town, fleecing crowds desperate for something to believe in. When he discovers Mary, a Ntlaka’pamux woman from BC’s Nicola Valley, reading the Bible, he puts her onstage, renames her Grace, and displays her as a miracle: an Indian who can read. A grand, sweeping story of friendship and redemption, The Ministry of Grace is a powerful look at people struggling to live, love, and retain dignity in a heartless world.

AUTHOR

Tara Beagan

Tara Beagan is a proud halfbreed of Ntlaka’pamux and Irish Canadian heritage. She is Artistic Director of Native Earth Performing Arts. Her debut play, Thy Neighbour’s Wife garnered three Dora Award nominations in ’05, winning for Best New Play. Ensuing plays include Dreary and Izzy, The Fort at York, for which she was head writer and co-director, and Miss Julie: Sheh’mah, which earned five ’09 Dora nominations. Short plays include Quilchena, Here, Boy!, Foundlings, BLUEBEARD’S WI7E, TransCanada, and Anatomy of an Indian. She was playwright-in-residence at the National Arts Centre in 2011, at NEPA in 2009/2010, and at Cahoots in 2007/2008. As well as a mentor for emerging theatre artists, Tara has written for film and radio, and is a Dora- and Betty-nominated actor.

Reviews

A gripping tale of heart and humanityLauzon and Riordan repeatedly demonstrate that Shakespeares words help give voice to ideas the students find useful Stratford Today

The production leaves us in no doubt that students who depart the school are survivors of a process of cultural erasure that some will never conquer Stage Door

1939 balances youthful optimism and heartbreaking reality By the end I was left with feelings of both sadness and hope Stratford Beacon Herald

A Moving and Powerful MustSee Play Broadway World

The message is clear and resounding without being hardhitting The Passionate Playgoer