The Adventures of a Black Girl in Search of God

Centaur Theatre
September 22 – October 18, 2015

Written and Directed by Djanet Sears

This is the opening play of the Centaur Theatre 47th season, written and directed by Djanet Sears who received numerous awards, including the Governor General Award for Literature. She is a playwright, director and composer and explores new ways to tell compelling and intriguing stories based on different cultural backgrounds that surround her as well as originate within her.

In this play, the main character Rainey is a country doctor with family roots going back to the origins of Negro Creek, a 200-year-old Black community in Western Ontario. She turned away from her husband, her practice, and her faith after the death of her daughter. Though becoming locked within her ongoing private crises, she is brought to face the neighbours' rally to uphold their dignity and their town’s rich black community history. She also discovers that her elderly father has mobilized a group of proud septuagenarian activists. But there is much more to the plot to be discovered by watching the staged play.

The play is rooted in African storytelling traditions. An unusual element: there is a chorus of ancestors creating the mood and the background to the main story line. They are also dancers with sensuous choreography accompanied by an intriguing soundscape. The play has a cast of 22 artists, the largest on the Centaur stage in decades. All these elements make this stage production visually compelling.

The play is 3 hours and 15 minutes long, including a short intermission. In case you have to get up early for work, plan to attend on a weekend.

For more information, visit the Centaur Theatre website.