234. The Cup | Tales of an Urban Indian (Talk Is Free Theatre, 2025)

Welcome back to the 235th episode of The Cup which is our a weekly (give or take, TBD, these are unprecedented times) performing arts talk show presented by Cup of Hemlock Theatre. With the theatres on a come back we offer a mix of both reviews of live shows we've seen and continued reviews of prophet productions! For our 235th episode we bring you a Duet Review of Tales of an Urban Indian, written by Darrell Dennis, directed by Herbie Barnes, presented in its latest iteration by Talk is Free Theatre. Join Jillian Robinson and Ryan Borochovitz, as they discuss Nolan Moberly’s dynamic performance, being powerless to one’s environment, and how everybody has a tale to tell.Tales of an Urban Indian is playing at Hope United Church (2550 Danforth Ave, Toronto, ON) until May 31st, 2025. Tickets can be purchased from the following link: https://www.tift.ca/shows/tales-of-an-urban-indian CONTENT WARNING: Tales of an Urban Indian contains themes of alcohol and drug abuse, suicide, homophobia, and discrimination against Indigenous people; this review, likewise, speaks directly to these topics. Moreover, we acknowledge our positionality as white settlers discussing this material – up to and including the language of the play’s title, which we use only in context. To share another quote from Darrell Dennis’s witty and informative book, Peace Pipe Dreams (2014): “There are many names used for our people because not all of us can agree on one. We all have our own pasts, world views and prejudices that will inform the term we prefer. As a result, there will never be one term that pleases one hundred percent of Natives all the time. Sorry. Luckily, Native people have a reputation as some of the most open, accepting and forgiving people in the world. Using an improper PC term will usually be ignored as long as your conversation is respectful and comes from a place of friendship.” (pp.28-29)Less importantly, this review contains many SPOILERS for Tales of an Urban Indian. It will begin with a general non-spoiler review until the [12:35] mark, followed by a more in-depth/anything goes/spoiler-rich discussion. If you intend to see the production, we recommend you stop watching after that point, or at least proceed at your own risk. Follow our panelists: Jillian Robinson – Instagram: @jillian.robinson96 Ryan Borochovitz – [Just send all that love to CoH instead; he won’t mind!]; if you enjoy his theatre thoughts, more can be found at https://nextmag.ca/search/borochovitz Follow Cup of Hemlock Theatre on Instagram/Facebook/Twitter: @cohtheatreIf you’d like us to review your upcoming show in Toronto, please send press invites/inquiries to [email protected]