Queer Theory
At the time that this play was written, being openly gay was an extremely risky endeavour. Though Highway subtly veils it for the first act, it is confirmed in the second that Emily Dictionary has had a female lover. She says of witnessing the death of the former leader of her "pack" of biker women: "When I got to Chicago, that's when I got up the nerve to wash my lover's dried blood from off my neck. I loved that woman, Marie-Adele, I loved her like no man's ever loved a woman."[6]
Camp
The over-the-top and sometimes brash character portrayal (sisters tickling one another on the breasts) can be attributed to camp theatrical style, intentionally meant to shock and evoke strong audience reaction.
Colour-blindness
Although the play is considered a classic of Canadian theatre, Highway himself has noted that it is rarely staged by theatre companies. According to Highway, theatres frequently face or perceive difficulty in finding a suitable cast of First Nations actors, but are reluctant to take the risk of casting non-aboriginal performers due to their sensitivity around accusations of cultural appropriation, with the result that the play is often simply passed over instead.[7]
In 2011, director Ken Gass mounted a production of The Rez Sisters at Toronto's Factory Theatre. As part of an ongoing research project into the effects of colour-blind casting on theatre, he staged two readings of the play — one with an exclusively First Nations cast and one with a colour-blind cast of actors from a variety of racial backgrounds — before mounting a full colour-blind stage production.[7]
