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Theatrical Interrogations: Cops in the Spotlight

with Taiwo Afolabi, Omari Newton, Makambe K. Simamba

Interviews Special projects Theatre Talks

Subtitles available in English

This conversation about the colonial legacy of policing on Turtle Island brings together theatre makers to respond to the challenges of police, prisons and surveillance. What do abolition movements mean for theatre makers and audiences? What role can theatre play in shaping societal relationships to police, prisons, and surveillance culture – in terms of education, healing, change?

Panelists Omari Newton (Black and Blue Matters, Sal Capone), Makambe K. Simamba (Our Fathers, Sons, Lovers and Little Brothers) and Taiwo Afolabi (applied theatre practitioner and Assistant Professor at the University of Regina) will engage with the notion of abolition movements, and how we can use these principles to guide our art and our way of life to envision a world with true safety, security and justice.

PANELISTS: Taiwo Afolabi, Omari Newton, Makambe K. Simamba
MODERATOR: Mpoe Mogale

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Learn about Stages of Transformation, an expansive new digital resource that brings together artists and creative communities from across so-called Canada to explore the imperatives of abolition movements and their applications to our work in the theatre sector.

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Taiwo Afolabi
Taiwo Afolabi

Taiwo Afolabi, PhD., holds the Canada Research Chair in Socially Engaged Theatre; and is the founder and the Director of the Centre for Socially Engaged Theatre (C-SET), and an Assistant Professor at the University of Regina. He is an artist, qualitative researcher, theatre manager, applied theatre practitioner and educator with a decade of experience in a variety of creative and community contexts in over a dozen countries across four continents. He conducts research, creates works, performs, and teaches at the intersection of performance and human ecology. His research interests lie in the areas of applied theatre and policing, social justice, decolonization, art leadership and management, migration, and the ethics of conducting arts-based research. He is a Senior Research Associate at the University of Johannesburg (South Africa) and the founding artistic director of Theatre Emissary International.

Taiwo Afolabi est titulaire d’une chaire de recherche du Canada en théâtre socialement engagé. À la tête du Centre for Socially Engaged Theatre (C-SET), il est professeur adjoint à l’Université de Regina. À la fois artiste, chercheur qualitatif, directeur de théâtre et spécialiste en théâtre appliqué, il enseigne depuis une dizaine d’années dans les divers contextes communautaires et artistiques de nombreux pays du monde. En plus de ses travaux de recherche, il crée des œuvres, se produit sur scène et enseigne, à la croisée de la performance et de l’écologie humaine. Ses domaines de recherche englobent le théâtre appliqué et le maintien de l’ordre, la justice sociale, la décolonisation, la gestion et le leadership artistique, la migration et l’aspect éthique de la recherche axée sur les arts. Associé de recherche principal à l’Université de Johannesburg (en Afrique du Sud), il est le directeur artistique fondateur du Theatre Emissary International.
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Omari Newton
Omari Newton

Omari Newton is an award-winning professional actor, writer, director and producer. As a writer, his original Hip Hop theater piece Sal Capone has received critical acclaim and multiple productions, including a recent presentation at Canada’s National Arts Center. He has been commissioned by Black Theater Workshop (BTW) in Montreal to write a companion piece to Sal Capone entitled Black & Blue Matters. Omari and his wife, fellow professional playwright Amy Lee Lavoie, have received commissions from The Arts Club Theatre to co-write a new play: Redbone Coonhound. A bold and innovative satirical comedy that confronts instances of systemic racism in the past, present and future. Omari is co-directing the first in a series of rolling world premiere at The Arts Club Theatre in October of 2022. The play will then open in Montreal (Imago Theatre) & then Tarragon Theatre in Toronto. The husband and wife duo also just completed "Black Fly," a satirical adaptation of Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus that centers on Aaron and Lavinia. Newton’s work in Speakeasy Theatre's production of Young Jean Lee's The Shipment earned him a 2017-2018 Jessie Richardson Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor, as well as a nomination for Best Direction. He has recently completed directing critically acclaimed productions of "The Mountaintop" by Katori Hall, and "Pass Over" by Antoinette Nwandu. Notable film & TV credits include: Lucas Ingram on Showcase’s Continuum, Larry Summers on Blue Mountain State and lending his voice to the Black Panther in multiple animated projects (Marvel). Most recently, Omari has a recurring role as Nate on Corner Gas (the animated series) and a recurring role as Corvus of Netflix’s hit new animated series The Dragon Prince.

Lauréat de plusieurs prix, Omari Newton œuvre professionnellement comme comédien, auteur, metteur en scène et producteur. Saluée par la critique, sa pièce de théâtre hip-hop Sal Capone a été montée à de nombreuses reprises, y compris au Centre national des Arts du Canada en 2018. À la demande du Black Theatre Workshop de Montréal, Newton a écrit une suite pour Sal Capone, intitulée Black & Blue Matters, créée par la compagnie en 2019. Newton et sa conjointe Amy Lee Lavoie, qui est dramaturge professionnelle, ont récemment reçu une subvention du Conseil des arts du Canada pour concevoir une nouvelle pièce, Redbone Coonhound. Plus récente collaboration du duo, cette comédie satirique audacieuse et innovatrice s’attaque à différents cas de racisme systémique d’hier, d’aujourd’hui et de demain. Newton a remporté le prix Jessie-Richardson du Comédien de l’année pour son rôle dans The Shipment de Young Jean Lee (production du Speakeasy Theatre, saison 2017–2018), et obtenu une citation pour la meilleure mise en scène pour cette même production.

Omari Newton a incarné plusieurs personnages au grand comme au petit écran, y compris Lucas Ingram dans Continuum (Showcase) et Larry Summers dans Blue Mountain State. Il a également prêté sa voix à la Panthère noire dans plusieurs projets d’animation (Marvel) et, plus récemment, à Nate dans Corner Gas – Animated et Corvus dans la série d’animation The Dragon Prince (Netflix).
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Makambe K. Simamba
Makambe K. Simamba

Makambe K Simamba is a Dora Award-winning playwright and actor for her solo work, Our Fathers, Sons, Lovers and Little Brothers. Select stage acting credits include Serving Elizabeth (Thousand Islands Playhouse); Winners and Losers (Chromatic Theatre); A Chitenge Story (Handsome Alice); GIANT (Ghost River Theatre); Bea (Sage Theatre); SIA (Pyretic Productions); and inVISIBLE (Handsome Alice).

Makambe is a national award-winning playwright whose work includes Our Fathers, Sons, Lovers and Little Brothers, A Chitenge Story, Makambe Speaks, MUD and The Drum Major Instinct. She was the 2020/21 Urjo Kareda Artist in Residence at Tarragon Theatre, as well as co-host of the Blackstage Pass podcast at Cahoots theatre.

Makambe is a proud Zambian whose intention is to be of service through her ability to tell stories.

Comédienne et dramaturge, Makambe K Simamba a vu son talent récompensé aux prix Dora pour son seule-en-scène Our Fathers, Sons, Lovers and Little Brothers. Comme comédienne, on a pu la voir dans Serving Elizabeth (Thousand Islands Playhouse) Winners and Losers (Chromatic Theatre), A Chitenge Story (Handsome Alice), GIANT (Ghost River Theatre), Bea (Sage Theatre), SIA (Pyretic Productions) et inVISIBLE (Handsome Alice).

Dramaturge primée, elle a écrit, entre autres, les pièces Our Fathers, Sons, Lovers and Little Brothers, A Chitenge Story, Makambe Speaks, MUD et The Drum Major Instinct. Elle a reçu la bourse de résidence Urjo Kareda 2020-2021 au Tarragon Theatre, et a coanimé le balado Blackstage Pass au Cahoots theatre.

Fière de ses origines zambiennes, Makambe K Simamba promet de mettre tout son talent au service des histoires.
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Associate Curator Mpoe Mogale
Mpoe Mogale

Mpoe Mogale (they/them) reigns from Lebowakgomo, South Africa and splits their time between amiskwaciywâskahikan and moh’kínst’sis, in the colonial state of Canada. They hold a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Political Science, and a wealth of expertise in community-based research, facilitation, and arts administration.

Mpoe’s primary artmaking form is dance, with a curiosity in the place of Blackness in spaces that deny it, as explored through several projects including What (Black) Life Requires (produced by Mile Zero Dance and Azimuth Theatre). Mpoe’s current artistic imaginations have centered the brilliant, mundane, and joyous aspects that foreground the lives of Black folks.

Originaire de Lebowakgomo, en Afrique du Sud, Mpoe Mogale partage sa vie entre Amiskwaciywâskahikan et Moh’kínst’sis, territoires coloniaux du Canada. Mpoe Mogale est titulaire d’un baccalauréat ès arts spécialisé en sciences politiques et possède de solides compétences en recherche communautaire, animation et administration des arts.

En plus de nourrir une passion pour la danse, Mpoe Mogale s’intéresse à la place des personnes noires dans les lieux où elles en sont exclues au travers de plusieurs projets comme What (Black) Life Requires (produit par Mile Zero Dance et Azimuth Theatre). Son imagination artistique se porte sur les événements banaux, joyeux et extraordinaires de la vie des personnes noires.
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