Life
Black Canadian theatre company dominates at annual awards ceremony
Philip Akin, Obsidian artistic director
Black was the new black at the Dora Mavor Moore awards on Monday night, as Obsidian Theatre dominated Toronto’s annual theatre, dance and opera awards.
Canada’s leading black theatre company was the big winner in both the play and musical theatre categories with a pair of co-productions of challenging contemporary American works.
Topdog/Underdog, Suzan-Lori Parks’ sharp 2001 two-hander about African-American brothers named Lincoln and Booth, was named outstanding production of a play, beating out such high-profile competition as the international stage hit War Horse.
Obsidian artistic director Philip Akin was given the gong for best director for his work on the production, which was originally staged at the Shaw Festival before traveling to Toronto. Nigel Shawn Williams received a Dora for best actor for his portrayal of a one-time street hustler working as an Abraham Lincoln impersonator.
