On June 26, 2010, Tommy Taylor was a bystander in Queen’s Park’s free speech zone during the G20 protests. Over the next 48 hours, he was arrested, detained in a 10-by-20-foot cage with 40 others and denied drinking water until he passed out – all of which he chronicled in a Facebook post that went viral. His play based on that post, first presented at SummerWorks 2011, is in the midst of a cross-country tour that returns to T.O. for a limited run at the Aki Studio Theatre October 17 to 26. 416-531-1402, praxistheatre.com.
How has the show evolved in the two years since SummerWorks?
It has an epilogue exploring what’s happened since G20. A lot of people don’t know what’s come out in these past three years. There are new designs. And I no longer use notes while performing the show.
For the tour, you’re asking for volunteer detainees for each performance. What kind of response have you got? And what do the participants seem to get out of it?
We’ve had over 100 participants join us so far in Whitehorse and Vancouver. That’s been the most moving thing. People aged 14 to 88 have stepped into the cage. People who had either read the Facebook note or seen the show asked to join. Many have found it an empowering and fun way to stand up for civil liberties. (Note: interested people can email participate@praxistheatre.com for info.)
How are audiences in Whitehorse and Vancouver different from those in Toronto?
I wondered if the show was telling a Toronto story, but I’ve discovered it’s a story about all Canadians. They all laugh, gasp, shake their heads and share the same concerns. We’ve also had a number of audience members see the show and then say, “I have to come back as a detainee,” which is incredibly rewarding.
You proposed to your girlfriend during the protest. How did that turn out?
You’ll have to watch the show.
Anyone in particular you’d like to see at the show?
The members of Toronto city council who voted to give Toronto police a special thanks for their efforts just days after the G20 Summit (they voted 36-0 in favour of the thank-you). That vote was spearheaded by former Mayor David Miller – that’s someone else I really want to see the show. All of those folks are being invited. Most of all, I want TPS Chief Bill Blair to attend. We’re offering the chief a seat to any performance his schedule can accommodate.
Recently a police officer was found guilty of assault with a weapon during the G20 events. Thoughts?
It’s discouraging: one officer in three years. I think it demonstrates general impunity more than justice. The fact that the Nobody case was shut and opened several times and that in the end it was only because there was video evidence that a conviction ever came is troubling. That’s a trend with policing here in Toronto. If someone didn’t record it, it didn’t happen.
If you could relive the events of June 26, 2010, would you do anything different?
I would go out as a protester, not a bystander.
What’s next?
After Toronto, we head to Montreal and Ottawa. It’s our hope that one of the performances in Ottawa will have MPs standing as detainees in the cage.
