This August, students from the Claude Watson drama program at Earl Haig Secondary School will perform their original play at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, making them the first Toronto high school to be part of the renowned event.
The program was selected from 2,000 nominees across North America.
Janet Kish, director, said the students agreed they wanted the play to focus on Canadian and First Nations culture.
“We feel strongly about representing Canada,” she said. “And First Nations seemed as Canadian as you can get.”
Though the play is fictional, Kish said their “springboard and inspiration” was the case of Dudley George, a First Nations man who was shot by the OPP during a protest at the Ipperwash Provincial Park in 1995.
The Edinburgh Fringe Festival is the largest arts festival in the world and takes place Aug. 5 to 29.