Montreal Theatre – Don’t miss the remaining performances of the Black Theatre Workshop’s run of Trey Anthony’s powerful play How Black Mothers Say I Love You, which runs at the Centaur Theatre until March 16.
The play takes place in the New York City apartment of Daphne (Andrea Davis), a West Indian woman who is in the final stages of battling cancer. She is visited by her daughters Claudette (Dayane Ntibarikure), who takes a leave of absence from her social work job in Montreal, and Valerie (Keren Roberts), who lives in New York, but is experiencing a troubled marriage. While Claudette and Valerie want to help their ailing mother through these difficult final stages of this dreaded disease, they discover a dark secret about their mother, which deals with her difficult choices regarding their deceased sister Cloe (played by Jamila Shani Joseph, whose spirit is prevalent throughout the play), and leads them to feel a strong sense of abandonment towards their mother.
Deftly combining humour, spirituality and coming to terms with one’s past, How Black Mothers Say I love You really hits home about the mother-daughter relationship, and the power of acceptance from all sides of the story.
* * *
The fifth annual edition of the Revolution They Wrote Festival of feminist-oriented theatrical short works and performances will take place from March 21-24 at the MainLine Theatre on St. Laurent Boulevard. With a goal of providing a platform and space for intersectional feminists to share and perform their works in a safe, nurturing environment, the festival will feature plays and readings by nine artists, in which they will explore the power, vulnerability and ownership of female and non-binary bodies. Tickets for the festival are now on sale, and can be purchased at the MainLine box office, by phone at 514-849-3378 (Tuesday to Saturday, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.) or online at www.mainlinetheatre.ca.
