Award-Winning Is God Is Arrives at the NAC in February with Special Engagement for Black Audiences

Explosive revenge comedy introduces the first of two Black Out Nights at the NAC

January 16, 2023 – OTTAWA (Canada) – NAC English Theatre is excited to begin 2023 with the Dora Mavor Moore Award-winning presentation of Aleshea Harris’ Is God Is, running February 9 - 18. Curated by Black Theatre Workshop, the production from Obsidian Theatre, Necessary Angel, and Canadian Stage arrives at the NAC after a hugely successful run in Toronto in 2022, where it landed a spot on virtually every Top 10 list of the season’s best theatre.

As one of the milestones in a series of offerings over Black History Month, this genre-smashing production will introduce the first of two Black Out Nights that will be at the NAC this year.

Creating evenings dedicated to Black theatregoers will allow for conversation and participation to be felt throughout the theatre and open the doors for Black-identifying audiences to experience the energy of the NAC with a shared sense of belonging and passion. 

BLACK OUT NIGHTS

On February 17, the evening’s performance of Is God Is will welcome Black audiences to experience and enjoy a performance in the Babs Asper Theatre. Tickets for this performance are available now. 

Inspired by an event created in the fall of 2019 for Jeremy O’Harris’ Slave Play on Broadway, Toronto theatre companies Canadian Stage and Theatre Passe Muraille created similar events for their audiences. Experiencing the power of these evenings, NAC and BTW welcomed the opportunity to schedule Black Out performances for both curated shows this season.

A Black Out is an open invitation to Black Audiences to come and experience performances with their community. The evenings will provide a dedicated space for Black theatregoers to witness a show that reflects the vivid kaleidoscope that is the Black experience. Everyone is welcome at all our shows.

The following Black Out Night will be the second curated play from BTW, Cheryl Foggo’s Heaven on May 5 in the Azrieli Studio. Black Out Nights will be an ongoing engagement initiative, as NAC English Theatre plans to schedule more for the 2023-2024 season.

IS GOD IS – FEBRUARY 9 – 18, 2023, BABS ASPER THEATRE

“Make your daddy dead,” a mother demands of her twin daughters from her deathbed, in the electrifying 2016 Obie and Relentless Award winner from Aleshea Harris. 

Twin sisters Anaia and Racine are on a quest for peace. And they are willing to kill for it. The sisters are sent on a quest from the South to a sleepy California desert city to fulfill their mother’s command. And the secrets that set fire to their family ties are revealed, allowing us to understand and experience satisfaction through sacrifice, and relief through revenge.  

Directed by Mumbi Tindyebwa Otu, Is God Is is a dark tragicomedy that channels Tarantino as much as Sophocles, driven by our sweet, spiteful heroines who are both victims, and vigilantes.

“Step aside, Quentin Tarantino and Martin McDonagh... A snarly new master of high-octane carnage has risen into view. And she—yes, she—is putting her own audacious stamp on that most venerable of pop genres…Is God Is sees fit to bring down the house.” –  New York Times

Is God Is by Aleshea Harris, directed by Mumbi Tindyebwa Otu.
Featuring Tyrone Benskin, Matthew G Brown, JD Leslie, Oyin Oladejo, Savion Roach, Sabryn Rock, Alison Sealy-Smith, Micah Woods; Assistant Director daniel jelani ellis; Movement Director Jaz 'Fairy J' Simone; Sound Designer/Composer Thomas Ryder Payne; Set Designer Ken Mackenzie; Costume Designer Ming Wong; Lighting Designer Raha Javanfar; Video Designer Laura Warren; Fight Director Jennifer Dzialoszynski; Dialect Coach Jennifer Toohey; Stage Manager Emilie Aubin; Assistant Stage Manager Ada Aguilar.

An Obsidian Theatre, Necessary Angel, Canadian Stage Production.
Curated by Black Theatre Workshop.

Is God Is is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com

PERFORMANCE AND TICKET INFORMATION 

For more information and showtimes, please visit:  https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/30546

To purchase tickets for Is God Is, visit Ticketmaster online or call 1-844-985-2787 (ARTS).  
For tickets to Black Out Nights, visit https://www.ticketmaster.ca/black-out-night-is-god-is-ottawa-ontario-02-17-2023/event/31005CC1A1DD2ADD?
 

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS 
 
The National Arts Centre Foundation would like to thank Lead Donor, The Slaight Family Foundation, and Official Hotel Partner, Embassy Hotel & Suites. Special thank you to Margaret Fountain, C.M., D.F.A.(hc), D.H.L.(hc) & David Fountain, C.M. and to the Dr. Kanta Marwah Endowment for English Theatre.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ARTS CENTRE  
  
The National Arts Centre is Canada’s bilingual, multi-disciplinary home for the performing arts. The NAC presents, creates, produces, and co-produces performing arts programming in various streams — the NAC Orchestra, Dance, English Theatre in collaboration with Black Theatre Workshop, French Theatre, Indigenous Theatre, and Popular Music and Variety — and nurtures the next generation of audiences and artists from across Canada. The NAC is located in the National Capital Region on the unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabe. 

ABOUT BLACK THEATRE WORKSHOP

Black Theatre Workshop (BTW) is Canada’s longest running theatre company dedicated to the works of Black and diasporic communities. BTW’s mission is to promote and produce outstanding theatre that educates, entertains, and inspires. The company strives to create greater cross-cultural understanding by challenging its audience and the status quo. Expanding the representation of Black Canadian artists, BTW bridges cultural divides – uniting hearts, minds, and communities.

 

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