Absorbing Kinky Hair

Monologue-infused play worthy of hype and praise

Trey Anthony has a story to tell. In fact, she has six stories and although she originally thought of telling all six by herself, she very wisely decided to use other voices in this production at the Theatre Passe Muraille. However, all the voices speak with Trey's tongue, and all six women have stories to tell that deliver an emotional punch.
The stories are told, monologue-fashion, in the locale of a West Indian hair salon. One by one, the customers settle into the chair to have their hair and personality attended to by Novelette, played by Trey herself. After a few usually humourous observations by the hairdresser, the customer slips down to the footlights and tells her story.
First up is Shawnette, played with a full vocal range by Quancetia Hamilton. She has scrimped and slaved in order to get a good education for her man. When he becomes a success, he finds Shawnette out of place in his newly-won world and leaves her with an easily understandable anger. Quancetia is a powerful actress with a powerful voice which positively rings with vibrant emotion.
Nia, played by Ngozi Paul, is bitterly resentful of the fact that her mother heaps more praises on Nia's lighter-skinned sister and granddaughter than she does on Nia and her own child. Ngozi's story is heart-wrenching and I suspect meaningful to many of the black members of the audience.
Patsy, played beautifully by Ordena Stephens, brings the play home to Toronto when she talks about her son, Romy. We soon are made to realize that he was shot to death in a random parking lot shooting. Her plea to end the cycle of blacks killing blacks is probably the most moving moment of the evening.
Sherelle, played by Miranda Edwards, is a Ph.D. who despite her material and career success finds herself saying, "I don't want to be me."
Sharmaine, played by Raven Dauda, basked in the glory of her mother's support until Sharmaine revealed that she was lesbian, a condition her peers in the black community feel is strictly a white woman's preoccupation.
Finally, d'bi.young plays a young Jamaican girl who traded her bed in Jamaica which she shared with three others, for a home where she had her own bed, but had to put up with the unwelcome attention of her stepfather. The young actress gives a thoroughly convincing performance, but her Jamaican patois is difficult to understand.
Superb music and dance punctuate and sometimes become part of each monologue, acting as a kind of relief valve for the heavy content of the monologues. Weyni Mengesha's direction and music fill the show with a rare vitality. Ninety minutes of absorbing theatre, well worth seeing.
Da Kink in My Hair runs at the Theatre Passe Muraille, 16 Ryerson Avenue, until June 29th. Tickets are available by calling 416.504.7529.

Publication Date: 2003-06-22
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=2872