OUR PROJECTS
Maanomaa, My Brother
Created by: Tawiah M’Carthy and Brad Cook with Anne-Marie Donovan.
Written by: Tawiah M’Carthy and Brad Cook
A Co-production between Blue Bird Theatre Collective and Canadian Stage
We all know there is more to the past than the stories we’ve been told.
When childhood friends Kwame and Will reunite in Ghana for the funeral of a loved one, they realize just how much has changed since the events that separated them 20 years earlier.
As they struggle with the urge to keep stories from the past buried and the desire to connect, resurfaced memories set them on a journey to discover a truth that neither of them expected. Blending together styles of West African and Canadian theatre, Maanomaa mixes myth with reality, and the past with the present.
Photos by: Dahlia Katz & Veronica Ho
Cast:
Kwame: Tawiah M’Carthy
Will: Brad Cook
Creatives:
Director : Philip Akin
Original Music and Composition: Kobena Aquaa-Harrison
Lighting Designer: André du Toit
Costume Designer: Joanna Yu
Assistant Costume Designer: Des’ree Gray
Assistant Director: Aldrin Bundoc
Sound Designer: Christopher-Elizabeth
Dramaturgy: Natasha Mumba
Cultural Consultant, Dramaturgy and Script Consultant: Wole Oguntokun
Dialect Coach: Akosua Amo-Adem, Jane Gooderham
Produced by: Beth Wong
Consulting Producer: Laura Pomeroy
Graphic by: Puncture Design
*Originally titled Blue Bird, this piece was in residency with lemonTree creations in 2014, had a public workshop presentation at the IMPACT International Theatre Festival in 2015 and a second public workshop presentation at The Registry Theatre in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada in 2016 which was co-produced by Blue Bird Theatre Collective and Inter Arts Matrix.
Supported By:
Bush of Ghosts
Created by: The Company
The search for home is a lifelong endeavour.
This work-in-progress places oral storytelling traditions from West Africa front and centre. It is the 30 year journey of a young West African boy and his trials and tribulations throughout the “Bush of Ghosts.” Interweaving the mythical and everyday, we are embarking upon a fantastical interpretation of the immigration experience, illuminating the "good and bad", “hope and despair” throughout a journey to find home.
The Company:
Kaleb Alexander, Virgilia Griffith, Michelle Jedrzejewski, Beck Lloyd, Pulga Muchochoma, Montana Summers, Amaka Umeh, Jewels Krauss, Michael Man, Déja Dixon-Green, Kwaku Adu-Poku
Creatives:
Director: Tawiah M’Carthy
Movement & Puppetry Director: Brad Cook
Text Developer: Paul Smith
Dramaturgy & Cultural Consultant: Wole Oguntokun
Producer: Beth Wong
Thank you to Stephen Jackman-Torkoff and Thomas Olajide for their contributions to the early stages of creation.
Supported By:
