Our Fathers, Sons, Lovers and Little Brothers
A Tarragon Theatre and Black Theatre Workshop Co-production (Toronto, Montreal); Written and performed by: Makambe K. Simamba; Directed by Donna-Michelle St. Bernard
Unfortunately, due to the impacts of COVID-19, the presentation of Songs for a Lost Pod has been cancelled. IF YOU HAVE PURCHASED TICKETS, PLEASE CONTACT OUR PATRON SERVICES TEAM TO EXCHANGE OR REFUND YOUR TICKETS.
This solo show is several things at once, all of them profound: a sacred journey through the unknown, a spiritual inquiry, and a protest for Black life that digs down beneath the headlines and hashtags to examine the stark reality of injustice. As it opens, a 17-year-old Black boy named Slimm is in the first moments of his afterlife. He calls out for God, but gets no response; what follows from there is a grappling with the truth of the life he lived and the death he didn’t choose…
Featuring a video backdrop, dynamic lighting, and one superbly expressive performance, Our Fathers, Sons, Lovers and Little Brothers radiates with the pain of racial oppression. The dramatic range is generously wide: beside the anger and sadness there is room for enough emotions to give us a picture of one human life in all its complexity. It is this sense—of a real life tragically ended—that gives the work its great force. Contained within the grief and inquisition is a prayer for all families left behind, and a promise to the world that all Black Lives Matter. There is a post-show chat after the January 21 performance.
“[U]tterly gripping and rendered with great tenderness and bravery… [a] brilliant, beautiful work.”
—Mooney on Theatre
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Artist Bio
Black Theatre Workshop
Black Theatre Workshop (BTW) is Canada’s longest-running theatre company dedicated to the works of Black and diasporic communities. BTW’s mission is to promote and produce outstanding theatre that educates, entertains, and inspires. The company strives to create greater cross-cultural understanding by challenging both its audience and the status quo. Expanding the representation of Black Canadian artists, BTW bridges cultural divides–uniting hearts, minds, and communities.
Tarragon Theatre
Tarragon Theatre is Canada’s home for groundbreaking contemporary plays. Its mission is to create, develop, and produce new plays, as well as provide the conditions for new work to thrive. To that end, Tarragon Theatre engages the best theatre artists and craftspeople to interpret new work, presents each new work with high-quality production values, provides an administrative structure to support new work, develops marketing strategies to promote new work, and continually generates audiences for new work. As a complement to those created in Toronto, Tarragon presents new plays from all parts of the country; revives significant Canadian plays; and produces international work, both contemporary and classical.
Partners
Venue
280 East Cordova Street Vancouver, British Columbia V6A 1L3
Showtimes
Runtime: 60 mins
Content Advisory
Appropriate for guests over the age of 12, but guardians should know that the piece tackles a difficult theme.
Tickets
This show has been cancelled due to Covid-19
Credits
Written and Performed by Makambe K Simamba, Directed by Donna-Michelle St. Bernard, Artistic Consultant Daniel Jelani Ellis