Crystal Burney
A&E Reporter

Humber Theatre’s third-year performance class takes the stage in downtown Toronto later this month with an original play that melds an Irish folktale and the real-life taser death of a Polish immigrant.
Tir Na Nog — A Visitor’s Tale began last year, when director Ker Wells assigned his class to write a scene based on a story about their ancestors.
“One actor brought in an Irish myth about the land of Tir Na Nog where time never passes,” Wells said.
In the tale, the hero, Oisin, arrives in this mythical land, but is unable to go back home because 300 years have passed there.
However, due to his determination, a goddess sends him home on a winged horse and cautions him not to touch the ground or he will die instantly.
While they were creating the show, Wells said he had been following the story of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski, who was tasered multiple times in Vancouver’s airport and consequently died.
Wells said this story resonated with the class as the program is a melting pot of cultures, many of whom are first or second generation Canadians.
“Given the makeup of this program, this story of a guy arriving in Canada and not receiving the best welcome was an interesting element to bring into it.”
The image of a man arriving, touching the ground and dying is common to both stories, Wells said.
“So we started to make a piece that took the idea of a visitor arriving in a place and the people in that place not knowing how to respond to him,” Wells said.
The piece was shaped through class work, driven by Wells.
“We all brought in material and it was confusing,” said Kevin White, 22, who plays the town butcher. “We were given the freedom to play, but then were fortunate to have our director piece it all together.”
“There’s a lot of us in it,” said Jade Lattanzi, 21, who plays one of the visitors. “Our stories, our movements and there’s a lot of languages in it, which is interesting.”
Tir Na Nog runs from April 22-25 at The Theatre Centre.