BLACK THEATRE WORKSHOP 2025 / 2026

 

Black Theatre Workshop Launches  2025-2026 Season - “Tallawah” A Celebration of Strength, Story, and Resilience BTW's 55th Season Features Mainstage & School Tour Productions, the Annual Artist Mentorship Programme, and the First Recipient of the new Jacklin Webb Theatre Scholarship © Adil Boukind

Montreal - September 15, 2025 - Black Theatre Workshop (BTW), Canada’s longest-running Black theatre company, proudly announces the launch of its 2025–26 season, under the theme “Tallawah.” A Jamaican patois word meaning “strong, fearless, and resilient,” Tallawah reflects the company’s continued commitment to telling bold, necessary stories that amplify Black voices and experiences. “The Jamaican idiom “We likkle, but we tallawah”, “We are little, but resilient”, captures the spirit of Black Theatre Workshop as we enter our 55th season. One of Canada’s oldest theatre companies, BTW stands as a pillar of Montreal’s English theatre community and a home base for Black artists nationwide.” says Dian Marie Bridge, BTW Artistic Director ON STAGE Theatre For Young Audiences Pirate and the Lone Voice World Premiere | A BTW Commission Playwright: Donna-Michelle St. Bernard | Director: Lydie Dubuisson This daring new work dives into the charged world of pirate radio in Guinea-Bissau, where two rebels risk everything to keep music and free expression alive. As “Pirate” and the “Lone Voice” battle censorship, surveillance, and their own ambitions, the play examines the power of sound, gossip, and resistance. Featuring Jeremy Lewis as the Lone Voice and Mel Pickering as Pirate, with designs by Eo Sharp (set/costume), Elena Stoodley (sound), and stage management by Lia Wright. The production will tour schools across Montreal from October 6–31, 2025, and culminate in a public performance on October 25, 2025, at Union United Church in Montreal. “This is my first full season with BTW which is exciting within itself. However, I'm thrilled as BTW will once again be a part of Donna Michelle St.Bernard's 54ology with Pirate and the Lone Voice. Along with Kanika Ambrose's our place, I believe this Fall will be fun and engaging. I look forward to sharing these stories and I hope our community comes out to support!” - Shannon Corenthin, Producer  www.blacktheatreworkshop.ca/pirate Mainstage Production our place Montreal Premiere Playwright: Kanika Ambrose | Director: Dian Marie Bridge Powerful. Heartfelt. Witty. Black Theatre Workshop presents the Montreal Premiere of our place by Kanika Ambrose. Not to be missed, this powerful and humorous play unveils the complexities of Canada’s immigration system and the demanding costs of survival. What lengths would you go to protect your new life in a new country? Andrea and Niesha are two young women recently arrived from the Caribbean, working under the table at Jerk Pork Castle restaurant to send money home to family, and flirting with a visa expiration deadline while they explore ways to stay in the country. our place will be at The Segal Centre for Performing Arts Studio from November 19-30, 2025, with a Special Dinner & Pre-Show Talk, November 22nd, with special guest and psychotherapist Shirlette Wint. “With works that explore survival, morality, and the systems that shape our lives, our audiences can expect theatre that is as urgent as it is uplifting.” – Dian Marie Bridge Rooted in the word “Tallawah”, BTW’s 55th season programming celebrates resilience in the face of challenge. It reflects the company’s vision to be a home base for Black Canadian artists while offering audiences transformative experiences that resonate both locally and globally. www.blacktheatreworkshop.ca/our-place BEYOND THE STAGE Artist Mentorship Program In addition to its main productions, BTW will continue its Artist Mentorship Program (AMP), offering training and industry access to early and mid-career BIPOC artists. A cohort of 20 promising artists began met virtually for the first time last week, with Keith Trevor Fernandez at the helm of this vital program which is celebrating its 13th year and aims to amplify voices and offer educational and networking opportunities to artists nationwide. "Black Theatre Workshop's Artist Mentorship Program (AMP) enters its 13th year of empowering self-producing artists with the skills, tools, and networks to succeed. Over six months, 20 artists from across Turtle Island will take part in hands-on workshops, one-on-one mentorship with leading artists from North America and beyond, and a paid opportunity to develop their own projects. With resources and guidance leading to a workshop presentation in March 2026, AMP continues to equip artists with the confidence and strategies to bring their visions to life." - Keith Trevor Fernandez www.blacktheatreworkshop.ca/amp2025-26 Noah Hammermeister – Recipient of the 2025 Jacklin Webb Theatre Scholarship BTW has much to celebrate this season, including the announcement of Noah Hammermeister as the first recipient of the Jacklin Webb Theatre Scholarship. The award was presented at a special season launch and gathering with the Webb family in attendance, honouring Jacklin Webb’s enduring legacy of supporting young theatre artists. Noah is a hard-of-hearing artist who went from washing dishes in Regina, Saskatchewan (Treaty 4 Territory), to pursuing his craft in Montreal, Quebec. While he has played saxophone since childhood, it was a voice workshop with Persephone Theatre at age 19 that convinced him theatre was his true calling. Now entering his second year at the National Theatre School of Canada, Noah continues to hone his craft while exploring theatre and video games as powerful spaces for storytelling. ABOUT BLACK THEATRE WORKSHOP Black Theatre Workshop (BTW) is Canada’s longest-running theatre company dedicated to the works of Black and diasporic communities. BTW’s mission is to promote and produce outstanding theatre that educates, entertains, and inspires. Black Theatre Workshop pushes boundaries and inspires dialogue to increase people’s understanding of cultural differences, perspectives, and experiences. BTW encourages individuals to step outside of their comfort zone, through its honest representation of Black culture and society. BTW is Black, bold, and brave storytelling.   blacktheatreworkshop.ca