Afeni

Onika is an amazing actor - the play is VERY dialogue heavy, but her natural charisma and the intention and emotion she puts into her performance is mesmerizing.

GO SEE IT

I have been wanting to see this show for over a year now; ever since I saw a couple posters outside of a few business at the end of the 2025 Edmonton Fringe Festival.

Mostly because, contrary to one-line in the show, I wanted to come out and see Onika Henry!

Onika is someone who I have deeply come to respect and admire as a performer, teacher, table-top guest star, and friend over many years. And I had the privilege to direct her in my first-ever directing project at The Walterdale Theatre back in 2024.

And two years later I stand by the statement that Onika is one of the best, most confident and powerful performers in the city today. You give her a script worth diving into and a character worth embodying, she will step-up and give you show worth watching.

Adam Bailey has certain given Onika words worth saying; there is one line in this show that I ADORED and it was "When I say the name of the famous son that you all know, you'll know that my story is finished." (Not the exact words but in essence). But the words that has written for this show married with Onika's presence of and manners of delivery had the audience nodding, audibly gasping, and laughing in bewilderment at some of the outrageous history of what the Black Panther 21 and Afeni had to face, rise up against, and commit themselves to doing when the racist, corrupt and ineffective justice system had already deemed each of the members criminals that were looking at 150 years of imprisonment for made-up charges.

Nearing the end of this show we, the audience, were inspired and stirred to applaud as we feel Afeni's fight to not allow herself, her fellow revolutionaries, and her unborn child be incarcerated. And we were moved to stand up out of our seats when we had seen the scope of what Afeni was fighting against.

I have waited over a year to see this show, and I am SO very grateful that I got to see it! And I am grateful that Adam, Onika, and the producers of this show (Onika and Adam as well, Jonathan Brett) have invested in this show because, sadly still, this isn't something I see very often at the Fringe and it isn't a show I see in Edmonton outside of the Fringe either.

I hope that anyone that has seen this play and is a producer or creative in the city is inspired, as I was, to not just see this show again but to make shows like this be a regular feature of Edmonton stages.

inspiring story, powerful performance

Afeni is an incredible, unbelievable true story told through a powerful performance. Awesome, inspiring, educational!

The show opens with the call “I AM A REVOLUTIONARY!” that introduces us to the radicalization of Afeni Shakur. Through this show we learn how powerfully she responded to that call, and it’s a call that echoes back to the audience as a responsibility in an anti-Black world.

There was no better person to tell this story than a teacher! Onika Henry, how did u memorize so much dialogue including LITERAL COURT DOCUMENTATION?? Honestly if this show was a podcast I would listen to it daily, her oration is just incredible!

Both her and Adam Bailey have brains the size of all the information we never learn in school or mainstream discourse. The way this story was told was full of honour and the spirit of truth-telling that you read in books like Assata Shakur’s autobiography or The Joy and Defiance of Marsha P Johnson.

I heard Onika Henry talking about Inner City High School and how the beginning of their legacy was Popular Theatre/Theatre of the Oppressed and honestly that history makes me appreciate the effort in this show even more. I feel like there’s such a cool meta-narrative in making art about a revolutionary legacy while also enacting justice by creating opportunity within art through programs like Inner City High School.

If you ever see this lol hmu ([email protected]) because I’m SO curious about your source material! Please watch this show!!!!

Interesting, educational, well presented. Very good use of my time.

The story itself is impressive, a true story of a revolutionary woman, whose strength, conviction, and intellect were undeniable and so impressive. Afeni was arrested with the Black Panthers in 1969 New York City. She represented herself and she did an incredible job at it; before she was “Tupac’s mama”.

Onika Henry does an exceptional job portraying Afeni - she kept the audience so incredibly engaged that you could have heard a pin drop. We couldn’t take our eyes off of Onika, even as she moved around the theatre and into the audience. More impressive even when we learned that she had an umbrella fall on her earlier, and I’m assuming is nursing a potential concussion 🤕

This is a must see performance by an outstanding actor. Educational, entertaining and thought-provoking in a time where systematic racism continues to plague our society.

Mother, Not Her Son

Afeni was jaw dropping. A performance on Tupac Shakur’s Mother, Afeni Shakur, tells the truth on Black experiences and injustices in North America. Her story as an activist and legal defenders of the Black Panther 21, within the Black Panther Party is one of necessity and resonance, a story that’s power rung through the audience and was proven by a standing ovation.

Starring Onika Henry, an incredible actress whose vocal clarity and charisma made it impossible to tear our eyes from this show. Her memorization was impeccable, and stage presence undeniably powerful.

Afeni was a performance to educate, entertain, and share the story of a woman whose incredible achievements are overshadowed by her son. This is a show worth your time, and one that will resonate and remain in your mind for days to come.

Excellent show! Well written and well acted. The true story of Afeni Shakur is complex and important, tying together history of the Black Panthers, Stonewall riot, and unending government harassment and duplicity. At the centre is a charismatic woman who was instrumental in creating some measure of justice.

Unexpectedly perfect.

I applaud the actress for holding the attention of the audience and remembering all those lines. The bits of laughter in a serious (and true) story were needed. I would definitely see it again.

An engrossing history lesson about Afeni Shakur's legal defence of herself & the "Panther 21" (which doesn't touch on her famous son until the end), & a must see, due to performer Onika Henry's charisma, plus #FringeTO veteran writer/director Adam Bailey.

On the edge of my seat the whole show, wanted it to never end! Without props, sets, costume changes, extra cast members, flashy gestures, fancy lighting, or immersion-breaking comedy, the sole performer draws your attention with nothing but a single chair and brilliant storytelling and acting. I was grinning at every smug joke, jaw-dropped at every dramatic turn, and inspired by the story of a woman who was not a victim or a mother famous by proxy, but a triumphant hero.

Gripping yet never exploitative, sincere while also surprisingly humorous, Adam Bailey’s “Afeni” is one of the most compelling new solo plays to debut at the Fringe in recent years. Based on true events, it recounts the story of Afeni Shakur, the Black Panther revolutionary who was arrested on unfounded, politically motivated charges and proceeded to successfully defend herself in court.

Click the link above to read my full review in the Toronto Star.

Alessandro Stracuzzi's NNNN review of Afeni from NEXT Magazine.

It gives me no pleasure to say that my time attending this show was a sensory disappointment. This disabled reviewer was (perhaps uniquely) struggling with over (and under) stimulation.

Our Afeni (embodied by a deep-skinned actor) performed against an all-black curtain, while only donning black/dark grey under a lighting design that lacked much brightness. It was dim most of the time. To make matters more challenging, the venue’s air conditioning unit was left on in the room during the performance, and the machinery buzzed distractingly in conflict with our soft-spoken performer. Her vocal quality was head-dominant, so I really struggled to follow her text against the industrial drone right behind me. I found my attention waning in the absence of a popping presence.

It also seemed like our performer was struggling to remember her lines at a few points along the way, but she did manage to keep the train on the tracks for the duration of the show. (Perhaps a few more reps with this new script will help everything drop into effortlessness.)

I wish my experience had been different at this show and that I’d planned to arrive a little earlier to land a front row seat. The first 3-4 rows did give this performance a standing ovation, and it seems that Afeni made a real impact for those attendees in closer proximity.

All said and done, I am heartened to see majority-white audiences respond enthusiastically to a Black performer telling an unapologetic story about this specific Black experience. It is important (now more than ever) that everyone takes some time to support Black art - and Black performers - at the Fringe. (And beyond).

A stunning performance by Onika Henry who served as a talented medium for the powerful narrative captured in this densely packed, emotionally charged and inspirational monologue.

Keep watch for this piece and performer in future Fringes.

Loved this show. The story teller was powerful in her display of emotion during the show. The story of a powerful black women told by a powerful black women was inspiring and should not be missed. Would see this over and over and I learned so much about Afeni. It was not overpowered by 2pac, in fact they are not even mentioned until the very end of the show.

Afeni tells you the story of a mother that was more than just a mother to someone famous. It gives light to the incredible story of Afeni and her time with the Black Panthers.

Just saw Afeni and wow — phenomenal from start to finish! Onika Henry commanded the stage with raw emotion and strength, telling the powerful story of Afeni fight against unjust charges unjust treatment of a Black Panthers. Truly moving and unforgettable. People need to like run to see the show — don’t think about it, just go. Powerful, moving, a definite Fringe hit!

More Than Her Son

What an incredibly important, significant, and powerful story to tell. Afeni, written by Adam Bailey, is an incredible single-person retelling of Afeni Shakur’s early life and trial as a Black Panther, performed by Onika Henry. Of course, she is Tupac Shakur’s, however her significance as an activist and freedom fighter extends far beyond her son’s own life. Using a simplistic set of a single black chair, the weight and impact Afeni’s life and struggles had on the progression of social justice is left to breathe and way upon the audience, making it (in my eyes) the perfect set. The simplicity of the entire show provides the same effect, utilizing a single actress in a perfect, efficient manner, never bloating or watering down the events of Shakur’s life. Empowerment and action is at the core of Bailey’s script, calling everyone to arms against the oppression we face and the injustices being committed every single day. Of the shows at Fringe, I imagine this is one of the more serious, and heavy productions, so if that is what you seek, I would highly recommend Afeni.