Stage Door News
Stage Door News
Following a critically acclaimed run at SummerWorks in 2015, The Emancipation of Ms. Lovely will premiere at Crow’s Theatre, opening March 30, with performances from March 28 to April 8, 2017. Written and performed by Ngozi Paul, who received the 2015 SummerWorks Spotlight Award for her performance, the new production is directed by Canadian Screen Award-winning director Zack Russell. Paul is joined onstage by renowned multi-instrumentalist Waleed Abdulhamid and Dora-nominated DJ and sound designer DJ L’Oqenz, with choreography by Roger Jeffrey.
The Emancipation of Ms. Lovely is a hilarious, timely and evocative tale of a young woman’s search for love. At different stages in her life Lovely struggles with her understanding of herself as a Black woman and awakens to her sexual identity as mirrored through popular culture. Personal stories from Lovely's life interweave with the story of Sarah Baartman (The Venus Hottentot), the historical symbol of the commodification of Black women’s sexuality. From the 21st century twerk to the “faux-cul” of the 19th century, Lovely travels a musical landscape using movement, sound and dance, looking for self-love and emancipation on her journey.
“Times of great political upheaval and obscenity require us to challenge ourselves and engage with each other,” said Ngozi Paul. “Emancipation is my attempt to engage – breaking free of the limiting narratives of the past, and the present, and writing a new one. Love, sex, oppression, laughter...somehow they always seem to go together.”
Ngozi Paul is an award-winning actress, writer, director and producer. Born and raised in Toronto to pan-Africanist parents from the Caribbean islands, her upbringing created the foundation for her work as a social and cultural innovator. Her series Da Kink in My Hair, which she co-created, executive produced and starred in, was the first series in Canada with Black women playing lead roles both in front of and behind the camera. Currently, her docu-series Care for Color is airing on the Africa Channel. Paul was recently selected for the Crow’s Theatre documentary playwright unit, where she is developing her trans-media piece The First Time Project.
Director Zack Russell’s theatre credits include the recent concert/theatre piece Odditoirum at Crow’s Theatre, co-created with Chris Abraham. Other credits include the critically acclaimed Ajax (por nobody) at the 2012 SummerWorks Festival. His first film, She Stoops to Conquer, premiered at TIFF and SXSW in 2015 and went on to win the Canadian Screen Award for Best Live Action Short. The Emancipation of Ms. Lovely marks the completion of Zack's residency at Crow’s as the inaugural RBC Rising Star Emerging Director.
Photo: Ngozi Paul.
2017-03-03
Toronto: "The Emancipation of Miss Lovely" comes to Crow's Theatre March 28-April 8