Black Butterfly
Blackwestward Productions - Toronto, ON
 http://blackwestward.com/home		V.1 - John Hirsch Mainstage 
A wedding. A choice. One moment that changes everything.
Black Butterfly is a bold, emotionally charged play blending music, drama, humour and dance. It follows Laide, a young woman torn between love, duty and her truth.
Set against a vibrant African celebration with a contemporary edge, it explores identity and self-discovery.
Raw, sharp and deeply human. You'll laugh, gasp and feel it in your chest long after the curtain falls.'

Cast:
Temil Olalemi, Anthony Ighomuaye, Sharon Naiman, Faith Momoh, Tobi Adeosun, Faith Israel, Demi Olalemi, Emmanuel O., Tyanna, Joseph Yeboah

Director:
Ebby A

   		Show Info:
75 Mins minutes
Genre:
Play-Dramedy

Audience:
General

No warnings

Thu July 16 1:15 PM
Fri July 17 9:45 PM
Mon July 20 12:45 PM
Wed July 22 8:00 PM
Thu July 23 11:00 AM
Fri July 24 2:30 PM
Sat July 25 6:30 PM

Black Butterfly

Blackwestward Productions—John Hirsch Mainstage

The gorgeous costumes create the setting for the wonderful, sultry opening dance that ensues. The upbeat, fun and toe-tapping music preludes the readiness to launch into party time mode, in this case, the Festival of Lights.

After the Festival, the plot develops quite slowly; however and even though you know what’s going to happen, it takes a while to get there. They want to draw a Romeo and Juliet type of tragedy out of the plot, but I really couldn’t engage with it. After I saw Letters yesterday, I left the theatre feeling like someone punched me on the sternum. I don’t get that here, and I think a big part of it is, I’m still in “party mode.” The colours, the dance, and the music all put me into a “let’s have fun spirit,” and when the tragedy comes, I’m just not ready for it.

If you want a tragedy, you need to set a tragic ambiance (think of how you feel at the closing aria of Madama Butterfly). Even at the end of this play, I felt like dancing with friends outside on a hot night, by an open fire, drinking sauvignon blanc.

Ray Yuen