Image: National Arts Centre Ottawa, Ontario/YouTube
During Black History Month, the National Arts Centre (NAC), a taxpayer-funded Canadian theater organization in Ottawa, Ontario, has announced a “Black Out” night for the February performances of “Is God Is.” The event will only allow “Black-identifying audiences.”
In Trudeau’s woke Canada, discrimination, if it is the right kind of discrimination, is not only allowed, it is celebrated.
NAC shares, “Creating evenings dedicated to Black theatregoers will allow for conversation and participation to be felt throughout the theatre and open the doors for Black-identifying audiences to experience the energy of the NAC with a shared sense of belonging and passion.”
NAC’s full announcement shares:
NAC English Theatre is excited to begin 2023 with the Dora Mavor Moore Award-winning presentation of Aleshea Harris’Is God Is, running February 9-18. As one of the milestones in a series of offerings over Black History Month, this genre-smashing production will introduce the first of two Black Out nights that will be at the NAC this year.
On February 17, the evening’s performance of Is God Is will welcome an all-Black identifying audience to experience and enjoy a performance in the Babs Asper Theatre. Tickets for this performance are available now.
Inspired by an event created in the fall of 2019 for Jeremy O’Harris’ Slave Play on Broadway, Toronto theatre companies Canadian Stage and Theatre Passe Muraille created similar events for their audiences. Experiencing the power of these evenings, NAC and Black Theatre Workshop welcomed the opportunity to schedule Black Out performances for both curated shows this season.
A Black Out is an open invitation to Black Audiences to come and experience performances with their community. The evenings will provide a dedicated space for Black theatregoers to witness a show that reflects the vivid kaleidoscope that is the Black experience.
The following Black Out NAC will be the second curated play from BTW, Cheryl Foggo’s Heaven on May 5 in the Azrieli Studio. Black Out nights will be an ongoing engagement initiative, as NAC English Theatre plans to schedule more for the 2023-2024 season.
Creating evenings dedicated to Black theatregoers will allow for conversation and participation to be felt throughout the theatre and open the doors for Black-identifying audiences to experience the energy of the NAC with a shared sense of belonging and passion.