This May, in honour of Mental Health Awareness Month, Trey Anthony, 4x NAACP Award-winner, joins the global conversation by sharing her personal journey with functional depression through the raw and intimate lens of her new play in an immersive workshop reading, Confessions Of A Black Girl Who Should Have Known Better, helping to dismantle mental health stigma in the Black community. This isn't just a play you sit back and watch – it's a mirror that reflects your life back at you. You don't just witness it… you see yourself. Running May 28-30, 2026, at Factory Theatre.

Confessions of a Black Girl Who Should Have Known Better marks the directorial debut of Ordena Stephens-Thompson and the latest work in development from critically acclaimed Canadian playwright Trey Anthony. In this solo performance reading, Trey Anthony cracks open the parts of life we're taught to keep quiet: the God she contended with, the people who she ignored her intuition about and shouldn't have dated, the depressed appearing as strength and the deafening loneliness that success couldn't fix.

At its core the play interrogates everything: religion, relationships, motherhood, race, and the generational cycles and patterns Black women inherit and are expected to break without a roadmap. Through an immersive experience, the work is unpredictable and alive. The audience does not passively receive the performance, they directly shape it. Every night is different. Every confession lands differently. No script can hold what happens in the theatre.

Trey Anthony invites you to a space to laugh, release, confront, heal and reclaim. Because the truth is, you probably did know better. And still… you stayed. This play is for all the “fly rich aunties” who've done the work, made the money, held everyone else down…and are finally asking: what about me?

Award-winning playwright, actor, producer and 'da Kink in My Hair creator Trey Anthony is a leading voice in contemporary Black theatre. Her acclaimed works include How Black Mothers Say I Love You and the bestselling book Black Girl in Love (With Herself). Deeply committed to amplifying Black women's stories, she continues to create bold, emotionally honest work. She recently began teaching theatre at Spelman College and is currently writing her second book.

Ordena Stephens-Thompson is a professional actor and acting coach who has worked in theatres in all parts of Canada and the US for many years. She is a two time Dora nominated actress and a twice Dora award recipient for best ensemble. Her selected theatre credits includes, The Neighbours (Greenlight Arts/Tarragon), Sankofa A Soldier's Tale Reimaged (Art of Time Ensemble), A Streetcar Named Desire (Soulpepper), Three Sisters (Soulpepper/Obsidian Theatres), Fairview (Canadian Stage/Obsidian Theatres), 'Da Kink in My Hair 20th Anniversary (Soulpepper/TO Live), Contraction (Studio 180 Reads), Sweat (Canstage/Studio 180), Fences (Grand Theatre), Harlem Duet (Tarragon Theatre), Risky Phil (YPT), For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enuf (Soulpepper Theatre), How Black Mothers Say I Love You (Factory Theatre). The art of storytelling is a passion and a privilege.

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Confessions of a Black Girl Who Should Have Known Better

Written and performed by Trey Anthony

Directed by Ordena Stephens-Thompson

Produced by Sue-Tanya Lee

Featuring DJ Rich Lynx

Stage Manager Yabsira Malyon

Factory Theatre

125 Bathurst Street, Toronto

Thursday, May 28, and Friday, May 29 @ 7pm

Saturday, May 30, 2026 @ 1pm and 7pm

Factory Theatre | boxoffice@factorytheatre.ca

Each performance run is 90 minutes, followed by a 10 minute intermission and a 30 minute post-show talkback. Tickets for all performances are now on sale! Visit www.factorytheatre.ca.