The Grand Theatre in London, Ont., is kicking off the new year by taking a look into the past and telling the story of the woman on the face of Canada’s $10 bill.
Controlled Damage, created by London-born playwright Andrea Scott, is about Viola Desmond, a Halifax business owner, who, on Nov. 8, 1946, attended a movie at the Roseland Theatre in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia.
Realizing that she was sold a lower-priced ticket for the balcony, where Black patrons were expected to sit, Desmond proceeded to take a seat on the main floor, formally the whites-only section.
While she offered to pay the one-cent tax difference, Desmond was dragged out of the theatre, jailed and charged.
Over 75 years later, when Scott was asked to write a play about a historical Canadian woman not as well known in the public eye, Desmond’s story was a clear choice.
The over two-hour production showcases Desmond as “a woman who took a stand against racial discrimination, by taking a seat at a theatre,” and takes the audience through the story of her life through the perspectives of those within it.
“It starts when she was still a young woman teaching in school, and then ultimately ends up going to school to learn how to become a hairdresser and a businesswoman,” Scott explained. “We understand how she ended up in New Glasgow and ultimately the situation that brought her to the theatre and put her in jail, seeing the repercussions.”
Aside from its historical lens, the production is “cut” with music, singing and dances.
“The way I see it is, even when we are going through some of the worst things in our life, we are still enjoying parts of life,” Scott said. “I think that it’s a lot bigger than anyone could have imagined when I started writing it five, six years ago.”
She added that turning history into a play is not an easy task, “at least in the way I approach it.”
“I tried to think of the ordinary and extraordinary situations.
Through her research and preparations, Scott said that the title of the play itself, Controlled Damage, holds a special meaning to the story of Desmond and the time period.
“Controlled Damage is a process by which an application is placed on Black woman’s hair to make it more pliable and softer, and it breaks down the natural strength in the hair,” she explained. “I felt like it was a good metaphor for what society was trying to do with Viola Desmond — break her down, make her more easygoing and easier to deal with — but it didn’t work.”
Controlled Damage will be running at the Grand Theatre from Jan. 17 to Jan. 29.
More information can be found on the Grand Theatre website.