Porte Parole (in conjunction with ACT Arts Centre, the Kay Meek Centre and Surrey Arts Centre)
SEEDS by Annabel Soutar

Dates and Venues January 19 – 21, 2016, 8pm | Kay Meek Centre, West Vancouver

Director Chris Abraham Sound Design & Original Music Richard Feren Costume Design Julie Fox Set Design Julie Fox Video Design Elysha Poirier Stage Manager Merissa Tordjman

Reviewer John Jane


SEEDS is Annabel Soutar’s David and Goliath tale that is equal parts documentary and drama. Independent Saskatchewan farmer Percy Schmeiser is David and American multinational agricultural biotechnology corporation Monsanto Canada is Goliath. However, unlike the biblical story, the ‘David’ in this battle finishes in second place.

Veteran actor Eric Peterson, himself from Saskatchewan, takes on the role of Percy Schmeiser. Many will know Peterson from his work as the curmudgeonly Oscar Leroy in the television comedy Corner Gas, which was also set in Saskatchewan. He injects much of his own personality and compassion into the role.

What gives the play an especially documentary feel is that playwright Annabel Soutar is one of the main characters played by Amelia Sargisson, who guides the audience through the complex narrative. The other five actors assume various and multiple roles ranging from lawyers, scientists and Monsanto employees.

To be able to follow Soutar’s docudrama, in which dialogue from court transcripts, news broadcasts and interviews is taken verbatim, it may be helpful to become acquainted with some basic facts. Around 1996, Monsanto was marketing genetically modified seed containing a patent gene as Roundup Ready Canola. Farmers using the system were allowed to manage weed competition using Roundup, while avoiding damage to the primary crops. Users were required to enter into a formal contract with Monsanto, which specified that new seed must be purchased every year, the purchase price of which included a licensing fee to use the patent rights. Following an application on a neighbouring farm, some seed drifted onto the Schmeiser farm, which the farmer retained, in apparent contravention to Monsanto’s patent rights. Thus, Monsanto sued Schmeiser for intellectual property infringement.

The production starts with supporting actors engaging members of the audience in an odd preamble in the form of a discussion session about “what constitutes life?” The action on stage begins with a Monsanto television advertisement exalting the virtues of the company’s “miracle” products.

The play’s action switches rapidly between Monsanto’s corporate offices, the Schmeisers’ kitchen, a prairie restaurant and a court room. Julie Fox’s crammed, first act set has to accommodate all these locations. Support is provided by Elysha Poirier’s hi-def, panoramic video screen that displays relevant names, dates and significant places of interest, without detracting from the theatrical process.

Despite the serious content, the play is not without some humour. Monsanto’s public affairs director, Trish Jordan (just one of Cary Lawrence’s quirky roles), is particularly lampooned, coming across as a caricature of the corporate mouthpiece.

Annabel Soutar’s play may provide too much direct scientific data for some audiences to easily process. Nonetheless, it does open a debate as to whether an individual can get justice when going up against a corporation with the wealth and power to influence government officials, conceal collateral consequences, and intimidate scientists and even judges. After initially promising a decision within a month, Federal Judge W. Andrew MacKay delayed his judgement against Schmeiser for six months – plenty of time to be “convinced” by Monsanto lobbyists.

Following a run at the Kay Meek Centre, SEEDS moves to The ACT Arts Centre in Maple Ridge and the Surrey Arts Centre.

© 2016 John Jane