For the past two weeks, members of Quebec's Black community have raised awareness and mobilized against SLĀV. Protesters have described SLĀV as a "theatrical production based on African-American slave songs ... coordinated by a group of white people, performed by a cast of predominantly white people, and presented by the Festival International du Jazz de Montréal at Théatre du Nouveau Monde. We are alarmed by the dismissal and silencing of Black voices in the creation, development, staging, and promotion of the show SLĀV." (from Against the show SLĀV: http://bit.ly/2KJGreF)
For insights into the racism inherent in SLĀV, we speak with MARILOU CRAFT, a Montreal-based writer and dramaturge who initially pointed out the problems with the production of SLĀV in December 2017 (original article: http://bit.ly/2Nthy5F).
(Interview recorded and produced on July 5, 2018 by Jaggi Singh)