Congratulations Abbie Ootava

"Night", a play about the interaction between a young Inuk girl from Pond Inlet (Nunavut) and an anthropologist from Toronto set against the backdrop of an Arctic winter and a clash of cultures, opened at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa on January 7th to very positive reviews.

This production marks the first time that a project from the Arctic has played at the NAC and a very large portion of its success is thanks to Abbie Ootova. She is a young Inuk woman who has overcome a number of challenges that lay between a troubled teenage life in Pond Inlet and centre stage at the National Arts Centre.

In "Night" Abbie Ootava plays a young high school student named Piuyaq who is coping with family problems and community issues. A well meaning southern anthropologist arrives with the remains of her grandfather who had died of TB in a southern hospital many years before and “tries to help”.

After playing Ottawa, "Night" will move north to Inuvik and Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories, and then Whitehorse, Yukon.

Abbie's performance and hard work are an inspiration for all Inuit, and I wish her the greatest of success in her acting career.