The Breathing Hole Tickets

A beautifully staged production that should have questioning the way we think about 'development' and the things we value. The polar bear 'puppets' were amazingly lifelike - communicating tenderness, caring, sadness and a wide range of other thoughts and emotions. Presenting the play in both English and Inuktitut was brilliant. A tragic story that needs to be told, understood and acted upon.

Well done. I love the polar bears. A bit slow and a lot of work to both watch and read subtitles at the same time at the start of the play, but very interesting story about climate change over the years and impact on the landscape and polar bears. I appreciated the indigenous ways of respecting nature and animals…

The story certainly packed a punch of a message, leaving me feeling very sad at the end. The contrast of acting for the indigenous and English sections was quite marked. The indigenous section was somewhat stiff and I wonder if this was due to the added work of acting in a “foreign” language and having to read subtitles for me. Quite a heroic effort for the actors but perhaps asking too much. Otherwise very entertaining. Excellent set design and puppetry.

I went to "The Breathing Hole" last weekend. The production quality was incredible and the satrical humour pleasantly unexpected. They managed to pull in so much, I'd go back in a heartbeat. The blend of Inuktut and English (the subtitles were so cleverly designed into the stage), the immersive visual and sound design, the frequent beats of satirical humour, and the merging of three very different moments in history were well played in a thoughtful way.

This show was great! It was my first time at the NAC and seeing theatre in Ottawa. I especially loved the first half, even though there were some technical errors with the subtitles. The only reason I give it 4.5 stars is because I felt the last act wasn't as polished as the others, mostly the writing seemed more stiff. However, I'm excited to see more from the NAC Indigenous Theatre.

Beautiful costume design, especially the polar bears. This show give a powerful message about climate change, showing us what yet to come if we don't change the course. I laughed and cried and still continue thinking about this theatre experience till now.

Thought it was too long. It should have been edited to be more concise. The acting felt over the top as well. Unfortunately one of the Inuit characters was replaced by a white guy who could not speak the language, totally ruined the flow. The set design was the best part, quite beautiful.

I really appreciate all the work the actors put into speaking the dialect of Inuktitut. Amazing! I also liked the slow pace of the first scene. It gave a certain flavour to the flow of Inuit life and the relationships amongst the people and their relationship to the land. Really love the depiction of Nanuq. Great costumery/puppetry! and the movement on stage was brilliant! I had a hard time with the New Year's Eve ship scene. It was way too long, the stage was chaotic, actors were speaking to the back of the stage. Tighten that up please. Very well done dramatic last scene! I also appreciate that the last two scenes were set in our future, 2035. that gives me hope that we can change our ways and make a different outcome for the North. Thank you for valuable learning!

This play beckons to us to live more mindfully. The storyline is beautifully woven together with so many messages for us. As a preview, there were a few aspects that could be tightened up, however, overall, this is a must see.

Really enjoyed the use of Indigenous language with the English subtitles. This really opens up the experience. And the life size puppets were terrific. It was easy to connect with them. However I do think there could have been significant editing, 3 hours was too long