First presented in 2015, The Tashme Project is a collection of stories, assembled and performed by Japanese-Canadian actors Julie Tamiko Manning and Matt Miwa. Performed for a captivated audience at the jam packed Firehall Arts Centre on opening night, Tamiko Manning and Miwa seamlessly weave their way through dozens of different stories and characters, tracing the common history and experience of the Nisei (Japanese elders) through childhood, WWII internment and post-war resettlement. Recounting stories that are both chilling and playful, The Tashme Project is a wonderful piece of theatre that shares the history that we all know through the personal voices of those who were actually there.
On a quest to satisfy their life-long curiosities, Tamiko Manning and Miwa sat down for 25 interviews with Japanese elders across the country. The Nisei were children at the time of internment and their stories remain largely untold in Japanese-Canadian families. The Tashme Project tells the real stories of the Nisei, disseminating the oral history of their elders, in an effort to transfer this important history and Japanese-Canadian identity to younger generations. Furthermore, it reminds the audience of the harsh realities that occurred right in our neighbourhood of East Vancouver, forcing us to consider the histories that occupy the spaces where we work, play and live.
The Tashme Project is on now until April 13th at the Firehall Arts Centre.
By Contributing Writer: Nicole Alivojvodic
ILiveInEastVan.com 