The Peak had an opportunity to chat with Annabel Soutar about her play Seeds. When she first heard about Percy Schmeiser’s legal battle against Monsanto in the Supreme Court of Canada, she was intrigued. It was 2003, and she travelled from Montreal to Ottawa to sit in on the court proceedings, being one of the only 58 people allowed to observe in the courtroom.
Monsanto had won a federal court case and a subsequent appeal, and Soutar began to see the story as a potential documentary play, she explained. “It’s a fun concept to explore through theatre — a 70-year-old farmer takes on a massive biotech company.” The case was a big deal, and people were taking note that a case about GMO seeds had made its way to a western high court. “There were people from as far away as Japan there,” said Soutar.
The case involved Monsanto accusing Schmeiser of patent infringement — planting their patented seeds without having signed a license agreement, and Schmeiser claimed that he now owned the patented seeds that had accidentally found their way onto his farm. With almost no way of finding conclusive evidence of how the seeds ended up in Schmeiser’s field, the ethical questions of whether it’s even right to patent a seed becomes the focus. Seeds raises the question of whether these ethical dilemmas trump questions about who tells the truth.
Soutar approached Schmeiser about doing a documentary play, and asked if she could visit his farm in Bruno, Saskatchewan (population 574 as of 2011). During late 2003 and through 2004, Soutar interviewed Percy and others involved with the case and pored over transcripts. Every word in the show is taken from those interviews and transcripts. As Soutar said, “Reality is often much stranger than fiction.”
She was surprised to find out that people in Saskatchewan saw things a bit differently. “People had credibility questions about Percy,” she explained. Things got more nuanced and complex as she delved into the story, and the play follows this evolution in the story as the audience is left to decide for themselves whose side they are on.
Schmeiser is played by Corner Gas star Eric Peterson. Director Chris Abraham already knew Peterson, but he was also cast for his authenticity — he is a Saskatchewanian and politically engaged, as Soutar explained, and it was important to have an actor with range that could be both a feisty farmer and a sophisticated international spokesperson. He has stayed with the show since its premiere in 2005, and his involvement has helped to draw attention to it.
Documentary plays can be challenging — this is the type of story that you would think might more easily lend itself to film, and in fact there was one made in 2009 called David vs. Monsanto, but with the right balance of information and drama the live reenactment is very powerful. The story also involves complex scientific and legal issues, and Soutar didn’t want to compromise those details. “I try not to dumb it down too much,” she said, “because I often think the devil is in the details.”
If Schmeiser had been successful in the Supreme Court, he would have essentially taken down Monsanto’s business plan. “It’s fun to keep telling this story,” said Soutar. “It happened in Canada, but it’s globally important.” These days, there is more awareness about genetically modified crops and many groups actively fighting to at least see mandatory labelling. Schmeiser, now 86, became a spokesperson for the movement, and he travels all over to tell his story.
Seeds is presented by Porte Parole at the Kay Meek Centre January 19–21, The ACT Arts Centre January 23, and the Surrey Arts Centre January 28–29.
