CIVILIZED
CIVILIZED
By Keir Cutler
“We did this for you!”
Watch the 1-minute preview · Watch the 10-minute CIVILIZED summary for educators
For Teachers: a professionally filmed recording of the full stage performance — not a live in-person show — is available to license for classroom or school-wide streaming. (Live in-person performances are not currently available; the filmed version is the way to bring CIVILIZED to your students right now.) Not sure it's the right fit? watch this free 10-minute summary of the play, or purchase access directly here.
What Educators Are Saying
“CIVILIZED deeply resonated with our community. This powerful play confronts the legacy of colonization and its lasting effects, offering our Grade 11 and 12 students a profound reflection on our journey toward Truth and Reconciliation. CIVILIZED encouraged both students and staff to confront uncomfortable truths about our shared history and reflect on our role in shaping a more equitable future. It was a poignant reminder of how theatre can spark vital conversations, challenge perspectives, and foster empathy in ways few other mediums can.”
— Cheryl Boughton, Head of School at St. John's-Kilmarnock School
CIVILIZED is a darkly comedic exploration of colonialism and the horrors of residential schools, where the absurdity of “civilizing” missions is laid bare through biting satire and unsettling truths.
This one-man play stars Métis actor John Huston, whose powerful performance brings both humour and heartbreak to the forefront, masterfully navigating the complexities of historical trauma.
The evocative set design by Jay Havens—a 2Spirit artist, educator, and collaborator of Kanien’kehá:ka (Haudenosaunee) and Scottish Canadian ancestry—immerses the audience in a world that shifts between stark realism and surreal commentary.
In 1907, the Canadian government learned that their Indian Residential Schools were “dangerous to health” with “Indian boys and girls dying,” yet they did nothing. Why? In the words of bureaucrat William Blank, “We did this for you.” Arisen from the grave to prove to the audience that the ends justify the means, Blank, a composite of Canadian officials of the time, is the sole character in Keir Cutler’s 68-minute one-act Civilized, and he has a lot to say. Charming, charismatic, cultured, conniving, and cunning, he is embodied by John D. Huston, a Métis actor who’s made a career out of “culturally misappropriating the works and identities of dead white guys,” who brings a touch of trickster energy to the role. Is he simply a well-intentioned fool, or something more sinister?
Production Photos
About the Creative Team
Keir Cutler — Playwright
Playwright Keir Cutler (he/him) is a Montrealer and writer/performer of ten solo shows; four of which aired on Bravo!Canada. Cutler has performed his own work across North America and at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London, UK, as well as appearing in many film and television productions (The Audrey Hepburn Story, Brad’s Status). He is a scholar, with a Ph.D. in theatre from Wayne State University and a playwriting diploma from the National Theatre School, and the author of several books, including Shakespeare Authorship Question: A Crackpot’s View. www.keircutler.com
John D. Huston — Actor
Actor John D. Huston (he/him), a member of Canada’s Métis Nation from Winnipeg, has had a lively career “culturally misappropriating the works and identities of dead white guys,” including playing Tommy Douglas in Saskatchewan, William Lyon MacKenzie in Toronto, Shakespeare in England, and Charles Dickens across Canada. Huston portrayed Louis Riel in both the 50th anniversary production of Canada’s longest running dramatic presentation, The Trial of Louis Riel, and the CBC’s Ideas episode, “Sir John A. MacDonald on Trial for Crimes Against Humanity.”
Jay Havens — Designer
Designer Jay Havens (he/him/they) is a multi-media 2Spirit artist, educator, and collaborator of Kanien’keha’ka and Scottish ancestry. Havens works in site-specific performance and installation, murals, projections and sculptural artworks for galleries, museums, gardens, and public spaces around the world, including New York and Prague. Over their 20-year career, project highlights include projection mapping animations on Stratford City Hall, a floating artwork in the Toronto harbour called The Peacemaker’s Canoe, and a mural on the windows of the Vancouver Opera house. Havens teaches at the University of Waterloo. www.jayhavens.me
Paul Hopkins — Director
Director Paul Hopkins (he/him) has been working in Canadian film, television, and theatre for over 25 years. His career spans theatres across Canada (Stratford Festival, Theatre Calgary, Centaur Theatre); numerous roles on screen (Disney’s Zombies 1, 2, 3, Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City), staging and filming Opera Laurier’s 2021 production of Dialogue des Carmélites by Francis Poulenc; and 8 years as the Artistic and Executive Director of Montreal’s Shakespeare in the Park, Repercussion Theatre. Hopkins was a 2013 finalist for the Christopher Plummer Fellowship Award of Excellence, for his contributions to Shakespeare and the classics in performance. www.jpaulhopkins.com
Touring
Please note: live in-person touring performances of CIVILIZED are not currently available. The full performance is available as a professionally filmed recording, which you can license for classroom, school, or personal viewing — see the filmed version here.
Hosting CIVILIZED can be as simple as a TED talk. The show works in classrooms, theaters, lecture halls, or even residential settings. Under ideal conditions, the venue should accommodate up to 100 people with basic lighting, a sound system, and a technician present. The performer doesn’t require amplification, though equipment rentals are available upon request.
Interested in bringing a future live performance of CIVILIZED to your community? Get in touch.
Past Performances
- 2024: Toronto Next Stage Theatre Festival
- 2024: Waterloo Church of the Holy Saviour
- 2024: Kitchener Rockway Mennonite College
- 2023: Montreal Fringe Festival
- 2022: Toronto Red Sandcastle Theatre
- 2022: Winnipeg Fringe Festival
- 2022: Ottawa Fringe Festival
Resources
We hope that the experience of watching CIVILIZED will inspire you to make a difference in your community.
A Call to Action
In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission published 94 Calls to Action, aimed at addressing the legacy of residential schools and advancing reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Canada. Reconciliation is a process of healing. It requires constructive action on addressing the ongoing legacies of colonialism, and must create a more equitable and inclusive society. All Canadians, as Treaty peoples, share responsibility for reconciliation.
Here are some things you can do to help achieve reconciliation:
Learn
Research First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples in your area to understand their history and contributions to society.
Donate
Donate generously to Indigenous charities:
- Indian Residential School Survivors Society — provides essential services to Residential School Survivors, their families, and those dealing with intergenerational traumas.
- Kawenni:io/Gaweni:yo Immersion School — helps preserve the traditions and cultures of the Rotinonhsion:ni/Hodinohso:ni, with a curriculum based on the tenets of the Hodinohso:ni Thanksgiving Address.
Support
Support Indigenous artists, writers, musicians and performers.
- Indian Horse — a feature film about the residential school system, based on the novel by Richard Wagamese.
- Kuper Island — an eight-part podcast telling the stories of four children at one of Canada’s most notorious residential schools, hosted by Duncan McCue.
- 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act by Bob Joseph — essential reading to understand our history and the lasting impact it has today.
- Tanya Tagaq — a Canadian Inuk throat singer, songwriter, novelist, actor, and visual artist from Cambridge Bay (Iqaluktuuttiaq), Nunavut.
Contact
Email: jpaulhopkins@gmail.com