Cultchivating the Fringe winner, Mx, takes the digital stage this Black History Month!
Photo: Christache Ross.
Cultchivating the Fringe winner, Mx, takes the digital stage this Black History Month!
(Vancouver, BC) – The Cultch is thrilled to present Mx, an Off the Corner Productions show streamed live from The Cultch’s Historic Theatre, February 18-24, 2021.
Welcome to The Nancy Show, where each night one lucky guest from the African Diaspora is granted a unique opportunity to reconnect to their ancestors. Here we find Max, a gender-questioning and
mixed-race introvert, who has hopes of gaining insight into their African ancestry, and finding a better understanding of where they fit in the Black community. Seeking answers to some major life questions—What of culture and ancestry lives within us, and how much is determined by our upbringing? Does blood equal belonging?—Max meets the famed Mz Nancy, our host for the night. Witty and glamorous, Nancy seems to have an answer for everything... but, as Max discovers, things are never black and white.
Written by emerging playwright Lili Robinson, and inspired by their personal experience, Mx took shape and was developed with the assistance of Playwrights Theatre Centre as part of the Fringe New Play Prize. “The concept for Mx was born from a deep sense of needing to unpack my racial identity and untangle my personal history as a mixed-race kid,” says Robinson. “Raised in Vancouver by my white Canadian mother, I grew up with little connection to the city’s Black community, which was at that time particularly small in number. It was not until late into my teens, witnessing the onslaught of police murders of unarmed Black people in the States, that I was unavoidably confronted with the question, ‘Where do I fit?’”
Mx went on to have a very successful run at the 2019 Vancouver Fringe Festival, where it was awarded the coveted Cultchivating the Fringe Award. Since then the creative team of Mx have been workshopping and developing the show. Now, under the direction of co-directors, Donna-Michelle St. Bernard and Jiv Parasram, the original cast returns—this time to the digital stage. Together with The Cultch video and tech team, the creators of Mx have been experimenting with ways to interpret Mx for an online audience.
Bringing this show to Cultch audiences this Black History Month is very meaningful to playwright Lili Robinson, who calls The Cultch their local theatre, and who was part of the Cultch Youth Program when they were younger. “Bringing Mx to the Cultch means being able to tell my story, my truth,” says Robinson. “Doing this show means being able to engage frankly with dynamics around the consumption of Black culture, the politics of mixed-race identity, and white folks’ engagement, or lack thereof, with the topic of race.”
"Check your privilege at the door. Mx will challenge and make you feel uncomfortable...At its most powerful, Mx also calls upon members of the audience to be more than purely witnesses."
-VANCOUVER PRESENTS
“Mx addresses racism, Black erasure, and the complicity of false “color blindness” — but leaving no stone unturned, it also confronts what can be the false promises of performative Black culture.” -THE PEAK
Credits
Co-Director: Donna-Michelle St. Bernard
Co-Director: Jiv Parasram Playwright: Lili Robinson Dramaturg: Joanna Garfinkel
Max: Lili Robinson, Mz. Nancy: Alisha Davidson, Samantha: Emily Jane King, The Map: Ivy Charles
Costume, Hair and Makeup Designer: CS Fergusson-Vaux
Lighting Designer: Fil Wiatrak
Puppet and Props Designer: Ariel Slack Sound Designer: Todd Simmons Choreographer: Marisa Gold
ASL Interpreter: Courage Bacchus ASL interpreter: Hodan Youssouf Stage Manager: Heather Barr Producer: Shanae Sodhi
Co-Producer: Lili Robinson
Community Partner: BlackChat Vancouver
ABOUT THE CULTCH:
Since 1973, The Cultch (formally the Vancouver East Cultural Centre) has been one of Vancouver’s most diverse and innovative arts and cultural hubs. The organization operates three theatrical venues, a gallery, and various ancillary spaces in the heart of East Vancouver. The Cultch offers dynamic contemporary programming in theatre, dance, music, and the visual arts, bringing world-class cultural presentations to thousands of citizens each year through its own programming and through providing rental opportunities for community users. Our purpose is to provide a venue for performance that serves a diverse and engaged public and provides space for artistic experimentation and development, building an audience for local companies and presenting cutting-edge national and international work.