Stage Door News
Stage Door News
Project: Humanity in association with Crow’s Theatre and Urban Ink present the world premiere of Freedom Singer, a rare theatrical journey through the history of the Underground Railroad and the songs that carried freedom seekers northward to Canada. Today Project: Humanity is thrilled to announce that along with its Toronto premiere, on stage February 1-11, the show will also tour across the country, supported by TD and their Black History Month programming.
Launching the Scotiabank Community Studio at Streetcar Crowsnest, Freedom Singer is a new documentary theatre piece inspired by the remarkable journey of singer-songwriter Khari Wendell McClelland (as covered by journalist Jodie Martinson on CBC's The National and Tapestry).
Co-created by McClelland and Project: Humanity’s Andrew Kushnir and directed by Kushnir, Freedom Singer is performed by McClelland along with Polaris Prize-nominated soul singer Tanika Charles and acclaimed Vancouver guitarist Noah Walker. In each of the production’s tour stops, local choirs will be incorporated into the performances to give even further life to the songs in the show.
In 2015, JUNO-nominated McClelland retraced the steps of his great-great-great grandmother Kizzy and discovered the songs that likely accompanied her and thousands of others as they escaped U.S. slavery. In sharing this music – which he has reinvented through contemporary styles like hip hop, funk and soul – Khari is brought face to face with his own "unrecorded" heritage, and the realities and myths of one of our quintessential historic narratives: the Underground Railroad.
Produced by Project: Humanity, (the award-winning company behind The Middle Place and Small Axe), Freedom Singer looks at how “sounds of the Underground” can bring us closer to the truths and freedoms we may be seeking today.
“Reading Karolyn Smardz Frost’s Governor General award-winning book ‘I’ve Got a Home in Gloryland’ first set me on the path of this project,” comments McClelland. “I realized there was a gap with the knowledge of the songs that accompanied slaves as they fled American slavery, and as a descendant of those who fled on the Underground Railroad I felt a deep yearning to connect to them through the music.”
“What I’ve come to realize more and more is how important this look back is right now, with the number of people who are displaced through war, environmental degradation, systemic oppression and poverty. We only need to look at our neighbours in the south to see how consequential and divisive discussions of immigration and refugees can be. I want to ask the audience – what is our role in this time? We often see the Underground Railroad as a defining narrative of Canada, the realization of hope, a safe place from tyranny - I want us to investigate our commitment to liberty and freedom today.”
Kushnir adds, “What's amazing about this music is how it enables the listener to experience history differently – to feel "vibrations of the past" in our contemporary moment -- which is to say you can physically feel this music right now as it may have been felt in the 1800s. History becomes animated; history becomes a verb instead of a noun. These were songs of survival for those singing them – for those who escaped, but also for those who endured or succumbed to the tyranny of slavery. They are songs of dignity forged in the face of inconceivable indignity. They stir the collective memory, the collective imagination -- and they need to live on.”
"It gives TD and myself such joy to champion Freedom Singer, to help with its journey across the country, and to make it part of a national conversation during Black History Month and beyond,” says singer and officer of the Order of Canada Molly Johnson, lead programmer for TD’s Black History Month activities. “At this moment in time, it seems as essential as it has ever been to bridge cultures and to tell these stories, and I can think of no better way to do it than through music and through Khari Wendell McClelland’s unique voice.”
Freedom Singer will run February 1 – 11 (Media night: February 3) at the Streetcar Crowsnest (345 Carlaw Avenue) in the Scotiabank Community Studio. Performances are scheduled Monday through Saturday at 8:30pm with 1:00pm matinees on Tuesday, February 7 and Thursday, February 9.
Tickets are now available for Crow’s 2016-2017 season with regular tickets starting at $25 and Frequent Flyer Passes (good for any four shows) at $120. Get online information and make ticket purchases at crowstheatre.com.
Hashtag: #FreedomSinger
Facebook: Project: Humanity
Twitter: @Prjct_Humanity
Production and tour sponsorship provided by TD Bank Group/TD Black History Month.
Freedom Singer
February 1 – 11, 2017 (Media night: February 3)
A Project: Humanity Production in association with Crow’s Theatre and Urban Ink
Touring dates set in Regina (Regina Folk Festival and The Artesian), Calgary (Calgary Folk Fest and Festival Hall) and Winnipeg (West End Cultural Centre)
Co-created by Khari Wendell McClelland and Andrew Kushnir with Jodie Martinson
Directed by Andrew Kushnir
Featuring
Khari Wendell McClelland
Tanika Charles
Noah Walker
Photo: Khari Wendell McClelland.
2016-12-13
Toronto: Project: Humaity presents "Freedom Singer" February 1-11, 2017