Pi Theatre's BLACK AND RURAL Digs Deep Into The Lives Of Black Canadians

The culmination of Shayna Jones's multi-year theatrical and journalistic investigation, Black & Rural digs deep into the lives and hearts of Black Canadians living in the countryside. Led by playwright and performer Shayna's own experiences of small-town and remote living, Black & Rural intersperses the voices of real interviewees with music and generative mythology about Black life in agrarian communities.

Black & Rural is a world premiere: a guest production from Pi Theatre, presented in Pacific Theatre's intimate 120 seat theatre. With original music composed and performed by Rufus Cappadocia and direction from Pi's artistic director Richard Wolfe, the show weaves Afro-centric folklore - including new tales penned by Jones - with contemporary explorations of Black life in the countryside. Intermingled with Shayna's own story are recordings of her compatriots, spanning the nation and generations of Black Canadians building lives far from the roar of urbanity. Exploring everything from the isolation of being the only Black face in a White community to the power and autonomy derived from working with the land you live on, Black & Rural illuminates a community separated by thousands of miles, but with an undeniable bond of shared experience and hopes.

Jones spoke to the goals and questions that sparked Black & Rural: "Why do we live removed from the clamour of the city? Why do they, we, put up with being such an obvious minority? With skin so deeply colored, what does it mean to belong to this land, to our roots, to one another? And what is it to belong anyway?"

Black & Rural opens Friday, March 31st and runs until April 15th at Pacific Theatre.

For special events, including talkbacks, Mask Wednesday performances, and school group opportunities, visit pacifictheatre.org

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