Content Warning: The following review contains discussion of violence towards Indigenous peoples.
What do you do when the ghost of your ancestor appears and encourages you to commit a crime? This question was perhaps most famously explored by Hamlet, but Lisa Nasson’s Mischief offers a fresh and fascinating perspective on what the answer might be. Directed by Mike Payette with Joelle Peters, Mischief asks us to consider how far we might go to fight, not only for ourselves, but for those who came before us as well.
Photo by Jae Yang
Brooke is far too busy to be getting into trouble – she works practically every day at her Uncle Chris’s convenience store, which leaves her very little time for anything else, like participating in the ongoing protests in nearby Halifax. The statue of Edward Cornwallis, the man who founded Halifax but who was also responsible for a murderous anti-Indigenous policy, has become the subject of much debate and many of Brooke’s loved ones, including her friend Tammy, are joining in the fight to have it taken down. But Brooke has enough problems of her own: along with the constant racism and advances from one of her regulars, one day she’s visited by a spirit from the stars named Emily. Emily was a guide and companion to Brooke’s mother, who she lost three years prior. Emily attempts, often in vain, to get Brooke to open up to her, as her mother once had, but also to listen to her stories and start to remember again. When Brooke finally does decide to take some agency, things get explosive…quite literally.
Photo by Jae Yang
Emily, the spirit who visits Brooke at the store, is a fascination all her own. Dressed in traditional Mi’kmaq regalia, she gets painful headaches throughout the show: particularly when Brooke is putting down her own culture. It leads us to believe that Emily may herself have been a victim of Conwallis’s colonial voilence, and now the top of her head aches at the discord within her community. In Act II this pain has been transferred to Brooke, a pointed reminder of the pain of her ancestors and how she must come together with her people. Nasson deftly drops little pearls of information throughout the text, allowing us to piece together not only Emily’s past, but about Brooke’s mother as well. Culminating in a moving final scene, Mischief reminds us that the stories of our pasts are our present, and the act of remembering and retelling those stories is truly a gift.
Photo by Jae Yang
Mischief takes place in the chest of a whale. A massive rib cage creates the main framework for the set, with corrugated steel filling out the outside of the set to create the facade of Chris’s Convenience. Wooden shelves with all manner of sundries fill the space for act one, with screens behind them to create walls and also a space for the projections. The two main items which Brooke and Chris are constantly having to stock are smokes and fireworks, items which have traditionally been sold to Europeans by Indigenous populations in both North America and Asia. Act two takes us to the forest, where the bones have been stripped bare of their wares and resemble the birch trees which fill the park where Brooke has gone to hide. Andy Moro’s masterful design extends to the beautiful costumes as well as the magical projections which at times engulf the set and take us on journeys to Halifax and even as far as the stars.
Photo by Jae Yang
Lisa Nasson helms the cast as Brooke – there’s an honesty and vulnerability to her character which exudes from Nasson throughout her performance. Jeremy Proulx’s Uncle Chris is simultaneously the source of the comedy while also being the emotional centre for the production. Trina Moyan gives Tammy a kind nature with a strong sense of purpose and community – a good example for Brooke to follow, even if she sheds more tears than she’d like to (who doesn’t?). Devin MacKinnon is perfectly detestable in his roles as Fisherman Fred and “Good Guy”, but he’s meant to be, I promise. He’s a great foil to Nasson in both roles, and “Good Guy” really had me believing he was just a sweet guy who was truly trying. Nicole Joy-Fraser makes an incredible impact as Emily. From her incredible singing voice to her comedic timing, Joy-Fraser fully embodies this other-worldly presence.
Mischief truly breathes life into the whale it inhabits. These stories are the air in its lungs and the characters the heart. Bringing tradition and history together with modern activism, Mischief reminds us the importance of the truth aspect of truth and reconciliation. Funny, touching, and inspiring, you won’t want to miss this world premiere, and hopefully the first of many new plays from Lisa Nasson.
Mischief runs in the Tarragon Theatre Mainspace until February 8. For more information and tickets, visit: https://tarragontheatre.com/plays/2025-2026/mischief/
Cover Photo: Lisa Nasson and Nicole Joy-Fraser. Photo by Jae Yang.
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