A Poem for Rabia
October 17 – November 12, 2023
An epic journey across time, oceans, and tectonic shifts in political history.
A Poem for Rabia weaves the stories of three queer women from the same bloodline: Zahra, a disillusioned activist in 2053, navigating a Canada that has just abolished prisons; Betty, in 1953 British Guiana, caught between her new secretarial job at the Governor’s office and the growing national independence movement; and Rabia, an Indian domestic worker in 1853, abducted by colonial ‘recruiters’ and sent sailing from Calcutta to the Caribbean on an indentured labour ship.
A Poem for Rabia runs approximately 2 hours and 25 minutes including intermission.
World Premiere
A Tarragon Theatre Production in association with Nightwood Theatre and
Undercurrent Creations
Written by Nikki Shaffeeullah
Co-Directed by Clare Preuss and Donna-Michelle St. Bernard
Virgilia Griffith
Sheree/Marsha
Michelle Mohammed
Betty/Anu
Adele Noronha
Rabia
Jay Northcott
Jem/Tom
Anand Rajaram
Farooq/Ramesh
Nikki Shaffeeullah
Zahra
Nikki Shaffeeullah
Playwright
Clare Preuss
Co-Director
Donna-Michelle St. Bernard
Co-Director & Dramaturge
Rebecca Ablack
Assistant Director
Sonja Rainey
Set Designer
Jawon Kang
Costume Designer
Echo Zhou
Lighting Designer
David Mesiha
Composer & Sound Designer