Tawiah M'carthy
iPhoto caption: Natasha Mumba and Eric Miracle in 'Copperbelt.' Photo by Dahlia Katz.
Copperbelt’s creative team crossed continents to do Natasha Mumba’s debut play justice
Zambian dialect coach Chiluba Katongo Nosfu worked with the cast, and also provided translation support for Mumba’s script: Copperbelt’s characters regularly interject words and phrases from Bemba — one of over 70 languages spoken in Zambia — into their English dialogue.
iPhoto caption: Natasha Mumba and Kondwani Elliott Zulu in 'Copperbelt.' Photos by Dahlia Katz.
REVIEW: Before heading to Soulpepper, Copperbelt strikes gold at the NAC
Natasha Mumba's debut play successfully navigates generations of personal and international histories and expectations, including an unflinching examination, through nice-guy Peter, of Canada’s own role in resource extraction in developing countries.
iPhoto caption: Photo by Jae Yang.
REVIEW: Guillermo Verdecchia’s Feast is a fascinating text, but Tarragon’s new production feels hazy
I found the play really resonant and rich and layered. It’s about globalization, privilege, travel, displacement, and inequity, and it brought up many associations and past experiences for me. But I don’t feel that Soheil Parsa’s production fully comes together.
iPhoto caption: From top left: The Seagull (Soulpepper), Hypothetical Baby (The Howland Company), As You Like It, a radical retelling (Crow's/Mirvish), Letters from Max (Necessary Angel), Maanomaa, My Brother (Canadian Stage/Blue Bird), Monster (Factory), Maggie (Theatre Aquarius), Casey and Diana (Stratford Festival), The Master Plan (Crow's). All photos except Casey and Diana by Dahlia Katz; Casey and Diana photo by Cylla von Tiedemann.
Our favourite theatre productions of 2023, in Toronto and beyond
These shows have stood the test of at least a few weeks, if not several months. Their pleasures are not transitory, but mature and long-lasting. We think of them often.