Sticks and Stones May Kill the Trees

The Last Tree of Rapa Nui at Manitoba Theatre for Young People, Thursday January 12, 2012

Reviewed by Stephanie Adamov 

Recently, as a drama student, I participated in a Humanitarian Drama workshop, so I was keenly interested in how director Ron Jenkins would approach this ecological musical. What was in store for audiences viewing The Last Tree of Rapa Nui? Using theatre as the medium and ecological sustainability as the message, the cast of four along with script, song and score provided a thought provoking and fascinating outlook on the environmental issues presented. The story was inspired by Jared Diamond’s nonfiction bestseller Collapse.

There must be a balance in the presentation of a humanitarian piece. Form and function must have a symbiotic relationship.  If the message is too preachy, the audience’s attention will be lost. If shock value and facts bombard the audience to elicit a reaction, they will be overwhelmed and may cease to process the play’s information. The key especially with a children’s piece is to be informative and engaging while motivating the young audience to think of possible, alternative solutions.

As MTYP launches its thirtieth season, The Last Tree of Rapa Nui stands tall and strong. Winnipeg’s dynamic Governor General’s Award-winning playwright Vern Thiessen pairs with SOCAN award-winning composer Olef Pytllik to create this very engaging environmental musical parable about the deforestation of Easter Island. Teachers have told me that the play on tour has early years students spellbound for a complete hour.

Kani, played by Ryan Black; image by Leif Norman

The eloquent matriarchal chief Mauna, athletically played by Jennifer Lyon, tries valiantly to maintain the prosperity of her island and its people. Adorning the ancestors through larger statues leads to greater yields of eggs, fish and yams. Due to the societal benefits, she approves the actions of stone carver, Kani, played by Ryan Black and his son Bezi, played by Peter Fernandes, to meet the public appeal for these carvings.

As demand for the statues dramatically increases, resources deplete drastically. As paradise becomes less prosperous, the animal loving Ana, the chief’s daughter delightfully portrayed by Nadine Villasin, attempts to warn the adults not to cut down more trees. She urges the adults to listen, even until there is only one tree left on the island.

Pools of swirling rich hues of blue and green focus the audience at centre stage to appreciate Narda McCarroll’s very appealing sets and costume design. Audiences are drawn in to the mysterious story of Rapa Nui, through rhythmic music, repetitive words and movement, all of which transmit important messages to audience members of all ages. Just as the colours and lights turn, the audience observes how extreme deforestation transforms the island and how the lack of trees exhausts the land.

Children have a keen interest and intuitively provide insights into the future. They attempt to provide dire warnings to the adults but are silenced. The resources the adults have exhausted are part of the land the children will inherit for their future. The Last Tree of Rapa Nui serves as a cautionary tale about the detrimental ecological consequences when extreme ambition and concern about profit motives can destroy and eventually deplete resources. The people of the island strive to honour their ancestors by creating bigger stone heads. The slippery slope begins as the audience, young and old, observes how bigger is not always better. Long-term sustainability must take priority over short-sighted benefits. The insightful voice of a wise child, however quiet, cannot be ignored.

It appears at first that the statues are simply made of stone. Through rhythmic beats and repetitive lyrics we see that erecting these statues demand and then exhaust many other resources. Trees must be cut to transport these magnificent rocks from the quarry to the beach. Through extreme deforestation agriculture, livestock, wildlife and fishing industries all suffer tremendously. This play’s script educates young audiences and reminds older viewers how complex and interconnected all of nature is in our world.

Resources must be renewed, though this may not be instantly economical, it will provide benefits necessary for the future.

I felt that increased audience participation was lacking in this piece in the evening performance. The music and movement on stage got my heart beating and feet tapping. I however, felt confined in my seat as an audience member. A younger audience may have been encouraged to rise to their feet to join in the dance.

Possible steps that children and other people in the audience could do to lead towards a more sustainable future could have been explored more in the play. These were not addressed enough for my liking but the play does evoke a range of deep thoughts and feelings. But perhaps the play does ignite later discussions with a young audience in their schools and homes.

The play had a very serious tone at the end. There was an air of foreboding. How would some young people react? As an audience member, I felt that I needed to know what more we could do for the future in addition to planting trees. Maybe when it was presented in some schools, the play acted as a spring board for several class discussions about current ecological issues and roles young people could take in their communities. Perhaps during those discussions, possible alternative solutions to environmental issues and other possible endings for the play would be also explored.

After the curtain call, Nadine Villasin symbolically presented a small seedling as a gift to an audience member. Perhaps this was a branch of optimism for the audience collectively. It represented the spirit of hope for the future but also called the audience to each engage in concrete action that would make a positive difference. The seedling does require a response and the need to plan future action beyond the play.

As a parable, this story is not sugar-coated for young audiences. Based on the mystery of Easter Island’s stone heads, called moai, there is some evidence that that clear cutting may have been a factor that led to the ecological imbalance on the Island. The audience may want to verify details in future historical research and determine what we can learn from history. This The Last Tree of Rapa Nui sparks many deep questions for the audience. It can be the catalyst for further student scientific inquiry and historical research in schools and beyond.

The play as it tours may spur more people across the province to ask more critical questions regarding our own provincial environmental sustainability. This parable play has the power to call audiences to go beyond discussions. Through drama, this piece offers a timely clarion call to explore new ways to take important social and ecological action in our world and avoid global disasters. Bob Haverluck also invited the audience to provide unfolding reactions to the play in an artistic response on a collaborative mural in a twenty-minute workshop after the play. Maybe there will be further thought given to environmental new year’s resolutions for Manitobans.

The Last Tree of Rapa Nui presented by Manitoba Theatre for Young People, #2 Forks Market Road, Winnipeg, showtimes:  Sunday, January 15 at 1:00 PM & 4:00 PM