A Mi’kmaw-led play will open this week in Point Pleasant Park under tight rules, even as Nova Scotia has barred people from the woods, including a ban on hiking and fishing, to cut wildfire risk.
The province’s order took effect on August 5 and carries a $25,000 fine.
The ban is set to run until October 15, unless lifted sooner.
No one is allowed to hike in the forest or fish while the ban is in place.
Metu’na’q, an indigenous version of Shakespeare’s The Tempest created by Halifax’s Zuppa Theatre with the Sipekne’katik-based Sipu Tricksters, re-centres Caliban’s story.
After uncertainty over the new rules, the show is moving ahead in the park this week.
A preview was held Sunday, with performances from Wednesday through Saturday.
The temporary rules for parks leave open non-wooded spaces, but trails through forested areas are off limits.
In Point Pleasant Park, that means the waterfront route stays open while treed paths are closed.
The province’s restrictions also cover camping outside designated campgrounds and using vehicles in the woods.
The clampdown has rippled across summer events.
A planned Halifax stop by US Christian worship artist Sean Feucht was cancelled after permits were revoked, part of a wider string of cancellations and relocations by cities and agencies citing “safety concerns.”
Feucht’s concert was cancelled before the new hiking and fishing ban.
Officials say extreme dryness has left forest floors ready to burn, and most wildfires are caused by humans.