Wine in the Wilderness at Canadian Stage

He tried to paint her. She transformed the canvas.

Harlem, 1964. As riots unfold outside, painter Bill Jameson is inside his apartment putting the final touches on a portrait series about Black womanhood. When Tommy is brought in to model, her presence begins to reveal the quiet hierarchies shaping the evening. As drinks are poured and conversation loosens, the group is forced to reckon with how easy it is to repeat the very judgments they hope to rise above.

By turns funny, intimate, and piercingly intelligent, Wine in the Wilderness is a landmark work. Directed by Jordan Laffrenier, whose searing production of Slave Play was a highlight of last season, this revival brings fresh urgency and emotional precision to Alice Childress’ razor-sharp portrait of seeing and being seen.