In the Media
Across Canada, audiences and critics alike have celebrated the depth, honesty, and heart of my work as a Métis playwright, actor, and artistic producer. From powerful reviews to thoughtful features, these words reflect how my stories—and the stories of Métis women—resonate on and beyond the stage.
Where Have All The Buffalo Gone?
“Where Have All the Buffalo Gone? is not just a play—it’s an homage to the Métis Nation, weaving stories of love, loss, and the profound impact of the buffalo’s disappearance on the Métis people.
It follows the lives of Marie and Louis, and their unique connection with Buffalo, a character who swings between being a spirit and a real buffalo, symbolizing the bond between the Métis and these majestic creatures.
“I hope people leave understanding the Métis story better,” says playwright Tai Amy Grauman, “and understanding our connection to the buffalo a bit better.”
This narrative aims to shed light on a crucial part of Canada’s history, focusing on the resilience of the Métis culture amidst adversity. The play conveys the complexities of Métis culture, not as a tale of complication but as a narrative of integration, resilience, and pride.”
- Dean Broughton, Georgia Straight
"Where Have All the Buffalo Gone? is also a true celebration of Métis culture — from jigging to fiddle music. Grauman’s deep ties to the Métis community, with both her parents’ lineage descending from the Calihoo and Beauregard families, are everywhere in this performance.”
“I wrote this play in one day,” she says. “[My heritage] is just intricately intertwined for me, You can’t have one without the other.” - Tai Amy Grauman
- Cristina Paolozzi, Apt 613
“The greatest strength of You used to call me Marie… is Grauman’s writing. Through recurring motifs, Grauman highlights how the love story between Iskwewo and Napew transcends time. For example, in at least two of the different love stories, Napew searches in the dirt to find something to use as an engagement ring for Iskwewo. Similarly, a horse, Mistatim, almost always appears in their stories. Through these details, Grauman reveals the depth of their love.
This play, above all else, showcases the resilience of the Métis community. For many people, this production may be their first time hearing these stories, particularly those of the Métis women who Grauman centres in her writing. You used to call me Marie… opens the door for audiences to research more about these stories, which have been historically obscured by societal pressures and forced assimilation policies.”
- Kaitlyn Chan, La Scena
“In Grauman’s case, this meant going back into her own family history to develop a multi-generational tale of the emergence of the Métis Nation across the Prairies through the fur trade to tumultuous events in the 1930s right up to the present.
Grauman is Métis Cree from Ardrossan, Alta., with family roots that go back to the beginnings of the region’s Métis community. Marie Callihoo, who is the central character, is a direct relative as Grauman is of Callihoo and Beauregard background.”
- Stuart Derdeyn, Vancouver Sun
“It’s all thoroughly transporting and taps into something that’s both grounded and expansive. Bringing such a comprehensive chronology to the stage is no doubt ambitious, and the show’s historical scope could have easily veered into didacticism, but You used to call me Marie…’s clear-eyed and holistic artistry allows it to reach well beyond that. It stands as a beautiful assertion of self, a celebration from start to finish.”
- Angie Rico, Stir Arts & Culture
A Video Review by Aptn News
Watch it Here
You Used To Call Me Marie…
Mary’s Wedding
“Grauman’s performance as Mary continues to be an original take on the dreamer. This one is no fragile romantic, no introspective Lady of Shalott; she’s quite brisk, earthy, almost matter-of-fact, who’s bemused to discover herself in love.”
“Live theatre is just more alive.”
- Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca
Raise Her Up: Tai Amy Grauman
“My Metis stories and my people are present in everything I do. They are always fully present in my work and never feel separate from myself or the theatrical work I am creating (even when participating in non- Indigenous theatre). I’m unable to leave my ancestors, experiences or stories "outside" when entering a room–they walk with me and are fully present in every show I work on. And so when asked about impact, my Indigeneity is the centre of why I do what I do and has a profound impact in all the work I create.
In Mary's Wedding, I actually gave the characters my family names (Beauregard and Callihoo) and I gave Charlie pick-up lines that have been said to me by Metis men. I based my adaptation in my family's realities and stories which made the show feel incredibly personal. As my family's stories haven't been told on Canadian stages yet, this feels vital and I'm at a point where I'm becoming less and less interested in participating in work that doesn't come from my heart. My roots and everything.”