Phoenix Theatre, University of Victoria
May 12-14, 2023
Director: Yasmine Kandil
Cast: Divine Mercy Ezeaku, Wendy Magahay
Maliki is a newcomer to Canada as a Black woman from Nigeria. She has arranged a one-year rental agreement with Ms. Bezel. Ms. Bezel is an older White woman who insists Maliki can only succeed in Canada by letting go of her current ways of being to fit into the ways Canadians style their hair, eat, dress, and behave.
Black hair is more than just strands that unite in kinky solidarity, demanding to be seen and heard. It is more than curls that are tighter than the homies in stereotypical (and often misrepresented) Black gangster films. Black hair is culture, history, ancestors, beliefs, food, strength and weaknesses. This play is based on interviews conducted on mostly Black African immigrants by Maliki, who is a new migrant trying to settle in a new society. The subtle microaggressions that surround Black immigrants everyday are captured in this text.
