OTTAWA, February 7, 2023 – A backlash against a so-called “Black Out” night at the National Arts Centre (NAC) in Ottawa has caused Canada’s bilingual performing arts centre to rethink its plan to reserve a special performance of the play ‘Is God Is‘ exclusively for Black theatregoers on Feb. 17 – a gesture that some commentators on social media have called racist, comparing it to cultural apartheid.
The NAC’s decision to host a Black Out night is part of a recent trend in the USA that has made its way to Canada. According to the new movement’s website BLACKOUT: “A BLACK OUT is the purposeful creation of an environment in which an all-Black-identifying audience can experience and discuss an event in the performing arts, film, athletic, and cultural spaces – free from the white gaze.” Toronto theatre companies Canadian Stage and Theatre Passe Muraille have created similar events for their audiences.
Not everyone buys the notion that it is necessary to racially segregate audiences in order for Black artists to be represented on the stage. A recent headline in the British newspaper Daily Mail captured the widespread public outrage swirling around the controversial initiative: “Canada’s top taxpayer-funded theater sparks fury by holding ‘blacks only’ performance of play that BANS white and Asian people from attending.”
The dark, award-winning tragicomedy by Aleshea Harris curated by Black Theatre Workshop runs from Feb. 9-18 during Black History Month and will be performed by an all female Black cast at the NAC’s Babs Asper Theatre. Inspired by an event created in the fall of 2019 for Jeremy O’Harris’ ‘Slave Play’ on Broadway, ‘Is God Is‘ was to introduce the first of two NAC Black Out nights. The following Black Out night of Cheryl Foggo’s play ‘Heaven’ is slated for May 5. NAC’s English Theatre plans to schedule more Black Out nights for the 2023-2024 season.
In response to mounting criticism the NAC appears to have finessed its approach to the Black Out night series in its programming calendar. Originally reserved for Black-identifying theatregoers based on an honour system, the federal theatre has now changed the admissions, saying they “will welcome Black audiences”, but no one will be turned away at the door. “There will be no checkpoints for Black Out night ticket holders and no questions will be asked about anyone’s identity, race or gender,” the NAC explained.
To do so would be to run afoul of the law. Ontario’s Human Rights Code explicitly states that equal treatment with respect to services is protected under the law. “Every person has a right to equal treatment with respect to services, goods, and facilities, without discrimination because of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, family status, or disability,” it states.
by Deborah Rankin
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