Stephen Weir articles, editorials and popular social media weir postings

The Night The Great White Hope Lost It All By Stephen Weir - Caribbean Camera There is nothing noble about a fistfight. Blood. Flying Teeth. Broken Ribs. Brain Damage. A new all-Black (minus one) cast at Soulpepper Theatre says that sometimes fisticuffs can even tear a country apart.   Royale, running until November 11th recreates the Fight of the Century . This was a historic 1910 boxing match that brought US race relations to the canvas and made a black fighter King of the World. You probably know Marco Ramirez for the writing he does for TV more than for what he does for the stage. The American has penned for some big hits including Orange is the New Black, and the Marvel comic Netflix series, Daredevil. Ramirez is said to secretly love boxing because he sees it as “primal theatre”, two men stepping into the ring, and only one coming out with arms raised in victory. In his award winning play Royale, premiering at the Distillery District theatre, Ramirez has mixed

Alana Bridgewater Is Singing The Blues with the Soulpepper Theatre  Review By Stephen Weir - Caribbean Camera Way back in time, Singing the Blues was a cultural statement for embattled Black Americans. The sad truth, at least, according to a 36-year old award winning play, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom that just opened in Toronto, living the Blues doesn’t usually end well.  The play which tells a story of  race, and exploitation of Black recording artists in Chicago in the twenties   is getting a much deserved revival at Toronto’s Soulpepper Theatre this month. The award winning American classic by August Wilson is a fictional account of the day the “Mother of the Blues” Ma Rainey (aka Gertrude Pridgett) recorded her 1927 hit record, Black Bottom, at a white owned studio in the Windy City. Ma Rainey is on a roll – and today she is going to cut a song she has written about dancing the Black Bottom  (a popular African American dance in the 20s. It is a cross between tap dancin