BLACK THEATRE WORKSHOP to Present 2026/27 Season TÊTE-À-TÊTE

Black Theatre Workshop (BTW), under the artistic direction of Dian Marie Bridge, has announced its 2026/27 season, titled Tête-à-tête. The season is being presented as an invitation to audiences to gather, question, listen, and reconnect through Black storytelling, and will feature readings of SLAVE PLAY, THE OTHER SIDE OF THE GAME, and TAKING CARE OF MAMAN.

More than a season theme, Tête-à-tête is a call to relationship. It is an invitation to reconnect with Canada's longest running Black Theatre company, in a creative space curated for dialogue, knowledge-sharing, and the difficult, necessary work of rebuilding connections. Through theatre, mentorship, and community exchange, this season asks audiences not simply to witness stories, but to actively engage with themes, ideas and challenge expectations.

Artistic Director Dian Marie Bridge says, 'I am excited to have the opportunity to present readings of plays with larger cast sizes than BTW has been able to work with since the pandemic, and to do more of them. This season only, we move away from a main stage production, and offer readings of 3 incredible plays that hit hard, giving audiences more opportunities to weave great storytelling, challenging themes and ideas into daily conversation.'

Conversations That Cross Generations

Returning to stages and communities across Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Montreal, Taking Care of Maman / Prendre soin de Mom explores the unexpected bonds that can sustain us through difficult times. In this funny and tender story, young Eli turns to their neighbour, Madame Jean, when their mother's 'sadness' returns. Against the backdrop of pandemic isolation, the play explores mental health, intergenerational friendship, language, and the possibilities of community care. Following its resonance with both young audiences and seniors, the remount invites generations to recognize themselves in one another.

The Stories We Need to Talk About

This October, BTW's Salon Reading Series and The EXCHANGE pre-show conversations bring two provocative works to the Segal Centre Studio. Jeremy O. Harris's Slave Play, directed by Diane Roberts, confronts the entanglement of race, desire, intimacy, and the enduring legacy of slavery. Slave Play was developed during a residency at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center's National Playwrights Conference in 2018 by Preston Whiteway, Executive Director and Wendy C. Goldberg, Artistic Director.

Amanda Parris's Governor General's Award-winning The Other Side of the Game, directed by Rayvn R. Bekh, illuminates the women behind Black activism and community care, exploring the costs of loyalty, incarceration, and the struggle for collective liberation. In partnership with Concordia University's Black Community Engagement Office and University of the Streets Cafe, BTW will host pre-show opening-night conversations, inviting audiences to engage with the tensions these plays bring to the surface. These are not stories designed to settle every question. They are invitations to ask better ones.

Who Gets to Define Blackness?

In April 2027, pending venue confirmation, BTW plans to bring Natasha Adiyana Morris's The Negroes Are Congregating to the stage at MAI. Blending spoken word, satire, and sharp-witted social commentary, this acclaimed work confronts anti-Black racism, internalized self-hatred, identity, and the question of what it means to be Black in Canada and beyond. Funny, unflinching, and rhythmically alive, the play challenges audiences to consider what we inherit, what we unlearn, and what we owe the generations that follow.

Building What Comes Next

Beyond the stage, BTW continues to invest in the future of Black Canadian theatre. Now in its 14th year, the Artist Mentorship Program (AMP) will bring together 20 artists from across the country, strengthening connections across English- and French-language communities and expanding opportunities for artistic exchange.

In late May and early June 2027, Club Zed, BTW's Black-focused playwrights' festival, heads to Toronto's Theatre Centre, creating new pathways for emerging playwrights, professional development, and collaboration across The National Theatre community.

Across every program, Tête-à-tête asks audiences to consider what becomes possible when we truly listen to one another. Black Theatre Workshop's 2026/27 season is an invitation to lean in, sit with complexity, challenge assumptions, and discover the stories that bring us closer together, even when the conversation is uncomfortable.

BTW Salon Reading Series in Brief

Slave Play
by Jeremy O. Harris
Presented by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc., a Concord Theatricals Company
www.concordtheatricals.com

22 OCT 2026 - 7:30 PM*
24 OCT 2026 - 2:30 PM
24 OCT 2026 - 7:00 PM
*invited presentation

The Other Side of the Game
by Amanda Parris
Presented by special arrangement with Playwrights Guild of Canada

29 OCT 2026 - 7:00 PM
31 OCT 2026 - 2:30 PM
31 OCT 2026 - 7:00 PM

Event Details

Segal Centre for Performing Arts
5170, chemin de la Côte-Ste-Catherine

Duration: 120mins

Box Office: Pay-What-You-Can | Suggested $20 - $30
514-739-7944
www.segalcentre.org/en/shows/2026-2027/guest-theatre

About Black Theatre Workshop

Black Theatre Workshop is Canada's longest-running Black theatre company, dedicated to nurturing Black artistic voices, developing new work, and sharing stories that reflect and challenge the world we live in. Through performance, mentorship, and community engagement, BTW creates space for Black stories to be heard, encountered, and carried forward.

www.blacktheatreworkshop.ca