There’s still time to catch The Arts Club Theatre Company’s production of Trey Anthony’s ‘da Kink in my Hair, you won’t want to miss it. Now playing at the Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage, ‘da Kink is an inspiring show about self-care, owning your true-self and building a community.
‘da Kink in my Hair is set in a black-owned salon, run by the fiercely independent entrepreneur Novelette, played by the equally powerful Alana Bridgewater. The play, like the salon is a gathering place for black women to surround themselves with others who understand their lives and most importantly their hair – the place where they hide all their secrets. In it’s simplest viewing, the audience will at least get an understanding of the complexities and challenges of black hair, if you didn’t already know. But at it’s heart, Novelette’s salon is a place of safety and comfort for this cross section of women to be themselves and reveal their truths.
Novelette has a magic touch, that can reveal these ladies’ inner truths as her fingers reach into their souls. Whether it’s struggles with losing a child, a new pregnancy, anxiety and depression, societal pressures, interracial relationships, family racism, homophobia, sexual abuse or new love, it’s all laid out on the stage, freeing each storyteller of their burden. Their hair becomes a metaphor for these revelations, with the wigs by Hackman’s Head Office and Davina Cooper being integral to each transformation.
Set to powerful music by Michael McElroy, Renee Clark, Carol Maillard, and Edwin M. Harper-Short the performers each have a their story tailored in song, dramatic, emotional, heartfelt and vibrant. The astounding cast; Alana Bridgewater, Jenni Burke, Lossen Chambers, Ghislaine Doté, Paige Fraser, Tama Martin, Katrina Reynolds, and Dawn Pemberton, each bring their own unique voices to their roles but as a whole form a unified force, much like the community that Novelette’s salon builds within its walls.
‘da Kink in my Hair plays at the Arts Club Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage until May 15th, with VocalEye performances coming up May 8 and 13. Tickets are available online from artsclub.com