Mayworks Festival
The Mayworks
Festival kicks off in Halifax today, featuring diverse forms of art with
connections to HRM, Cape Breton, Cuba and beyond. In its fourth year, the
festival “strives to bring workers and artists together, using art to explore
economic and social justice”…with the belief that the “Labour Movement must
engage in cultural work,” says a press release issued by the Halifax Dartmouth
and District Labour Council (HDDLC), the festival’s organizers. HDDLC’s Vice
President Admin & Communications, Debbie Richardson, fills us in on the festival’s
philosophy and purpose, and highlights just some of the events scheduled
throughout the nine days.
AE: What is the festival’s
history?
DR: There have been Mayworks Festivals in other cities
for a number of years. The Halifax Dartmouth and District Labour Council, and
in particular Margaret Anne McHugh and Scott Gillard, put together the first
Mayworks Festival in 2010.
AE: Why is it important for the labour workforce
to engage in cultural work?
DR: Art has always been an important way of
expressing political statements. Bringing workers and artists together can
create powerful images, films, plays and other forms of art enriching our
lives.
AE: What is an inspiring example of bringing workers
together with art?
DR: I think a great local example is The Men of
the Deeps. What they have managed to do is keep alive the working class culture
of the Cape Breton coalmines and bring it to a wider audience.
“…The
Men of the Deeps. What they have managed to do is keep alive the working class
culture of the Cape Breton coalmines and bring it to a wider audience.”
AE: What are some highlights for this year’s
Mayworks Festival?
DR: Our mini theatre festival is a first for us.
We will be presenting three different productions at The Bus Stop Theatre. All
shows are 8pm. Reservations should be made through mayworkshalifax@gmail.com. Tickets
are $10 each or a Festival pass for all three shows is $25. Tickets will be
available for pick up at the door. Cash only.
Heartwood, a one woman play by Laura Burke is being
presented by The Doppler Effect. This is the story of her dealings
within the Nova Scotia mental health system. We feel this is a great fit for
Mayworks because of the huge impact mental health issues play in the workplace.
This is very exciting for us to work with a company that has had such critical
success in the local theatre community.
Steel
and Coal: Work and Protest is being presented by the Big Fiddle Players from Sydney. This is
an evening of stories and songs about the struggles of the working people of
Cape Breton. Marx in Soho is a play by Howard Zinn in
which Karl Marx (played by George MacKenzie) comes back from the dead to
clear his name and defend his ideas and his work.
DaPoPo
Theatre is back with us again
for the fourth year in a row presenting their ever popular Café DaPoPo [where
patrons can order a performance at their table] at Bearlys House of Blues on
Barrington Street. Admission is $5. We recommend reserving your ticket as this
is always a sell out.
AE: What advice do you have for those interested
in creating or engaging in art (from the working class or any class) for social
justice and a better world?
DR: I would say find something that you really
believe in that is either an injustice that needs to be corrected or something
that could improve the world and find a way to make it mean something to
others, whether it is through music, theatre, art or other types of media.
The
Mayworks Festival runs from April 26 – May 4 at various venues around Halifax. http://mayworkshalifax.ca/
