Luminato brings a new version of the a cappella telling of the Salem Witch trials to Toronto

By: Wayne Leung 

Obeah Opera tells the story of the Salem witch trials from the perspective of the first woman accused: a Caribbean slave named Tituba. Sung through entirely a cappella, the latest incarnation of this surprisingly vibrant and uplifting show is currently presented in Toronto as part of the Luminato Festival.

Like most people, I’m most familiar with the Salem witch trials and the character of Tituba from Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible.Miller’s play and indeed most of the written history of that period centres on the stories of the white women accused of witchcraft in Salem and what Obeah Opera seeks to do is give voice to the marginalized Black women and slaves whose experiences we’ve never heard about. 

The show is conceived, written, and composed by Nicole Brooks (who also stars as Tituba), she has worked on successive iterations of the show since 2009. This latest version presented for Luminato is truly magnificent. It is thrilling to see this bold work given a Broadway-calibre production with the big cast, staging, lighting, and movement design. It absolutely feels operatic in scope and scale. 

Source: Mooney on Theatre