In January The Theatre Centre and Project: Humanity present Small Axe, a new piece of documentary theatre that brings to the stage stories of lesbian, gay and transgender (LGBT) people of colour from Jamaica and the Jamaican-Canadian Diaspora. Their voices, alongside the voice of playwright Andrew Kushnir, contribute to an unflinching and timely exploration of what it means for a white queer artist to engage with injustice in a black community. Investigating homophobia and racism, intersectionality and privilege, Small Axe is on stage Jan. 17 to Feb. 1 at The Theatre Centre (1115 Queen St. W.).
"Over the last four years Andrew and I have undergone an extraordinarily personal creative journey," said director, Alan Dilworth. "I am thrilled to bring Small Axe to the stage with the perfect cast and creative team to tell this extremely human and complex and critical story. I would liken it to a docu-theatre Oedipus for the 21st Century." In Small Axe, a queer white documentary theatre-maker (Kushnir) begins investigating homophobia and homophobic violence in Jamaica. But what starts as a quest to expose an injustice that outrages him, turns into a burning call for his own personal transformation. In the documentary style, first seen in Project:Humanity's award-winning The Middle Place, Small Axe is a powerful dialogue about how race, privilege and appropriation can frame one's perspective. Featuring an ensemble cast of Sarah Afful, Michael Blake, Lisa Codrington, Chy Ryan Spain, Marcel Stewart and Kushnir, Small Axe asks: "how do we justly engage with an injustice?" and "to whom does an injustice belong?" Through a variety of encounters - with activists, refugees, priests and ministers, journalists, artists, Pride Week revelers and many queer people of colour - Small Axe challenges audiences to bravely face societal differences, and discover how everyone is intricately connected.Videos