THE ORISHA TRILOGY, d'bi.young anitafrika's second triptych—featuring the plays esu crossing the middle passage, shx mami wata & the pxssywitch hunt, and lukumi dub opera—takes us on a journey through the past, present, and future while reinterpreting the triangular journey of Black peoples, voyaging from Africa to the Caribbean to North America under the influence and protection of The Orishas. For a critical analysis of The Orisha Trilogy read Chapter 5 of Laine Yale Zisman Newman’s PhD thesis entitled Placefull Spaces: Queer Women and Non-Binary Artists Resisting an Emptied Stage.
esu crossing the middle passage, set aboard a slave ship, follows a womxn’s journey into the Trans Atlantic slave trade embodied by the spirit of Esu – the trickster God of Ifa, who sits at the crossroads. esu crossing the middle passage is a pepperpot of theatricality, a story told through otherworldly movement, poetry, and sound.
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shx mami wata & the pxssywitch hunt centres on gender, sexuality, and the erotic through the life of four friends – Niki, Michael, Kizzy and Everdon – growing up in present-day Jamaica, who are challenged to renegotiate their complex relationship under revised ‘antibuggery’ laws. Raised in the violence and silence of misogyny and homophobia, Niki lives on the margins of church, the burlesque pole and womxn’s thighs. As the play unfolds we learn that Niki is not the only one living on clouds and in shadows. shx mami wata is Anitafrika’s continued exploration of divinity, activism, the erotic and the Black diaspora through the Yoruba Ifa Orishas: Ochun (river goddxss of childbirth and erotic love), Yemoja (mother goddxss of the sea), and Oya (goddxss who defends and protects womxn). Listen to CBC Ideas—In She Mami Wata, queer Jamaican friends reckon with spirituality, sexuality and Black womanhood—to learn more about queer resistance in Jamaica, along with excerpts of the audio version of the play.
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lukumi dub opera (formerly titled bleeders) is the culminating play in d’bi.young anitafrika’s Orisha Trilogy. An afrofuturistic dubopera set in a postapocalyptic Tkaronto some years after the explosion of the Pickering Nuclear plant which causes widespread infertility in humans; lukumi centres on gender and the environment. lukumi a dub opera (Tarragon production) was directed by Eugene Williams, Choreographed by L’Antoinette Stines, musically directed & co-composed by Waleed Abdulhamid, set & costume by Rachel Forbes, Lighting by Michelle Ramsay, stage manager Kathleen Jones, Producer Brett Hayes, produced by Watah Theatre. The production received two Dora nominations for Best Female Performance (musical) d’bi.young anitafrika and Best Choreography (musical) L’Antoinette Stines. In 2018 lukumi a dub opera was published by k verlag in the work of WIND AIR LAND SEA. NOW MAGAZINE AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD!!!! SUMMERWORKS BEST PRODUCTION HONORABLE MENTION