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Shine Your Eye, a play by Binyavanga Wainaina showing in Toronto
Binyavanga Wainaina
September 26th – October 22nd 2011
Shine your Eye is a one-act play written by Binyavanga Wainaina. The play is set in an internet scam office in Lagos, Nigeria, and offers a portrait of an emerging African generation. This high-tech show brings a virtual world to life on stage with animation and projection. The play explores the notion of territory – and what possible territory might exist for a new generation of Africans, now in their twenties. The main character, Gbene Beka, a young computer hacker in Lagos and daughter of an assassinated political hero, is forced to choose between two possible futures: one Western, one African. She is forced to look forward, into her own future, and to make a choice about where she will go and what boundaries she may have to cross to get there.
The play is showing in Toronto as part of the 2011-2012 Canadian Stage theatre season under the banner of Volcano Theatre’s production, Another Africa. First presented as The Africa Trilogy during the 2010 Luminato Festival, this adapted production is a sharp-witted and entertaining look at the relationship between Africa and the West, featuring two plays and a new prologue from international, award-winning writers. A talented cast will bring the piece to life from September 26 to October 22, 2011 (opening and media night: September 29) at the Bluma Appel Theatre in the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts (27 Front Street).
For more information on Another Africa and to book tickets, please visit the Canadian Stage website