The kokoms have one final hilarious Christmas hurrah
- EFN Staff | December 12, 2014
Saskatchewan’s favourite kokoms are going to bring you one more amazingly funny Christmas tale and then they are finally going to get a Christmas off of work. SNTC’s most popular series will come to a close with Nicimos; a story of love, friendship and cunning (or lack thereof) featuring the high jinks of the immense popular kokoms of Kiwetinohk, Zula Merasty, Claire Bear and Sihkos Sinclare.
The Christmas kokoms were originally created by a team of youth in the SNTC Circle of Voices program in 2001. A computer nightmare eventually saw Curtis Peeteetuce pull together enough notes that that play Ms. Purdy Parsimonias: A Rez Christmas Carol was created and the kokoms were introduced to Saskatchewan. Since then, the play has seen nine different versions, each of them hilarious as the old ladies go chasing their Christmas hamper from the band, head for the biggest bingo ever or get into a spot of trouble or three. The various adaptations of the play have toured the province from north to south and thousands of people have seen their kokom or grandma reflected in these iconic characters.
After all those years though, Peeteetuce thinks it is time for a change. “The play has had an exceptional run and it has brought many people together both on the stage and in the community,” said Curtis Peeteetuce, playwright as well as Artistic Director of SNTC. “What I’m going to miss the most is the laughter, the people, the communities. The most important thing about this play is hearing people laugh. That joy during Christmas season.”
Often pulling most of the laughs is outrageous kokom Sihkos Sinclaire. This character has been played by SNTC standouts like Peeteetuce, Mitchell Poundmaker, Arron Naytowhow and Aaron Shingoose. This year Cory Standing has scored the role of Sihkos and he knows he has big shoes to fill. “There is a lot of pressure because it is an established character that the community loves. What has helped me out a lot is that the previous Sihkos’, they are all friends of mine. I watched all the previous plays and picked up a little from each of them. I really want to make it my own though and I base Sikhos on my own kohkum. My character has bits and pieces of each of them,” said Standing.
To close the show, Peeteetuce has written another gem. For long time fans, he recommends paying attention for some background information in the play. “There is a very important scene between Sikhos and Zula that tells the story on how they became friends and it is a very tender moment that I think the people who have watched this play over the years will appreciate,” said Peeteetuce. The play will be remembered fondly and though there will be no more new plays, Peeteetuce promises that they will remount some old ones and tour every once in a while.
This year we see the kokoms navigate old flames, lonely households and chase the ever elusive Christmas hamper.
Cory Standing he thinks the demand for the story will always be there because the show crosses all racial boundaries and we all have one thing in common, a kokom or Grandma. “After a show in La Ronge last month I was talking to a guy and he said I reminded him just like his Baba. When you think of Christmas you think of home and family. There is a universal humour when people think of their kokoms or their grandmas and I think that is why people connect with the play.”
Anthology of the Rez-Xmas plays
Ms. Purdy Parsimonias: A Rez Christmas Carol
How the Chief Stole Christmas
Alone at Home
Miracle on 20th Street
Vegas Vacation
Life is Wonderful
Luff Actually
Kohkoms In Toyland
Mekiwin: The Gift
Nīcimos
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