esu crossing the middle passage by d'bi.young anitafrika

The goal of the Watah Theatre is to cultivate the professional development of Black artists as self-actualised creative leaders who co-create a holistic, equitable and compassionate society.

The Black Theatre School is a nine-month immersive professional theatre training residency, led by d'bi.young anitafrika, structured across three interconnected Movements and guided by the Anitafrika Method, a holistic pedagogy for decolonial theatre practice

esu crossing the middle passage10-Year Anniversary Production

February 17 – March 8, 2026 | Watah Studio Theatre, Tkaronto

Watah Theatre proudly presents esu crossing the middle passage, a landmark work of dub theatre by d’bi.young anitafrika, returning to the stage for its 10-year anniversary at the newly established Watah Studio Theatre. The production launches Watah Theatre’s 2026 season and invites audiences to experience anitafrika’s biomyth monodrama work in an intimate studio setting.

Originally premiering in 2016 at the Storefront Theatre to critical acclaim—including FOUR N’s from NOW Magazine, a Critic’s Pick, and a Dora Award nomination—esu crossing the middle passage has since become a foundational work within anitafrika’s canon and the first chapter of The Orisha Trilogy.

Set aboard a slave ship and embodied by Esu, the Orisha of crossroads and transformation, the piece follows a womxn’s journey into the Transatlantic enslavement system of humxn trafficking, through poetry, ritual movement, and multi-media and sound. A performance installation and ode to the spirit of surthrival, esu crossing is a theatrical event that softens the contours between ritual, performance, and representation.

Originally created during the height of the Black Lives Matter movement, esu crossing the middle passage emerged as a politically charged intervention in contemporary theatre, opening space to confront the enduring legacies of colonialism, enslavement, and racial violence. Nearly a decade later, the work speaks with renewed urgency. In a present moment shaped by global unrest and cultural reckoning, the piece affirms theatre as a necessary site for collective witnessing—where history is remembered, embodied, questioned, and re-futured.

This anniversary presentation follows d’bi.young anitafrika’s return to Tkaronto after completing their PhD and re-establishing Watah Theatre, alongside the founding of the Black Theatre School. The School’s 2025 pilot season featured the 20th-anniversary remount of the Sankofa Trilogy and culminated in the creation of three new biomyth monodramas by emerging Black theatre makers KayGeni, Josemar, and Kabrina Robinson. The Watah Studio Theatre, made possible with the support of the City of Toronto, now serves as both a professional performance venue and the primary training space for the School, placing pedagogy, experimentation, and performance in direct kinship. The funds raised from esu crossing the middle passage go towards building the Black Theatre School.

esu crossing the middle passage inaugurates The Orisha Trilogy, Watah Theatre’s 2026 mainstage productions, which continue with shx mami wata & the pxssywitch hunt in spring 2026 and lukumi pantodub opera in summer 2026. Across the trilogy, anitafrika continues their bold experimentation with the expansiveness of dub poetry and dub theatre, and introduces pantodub theatre. This 10-year anniversary invites audiences back to the crossroads—to encounter a work that remains as necessary now as when it first premiered.

Performance Details

esu crossing the middle passage

by d’bi.young anitafrika

Watah Studio Theatre

14–32 Lisgar Street, Tkaronto

February 17 – March 8, 2026

For Media Inquiries: [email protected]

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Box Office Hours
The box office opens one hour prior to all performances.

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Watah Studio Theatre, located within 32 Lisgar, is physically accessible. We are located on the second floor of the building and have barrier-free washrooms and a public elevator.

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Tickets for performances and presentations at Watah Studio Theatre are $33, with a limited 2-for-1 option available for all performances.

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