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Showing posts from March, 2019

Coming to a small screen in your home - Washington Black to be TV series

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Esi signs a deal and plans for two May appearances in Brampton Barbados slave saga soon moving from books to our TV By Stephen Weir Washington Black is not going away soon. In fact the story of the young Barbados slave who ends up travelling the world, will be coming to television, now that the rights to Esi Edugyan’s award winning novel have just been purchased by Hollywood! Edugyan’s Washington Black was truly the book of the year in Canada last year and is now proving to a world-beater in sales. It won the $100,000 Scotiabank Giller Prize and was a finalist for both the prestigious UK Man Booker Prize and Canada’s 2018 Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction honours. Washington Black is the story of George Washington Black; an eleven-year-old field slave living on a Barbados sugar plantation. From the brutal cane plantations to the icy waters of the Canadian Arctic, from the mud-filled streets of London to the eerie deserts of Morocco, Washington Black is the tale – ins

Canadian class - Angelique opens next week in Toronto

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Marie-Joseph Angélique will Burn Down The House By Stephen Weir It is not as though the story of how Angélique, a young Montreal domestic slave, set fire to Montreal and was hanged for her trouble is a state secret. However, the fact that there was slavery in Canada, and at least one black woman fought back in 1724, is not a well-known fact. “ The trouble with history is knowing whose version of the facts are real.   While the establishment might see Angélique, as a villain, the Black community will have a different take, " said Luke Reece a Producer at Obsidian Theatre. " Next week we are opening AngÄlique a play that tells her story and gives a vibrant account of Canadian Black history. " Angélique, a classic Canadian play written by the late Lorena Gale, is based on the transcripts of the trial of an enslaved Black woman who was tortured and hanged for the Montreal fire 245 years ago. The current drama (mounted initially by the Quebec based Black Th

Caribana 2019 Begins Tomorrow Night In Toronto

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Tribal Carnival Has Season's First Costume Launch Friday Night   Dexter and Celena at last year's Tribal costume launch This Afternoon's Caribbean Camera This Morning By Stephen Weir The Big Show starts tomorrow!   The first Toronto Caribbean Carnival's Band Launch begins Friday night when Tribal Carnival, Canada's most successful travelling Mas Bands, takes to the stage at the Grande Luxe Ballroom on Bayview Avenue in North York. Doors open at 9.30 and the show is scheduled to start at 11.30 pm. Mas Bands competiting in this year’s Grand Parade hold late night fetes to introduce the costumes their Mas players will be wearing down the road. This year Tribal’s costume designs are based on the theme of Magic. “Hey Stephen, we will have 80 models on stage at our band launch, with 11 sections,” said Celena Seusahai, the Queen of last year’s parade. “I’ll be wearing the showstopper again and closing the show.”
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King Cosmos on Ice Last Saturday at Mel Lastman Square.  Caribana Iced – Small Crowd. Warm Response By Stephen Weir There were no Triple Axels or  Salchows from  Calypsonian   King Cosmos (Henry Gomez) as he gingerly skated out onto the ice at Mel Lastman Square last Saturday.  What he lacked in skating finesse he made up for with his singing and his warm and friendly greeting to the people who came out Saturday to watch  Caribana on Ice . Wearing all black except a colourful feathered headdress with matching wristlets and ankle splashes.  Master of Ceremonies, King Cosmos told the family audience they were watching a first – a professional presentation of the Carnival Arts on Ice. Dance Skaters steps on ice “This is the first time this has been done in Toronto, “ he said to a cheering and clapping crowd standing on the edge of the large outdoor rink.  “I think it has to be the first time in North America.  We usually do this sort of thing on the street in the

Ditch the Parka and Pick up the Feathers and Glitter

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Costume Launch Season To Hit Toronto Really Soon By Stephen Weir Put away the parkas and break out the feathers and glitter.   Toronto Caribbean Carnival' s Band Launch Season is about to begin. The Caribbean Camera has received details about the when, where and hows for nine Mas Camp band launches that will be held this March, April and May in Toronto.   Although not all the details have been released to us, it is clear that the Mas Camps are planning larger, more elaborate themed costume fetes than in 2019. Last year eleven bands held costume launches, this year there are two notable bands missing from the current list is  Michael Williams'   D New Regulars and Forever Carnival and Atlantic Mas . Traditionally D'  Regulars are one of the last bands to announce and stage a launch, so we expect to learn soon about their spring event. Atlantic Mas is usually one of the first to announce; in 2018 Atlantic Mas brought Machel Montano from Trinidad to perf