STANDING UP TO SLAV
TNM should say sorry: group
The group calling itself the SLĀV Resistance Committee (SRC) wants a Montreal theatre to apologize for hosting the controversial show, one of several demands it is making following the show’s cancellation.
Composed of members of Montreal’s black community, the group pointed out inaccuracies in the “theatrical odyssey based on slave songs,” directed by Robert Lepage and starring Betty Bonifassi, performed as part of the Montreal International Jazz Festival, which has raised issues of cultural appropriation.
Among their demands were that Théâtre du Nouveau Monde (TNM) apologize for hosting SLĀV and diversify their programming.
“The TNM is not a neutral actor in this,” said SRC member Ricardo Lamour. “It has questions to ask itself regarding its programming beyond SLĀV. (TNM artistic director Lorraine) Pintal has been quiet on the subject to this point, but … as one of the biggest francophone theatres in North America, it has questions to answer about how theatre can play a role as a leader in the change necessary for all the (talented artists of colour) coming out of our schools, waiting in the service lane for opportunities, to serve the diversity that is overflowing in Montreal.”
Among the SRC’s other demands are that the jazz fest institute an equity policy with targets for artists from black, Indigenous and other communities; that the Quebec government rectify inequalities in funding for the arts; that jazz fest sponsor TD Bank respect its professed commitment to diversity; that Quebec media organizations provide equal space to black voices, black journalists and journalists of colour; that the Montreal public respect peaceful protesters and their privacy, and cease threats to protesters.
Members of the SRC were among a group of about 12 people from the black community who met with jazz fest president and general director Jacques-André Dupont and vice president of programming Laurent Saulnier for four hours on Friday.
The meeting was organized and mediated by Dorothy Alexandre, an entrepreneur and panel moderator, to create a dialogue between the jazz fest and the black community, according to the SRC.
At the jazz fest’s closing press conference Saturday, Dupont said the meeting taught fest organizers that they “should listen more” and that “there are issues for Montreal’s black community that we don’t get.”
That message was greeted with enthusiasm by the SRC.
“We think what the jazz festival said is how it should be,” said Lucas Charlie Rose, organizer of the anti-SLĀV protest that took place outside TNM on opening night, June 26. “It’s a first step, to say, ‘We didn’t listen enough, now we’re going to listen … It takes an enormous amount of courage, and it’s the right thing to do.”
Members of the SRC and other participants from the black community “came out humanized,” Rose said.
“At the beginning (of the controversy), we were treated with animosity in the media. Sitting in front of them, they realized we’re human, we’re not dangerous.”
Lamour said, “Some of us are journalists, some are artists who have performed at the jazz fest and Les FrancoFolies. We’re just normal human beings standing up for what we believe is right, in a context that is very hostile to these types of conversations.”
Lamour alluded to mixed messages from Bonifassi, Lepage and the jazz fest concerning SLĀV’s cancellation. The show ran the first three of its scheduled 16 nights, following which Bonifassi broke her ankle.
At its closing press conference, the jazz fest revealed that the decision to cancel was due to Bonifassi’s broken ankle and security concerns. Bonifassi and Lepage, meanwhile, have painted themselves as victims of censorship.
“By who?” Lamour asked. “By (black) people who are censored daily? And (Bonifassi) is representing the stories of the ancestors of these people?”
The SRC said it has no plans to protest SLĀV performances scheduled around Quebec in January.
“We feel that we have expressed ourselves,” said SRC member Elena Stoodley. “We hope the TNM is open to listening. We hope Ex Machina and Robert Lepage are open to listening, or even dialogue if they want — but that is not our decision.”
In the immediate future, the SRC and the group Songs for Betty are organizing a concert Saturday at 8 p.m. at Casa del Popolo featuring performances by artists from Montreal’s black community.
“The goal is to show people out there putting on shows like SLĀV that black artists exist,” Rose said, “that we’re talented and available.”
It’s a first step, to say, ‘We didn’t listen enough, now we’re going to listen … It takes an enormous amount of courage