A Poem for Rabia (2023)
Produced by
Nightwood Theatre and Tarragon Theatre and Undercurrent Creations
Playwright: Nikki Shaffeeullah
Co-Directors: Clare Preuss and Donna-Michelle St. Bernard
Venue
Tarragon Theatre – Extra Space
Run
October 17th, 2023 – November 12th, 2023
Synopsis
An epic journey across time, oceans, and tectonic shifts in political history.
A Poem for Rabia weaves the stories of three queer women from the same bloodline: Zahra, a disillusioned activist in 2053, navigating a Canada that has just abolished prisons; Betty, in 1953 British Guiana, caught between her new secretarial job at the Governor’s office and the growing national independence movement; and Rabia, an Indian domestic worker in 1853, abducted by colonial ‘recruiters’ and sent sailing from Calcutta to the Caribbean on an indentured labour ship. (tarragontheatre.com)
Cast
| Nikki Shaffeeullah | Zahra |
| Virgilia Griffith | Sheree / Marsha |
| Michelle Mohammed | Betty / Anu |
| Adele Noronha | Rabia |
| Jay Northcott | Jem / Tom |
| Anand Rajaram | Farooq / Ramesh |
Creative Team
| Nikki Shaffeeullah | Playwright |
| Clare Preuss | Co-Director |
| Donna-Michelle St. Bernard | Co-Director |
| Donna-Michelle St. Bernard | Dramaturge |
| Becky Ablack | Assistant Director |
| Sonja Rainey | Set Designer |
| Jawon Kang | Costume Designer |
| Echo Zhou 周芷會 | Lighting Designer |
| David Mesiha | Sound Designer |
| David Mesiha | Composer |
| Jack Rennie | Fight Director |
| Sasha Tate-Howarth | Additional Dramaturgy |
| Intisar Awisse | Additional Dramaturgy |
Production
| Amani Dorn | Dialect Coach |
| Gurkiran Kaur | Dialect Coach |
| Andrew Prashad | Dialect Coach |
| Sandi Becker | Stage Manager |
| Kayleigh Mundy | Apprentice Stage Manager |
| Rachel Penny | Consulting Creative Producer |
Staff
| Gerry Egan | Director of Production |
| Leslie Hernandez | Technical Director |
| Carley Melvin | Assistant Technical Director |
| David Mallette | Extra Space Technician |
| Andrew Chute | Head Carpenter |
| Ashley MacDonald | Head of Properties |
| Acadia Walsh | Head of Wardrobe |
| Shara-Lee Miller | Head Scenic Painter |
| Hilda Chu | Scenic Painter |
