Stephen Weir articles, editorials and popular social media weir postings

THREE WAYS INDO CARIBBEAN POEMS "The Tarragon’s Extra Space seats only about 100 patrons. And while they have a much larger theater in their midtown building (near Casa Loma), the size is of extreme importance to anyone contemplating seeing a new play that actually takes place in Guyana (well for part of the show). Don't think you can get away with waiting until the last minute to buy a ticket for this one! The play, "A Poem for Rabia," has its world premiere on October 25th and is already packing the theater during this week's preview performances. The piece, written by Nikki Shaffeeullah in her playwriting debut, runs in the Extra Space from now until November 12. "The play is an epic journey across time, oceans, and tectonic shifts in political history for three Indo-Caribbean women. 'A Poem for Rabia' weaves the stories of three queer women from the same bloodline: Zahra, a disillusioned activist in 2053, navigating a Canada that has just abolish...

The Last Epistle of Tightrope Time Walter Borden, the best Black stage actor in Canada, is currently busy performing in front of live audiences and educating people from the diaspora. At 81 he proclaims, "I am the mirror of your inner truth – I am you!" However, there was a notable issue at the Sunday matinee attended by the Caribbean Camera. Almost all of the individuals in the Tarragon Theatre audience were white, and a significant number of them were older than the octogenarian actor standing before them. The play is titled 'The Last Epistle of Tightrope Time,' and according to director Peter Hinton-Davis, "It is Walter's letter to the world. But instead of being a mere memoir, which looks backward, his epistle also looks forward to illuminating one's calling in life.” "It is an autobiographical 90-some-minute-long monologue. It is set outside of a parking lot ticket booth where a stooped-over attendant (Borden) opens the play by sitting down on a...

  There is something special about not being special In the world of live theater, the line between truth and fiction often blurs. Actors effortlessly switch between roles, portraying star-crossed lovers one night and filming a soap commercial the next. It's all part of the job. So when you consider attending Fatuma Adar's, "She's Not Special," at the Tarragon Theatre starting on May 24th, prepare yourself for a fib—a BIG one. This Somali-Canadian actress, singer, comedian, and writer is an expert in being special.  When she takes the stage at the midtown theatre with a five-piece band, Adar will combine musical theater and comedic storytelling to riff on the pressures of Black Excellence.  " We are not putting on a play; we are throwing a party. This is a concert, comedy show, and confessional all in one. Come celebrate your mediocrity with us!" explains Adar. According to Adar, the show isn't just about her but about the entire Black community, inc...

  TRAYVON MARTIN STORY ALIVE AFTER 10 YEARS Makambe K Simamba By Stephen Weir  When the 70-minute live play  “Our Fathers, Sons, Lovers and Little Brothers”  ends we in the audience are invited to stick around and talk about the 2012 murder of  Trayvon Martin .  We think about staying and apologizing for the racist murder of a 17-year-old youth but opt to go to our and cry alone.    The Caribbean Canadian couple beside us want to get home quick and hug their children tight. Real tight.    The midtown Tarragon Theatre is finally back open after taking a couple year Covid break. Actress and playwright  Makambe K Simamba is first out of the blocks at the Casa Loma neighbourhood theatre. She is presenting her one-person show “Our Fathers, Sons, Lovers and Little Brothers,”  runs until April 20 th .   In “ Our Fathers, Sons, Lovers and Little Brothers” , Simamba plays Slimm (Trayvon Martin), who is murdered and sudden...

Kim Nelson – taking names, firing old White men and walking over Indigenous students Review by Stephen Weir   Kim Nelson For white men of a certain age, 2020 is a scary time when teaching an old man new tricks means putting him out to pasture.  In Tarragon Theatre’s new play, This Was the World, Kim Nelson is the young quiet woman who manages to take names, fire a an aging legal superstar and stomp over an indigenous students private affairs. Nelson a relative newcomer to the Toronto theatre scene is the quiet force in this small play about gossip war between Boomer white privilege and her generation’s seething millennial rage. “This play is about how its characters deal with change and loss of status or privilege (or what is sometimes called white fragility),” explains playwright Ellie Moon.  “I believe that it is worth exploring the ordinariness and the consequences of  White fragility.”   This Was the World, Kim Nelson &  Dakota Ra...

World Premier For Copy That At The Tarragon Opens Next Week By Stephen Weir Hey, most folks don’t care that cop shows don’t let the truth stand in the way of an action packed storyline when shown on prime time TV.   But, what happens when the Black writer of said police stories is censored when he tries to work in a true account of his own painful encounter with the police into a new television episode? Later this month the Tarragon Theatre is staging the World Premier of Jason Sherman’s new play Copy That .   The comedy drama takes a caustic look at the entertainment industry by taking the audience behind the scenes of network television.   Jason Sherman This is the story of four writers struggling to get their new cop show script approved for production. When the team’s only Black writer (Toronto’s Tony Ofori) is roughed up in an actual cop encounter, the fallout threatens to not only kill the show, but expose the systemic racism at the hea...