''Paper Wheat'' is a

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...

by the 25th Street Theatre Centre about the hard lives of early

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

settlers A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a pioneer. Settle ...

and the foundation of the

wheat pools A wheat pool is a co-operative that markets grain (mostly wheat) on behalf of its farmer-members. In Canada in 1923 and 1924, three wheat pools were created. They were farmer-owned co-operatives, created to break the power of the large for-p ...

and the Co-op movement on the

Canadian Prairies The Canadian Prairies (usually referred to as simply the Prairies in Canada) is a region in Western Canada. It includes the Canadian portion of the Great Plains and the Prairie Provinces, namely Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. These provin ...

. The most successful stage show in Saskatchewan history, ''Paper Wheat'' opened in

Sintaluta, Saskatchewan Sintaluta () is a small town in Saskatchewan, Canada. The current population of Sintaluta is approximately 119 people according to the 2016 Canadian Census. The town is located about 85 km east of Regina. The town is located on the north s ...

on May 18, 1977 and subsequently played to full houses across the province and nation. ''Paper Wheat'' was an example of

documentary theatre Documentary theatre is theatre that uses pre-existing documentary material (such as newspapers, government reports, interviews, journals, and correspondences) as source material for stories about real events and people, frequently without altering ...

, with company members traveling to local communities to collect stories about Saskatchewan history. It was collectively created and written by its originating cast and crew, including director Andras Tahn and actors

Linda Griffiths Linda Pauline Griffiths (7 October 1953 – 21 September 2014) was a Canadian actress and playwright best known for writing and starring in the one woman play ''Maggie and Pierre'', in which she portrayed both Pierre Trudeau and his then-estran ...

and

Lubomir Mykytiuk Lubomir Mykytiuk is a Canadian actor."Mykytiuk, Lubomir"
''Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia'', Apri ...

.Gaetan Charlebois
"Paper Wheat"
''Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia'', June 15, 2021. Later productions, under the direction of

Guy Sprung Guy Sprung is a film and theatre director born in Ottawa in 1947. He lives in the Mile End area of Montreal and was the artistic director of Infinitheatre for 22 years. He retired and was succeeded by Zach Fraser in March 2021. Career Guy Sprung ...

, added further new characters and dialogue created by the same collective process.

Film

A Prairie tour of the play was filmed by

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...

filmmaker

Albert Kish Albert Kish (14 May 1937 – 23 October 2015) was a Canadian documentarian/filmmaker. Life and career Kish was born in Albert Kiss in Eger, Hungary, the son of Olga Weisz, a clothing store manager, and Albert Kiss, a customs officer. He beca ...

(in 1979), as one of the last films in its

Challenge for Change Challenge for Change (French: ''Societé Nouvelle'') was a participatory film and video project created by the National Film Board of Canada in 1967, the Canadian Centennial. Active until 1980, Challenge for Change used film and video production t ...

series.

References

External links

Watch ''Paper Wheat'' at NFB.ca
Canadian plays 1979 films Canadian drama films Canadian plays adapted into films National Film Board of Canada films Culture of Saskatchewan Films set in Saskatchewan Docudrama plays Plays set in the 18th century Plays set in Canada 1977 plays 1970s Canadian films {{1970s-play-stub