“The Eighth Day”: A Play Reading by Nicole Brooks

About

The Eighth Day is a new production in development from award-winning producer Nicole Brooks, spotlighting 1928 Black Montreal and an unconventional hidden Speakeasy called Lelu’s Cave. There, a mysterious woman gathers nine misfit Femme Noires Burlesque performers to take the stage and create some magic. Little did they know, it was the end of the world as they knew it and the dawning of a new day.

Join us as Nicole Brooks reads an excerpt from her new play, followed by a Q&A with the audience.

KUUMBA30 is presented by TD Bank Group through the Bank’s Corporate Citizenship platform, the TD Ready Commitment.

About Nicole Brooks

In the performing arts world, Nicole Brooks is a triple threat. Her extensive accomplishments include: filmmaker, director, performer, singer, playwright, composer, curator, teacher and ‘art-ivist’. Brooks has devoted over 20 years to producing innovative content (for the stage and screen), focusing on narratives illuminating the peoples of the African Diaspora.

In 2012, her debut theatrical work, Obeah Opera – which she created, wrote, composed and performed in – was staged in various incarnations, from festivals to staged workshop productions in Toronto between 2009 and 2014. Honoured with a Dora nomination for Outstanding New Opera/Musical in 2012 and with continued development thereafter, an updated version of Obeah Opera premiered in August 2015, as a prestigious commission from the cultural arm of the Toronto 2015 Pan Am / Parapan Am Games. Its final incarnation mounted in June 2019 as part of the critically acclaimed roster of the Luminato Festival in Toronto. It was honoured with two additional DORA nominations in 2020 for Outstanding Choreography and Outstanding Feature Performance.

Internationally, Obeah Opera was an official Festival Selection of the prestigious NAMT Festival of New Musicals in late 2020 and it successfully launched in an international tour in South Africa in August 2024. More touring destinations are in the works for 2025/2026.

Brooks recently completed a two-year tenure as an artist in residence with Canadian stage through their New Works Program developing her new large-scale production entitled The Eighth Day.