This review will be on the short side. I only found out relatively recently that Tomson Highway had continued his cycle of plays set on and around the fictional Wasaychigan Hill reservation with Rose. At one point he had been planning on doing 5 or 6, but his plans may have changed. The first two are much better known of course (I review them here), though Dry Lips is infrequently staged. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Rose is so triggering that I really can't imagine it being staged again. (It was done in a workshop at the University of Toronto in 1999.)
TRIGGER WARNINGS
In addition to having a woman hung up like a slab of beef and tortured, one of the characters is castrated on stage! And while it is only described, there is discussion on how Emily Dictionary was kicked in the stomach/womb by Gazelle Nataways (talked about but never seen in The Rez Sisters) and miscarried her daughter.
What is interesting is seeing how many of the characters from The Rez Sisters and Dry Lips actually interact, as they don't share the stage in the first two plays. Pelajia Patchnose, now going by the name Big Rose, has become Chief, while the deposed chief constantly undermines her authority. Big Joey is so caught up with the idea of taking over one of the community buildings and turning it into a casino that he ends up turning to the mob. Pierre St. Pierre casts the deciding vote on council to open up the casino and things go downhill from there. At times, Highway seems to be channeling Quentin Tarantino rather than writing a play that could actually be staged. On top of everything else, there are numerous musical sequences! Overall, I found it an interesting, overstuffed play that left me pretty depressed. I'm sure I would go see if it is ever does return to the boards in Toronto, though I imagine the odds of that happening are pretty low.
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