A Tarragon Theatre and Nightwood Theatre Presentation
May 24 – May 28, 2023
Tarragon Mainspace
Written by: Fatuma Adar
Directed by: Fatuma Adar & Graham Isador
Run Time: 70 minutes
“Leave expectations at the door. We are not putting on a play, we are throwing a party. This is a concert, comedy show, and confessional all in one. Come celebrate your mediocrity with us!“
Tarragon Theatre and Nightwood Theatre are thrilled to present the live stage premiere of Fatuma Adar’s unforgettable show She’s Not Special at Tarragon Theatre’s Mainspace Theatre, May 24-28, 2023.
Co-directed by Adar (Playback’s Artist to Watch) and Graham Isador (The Beaverton, VICE), She’s Not Special combines musical theatre and comedic storytelling to explore the pressures of Black Excellence.
As a Black Muslim Woman (a triple threat!) Fatuma is on a mission to free you from the clutches of exceptionalism and teach you how to relish in the joys of mediocrity. After a critically acclaimed digital run at the Next Stage Theatre Festival, She’s Not Special returns to the stage LIVE! (Still, Adar hopes that you come with only moderate expectations… thanks.)
Showtimes
Wednesday
May 24
8:00 pm
Thursday
May 25
8:00 pm
Friday
May 26
9:00 pm
*Black Out Night
Saturday
May 27
9:00 pm
Sunday
May 28
2:30 pm
*Tarragon Theatre is thrilled to be offering our first ever Black Out Night for audiences of Fatuma Adar’s She’s Not Special with Nightwood Theatre.
The intention of Tarragon’s Black Out Night is to create a space that honours and celebrates Blackness and provides Black audience members an opportunity to come together in a space that is by, for, and about them. The spirit of this community-focused evening is to facilitate a supportive environment for culturally-specific conversations dedicated to Black-made work.
Black Out Night FAQ's and more information
Black Out Night Info
We invite all self-identified Black audience members to join us on Friday, May 26 for Fatuma Adar’s She’s Not Special Black Out Night.
No one will be turned away from attending Black Out Night. Exclusivity is not the intention of the evening. Similar to all theatre events available for general sale, it is available to any member of the public who wishes to purchase a ticket.
As we’ve designed this event as an affinity space, if you don’t identify as Black, please consider why you would like to attend, what you would be adding to the space and how your attendance is supporting Black communities and creators.
What is Black Out Night?
Black Out Night is a performance for Black audiences that invites Black theatre-going communities to experience a show for them, by them.
How did it start?
Black Out Nights are inspired by the Black Out event created for Jeremy O Harris’ Slave Play in 2019, and have happened at theatres in Toronto and beyond over the past couple of years.
Why are we doing it?
Black Out nights are a type of affinity group gathering. An affinity group gathering is an event where people who are from *Equity-owed groups can come together in a safe(r) space. These events can be healing and/or celebratory spaces where people feel more comfortable to be themselves and connect along experiences of shared identity, culture and oppression.
Tarragon Theatre and Nightwood Theatre want to create a Black Out night for She’s Not Special to celebrate Blackness and Black people in all their dimensionality. Unfortunately, theatre spaces haven’t always been spaces where Black people have felt welcome and theatre culture is reflective of deeper oppression that Black people face on a daily basis.
If you are a frequent or semi-frequent theatre goer, consider the last time you went to a theatre and the audience was majority Indigenous, Black, or racialized people. Black Out nights are a part of a broader strategy to dismantle anti-Black racism in the theatre and create a truly inclusive space.
We’d like to acknowledge that no group is a monolith and there are of course Black people who will not want to attend a Black Out Night or who disagree with the practise. We can hold many truths at once.
If I don’t identify as Black/Person of African descent, can I attend?
No one will be turned away from attending Black Out Night. Exclusivity is not the intention of the evening and this evening, similar to all theatre events available for general sale, is available to any member of the public who wishes to purchase a ticket.
As we’ve designed this event as an affinity space, if you don’t identify as Black, consider why you would like to attend, what you would be adding to the space and how your attendance is supporting the creation of a safe(r) space for Black people.
I would like to attend the Black Out Night for She’s Not Special. What can I expect?
We hope to create a safe(r) space for Black people to attend this show. We will be clearly communicating via the ticketing website and via box office phone that this is a Black Out night.
Tarragon Theatre and Nightwood Theatre in collaboration with the She’s Not Special team are doing a specific outreach strategy to ensure that Black communities are aware of and invited to this Black Out Night.
We also hope to create a celebratory atmosphere, with photo opportunities and some refreshments. Please note that this Black Out Night will be recorded as a comedy album, so come ready to laugh and react with enthusiasm.
I have further questions, who should I contact?
Should you have any questions about Tarragon’s Black Out Night please contact Patron Services and/or our Education and Community Engagement Manager at patronservices@tarragontheatre.com and education@tarragontheatre.com, respectively.
Fatuma Adar
Playwright
Graham Isador
Director
Fatuma Adar
Playwright
About the Playwright
Fatuma Adar
Fatuma Adar is a Somali-Canadian writer based in Toronto. She was long-listed in CBC’s Creative Nonfiction Prize and profiled in Up Close: Young Black Women Making Canada Better. In 2017, she joined the third cohort of The Bars Workshop at the Public Theater in New York City. Her work has been featured in the Toronto Star, The Globe & Mail, Maclean’s and an anthology entitled Black Writers Matter published by the University of Regina Press. Her musical Dixon Road took home the 2022 Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Musical.