Theatre: ‘The Adventures of a Black Girl in Search of God’

All photos by Andrée Lanthier.

There are two days left to catch The Adventures of a Black Girl in Search of God at the NAC.  If you have the chance, it’s definitely worth it. Book your whole night off thought because the show is very long. It runs two hours and 45 minutes.

This is an epic play. A cast of 22 gracefully float onstage with beautiful dancing and movements accompanied by their magnificent singing. This incredible play and its winding plot feeds your mind just as much as the choreography and voices fill your ears and eyes.  

The story follows Rainey Baldwin Johnson, a country doctor who traces her lineage back to Negro Creek, a small 200-year-old Black community in Western Ontario. Following the tragic death of her daughter, she has turned away from her husband (the local minister), her practice and her faith. Meanwhile, Rainey’s elderly father, a retired judge who Rainey discovers has only a few days left to live, mobilizes a group of proud septuagenarians to conduct heists against symbols of racism, to uphold their dignity and honour the town’s rich history. The gutsy group steals the show with their humour, their tenderness and their hilarious antics.  3©AndréeLanthier_Aventures_R.Webb,L.Francks,W.Borden,B.Barnes-Hopkins,J.Richardson

There is also a lot of depth to the play and it delves into many different themes, including questions of faith and responses to situations that can shake it, such as racism, tragedy and death.  It looks at love and its various forms. There is a lot going on in Adventures to justify its length.

After its Toronto debut in 2002, the play was nominated for six Dora Mavor Moore Awards, and rightfully so. It is also largely based real events.

All the members of the cast are superb. Walter Borden lights up the stage as Rainey’s father, Abendigo. Quincy Armorer is fantastic as Rainey’s estranged husband and Lucinda Davis radiantly shines as Rainey. However, singling them out isn’t entirely fair because everyone is electric on stage.

It runs until November 7, you can find out more at nac.ca.