Canute Lawrence

REVIEW of Danse Macabre

by Canute Lawrence

Last Friday evening, I journeyed to Tarragon Theatre to see the premiere performance of Danse Macabre, written and directed by Trinibagonian-Canadian playwright and director, Rhoma Akosua Spencer. Last December, Spencer's Danse Macabre was the winner of the Toronto Fringe Festival 2026 New Play Contest, securing a free performance slot at this year's city-wide festival showcasing local, national, and international artistes.

Set in a mas camp warehouse, Danse Macabre tells the story of the origin, history, and motivation behind the elaborate and colorful costumes of beads and feathers that we associate with the annual Toronto Caribbean Carnival celebrations.

I was particularly intrigued by the masterful way in which Spencer threads the story of Cisco (Uche Ama) experiencing a crisis in trying to create a winning mas camp costume, but tempers flare in the warehouse among the other characters who have other perspectives while Cisco digs deep to find inspiration. Through the injection of magical ✨️ realism, Cisco's imagination takes form and frames the story in the warehouse against major historical events that saw Black lives having to fight and dance their way (literally and metaphorically) into who they are today. These struggles are evidenced in "the radical uprising of the Haitian Revolution, to the fire and defiance of the Canboulay Riots," Spencer asserts in the Danse Macabre program.

Carnival is not just a celebration. It is a mirror of what was and is. It is a weapon of resistance, power and identity. And, the audience was spellbound in the truth-telling, as raw and painful to many as it was as we all sat in the mas camp warehouse.

The technical aspects of the show (sound and lighting) were simple and effective. The most appealing, for me, was the use of, and lighting of the scrim adding to the magical appeal linking the present with the past. The drumming was like a vehicle that transported the audience from the warehouse back to Africa, to the belly of the slave ships, to the anti-slave revolutions, and back to the Present.

A significant take-away for me is: Black lives must continue to tell their stories and celebrate their joy amidst their struggles. The dance is not over! Danse Macabre continues its run at Tarragon Theatre until July 12, 2026. Please go see it.