A long-suffering Black maid living in 1963 Louisiana is stuck in a world she despises. Through a rainbow of musical genres, powerful life lessons and emotional evolution the musical Caroline, Or Change, offers universal resonance.

Romaine Waite is an actor to watch; no pun intended. His supporting role on popular CBC television drama Frankie Drake Mysteries is just another in a long list of achievements on his way to inevitable stardom. As “Bill Peters” his character is often called upon by “Frankie Drake,” a fictional depiction of the first female private detective in 1920’s Toronto. Frankie Drake solves crimes with her partner “Trudy” (Chantel Riley); Trudy also being Bill Peter’s love interest. The show is a hit and is coming back this year for a third season. No small feat for a diverse, Canadian, female-led…

Montreal born, Edmonton raised actor Dion Johnstone has been preparing for his latest role since he was a child. “My first introduction to Shakespeare was through comic books. There were these series of comics produced in the ’60s, early ’70s called Classics Illustrated and funny enough, the first comic book I read, was Julius Caesar. I loved it because I was reading the language and able to connect with the visuals and the fear of the language was taken care of really early.”

Justin Alliman is an international basketball development coach, with a coveted position as a mentor coach with the Toronto Raptors 905. He’s also the founder of Dream Chaserzzz Basketball Inc. which allows youth who lack support to get access to elite training. “I was one of those kids myself,” he says. Justin’s organization has since served over 100,000 athletes worldwide. Now at the peak of his success, he’s authored a book that reveals some of the heartbreaking details of his journey. It’s called “Before My Glory.”

Jeff Martin is a police officer turned author and motivational speaker. For the last 15 years he's been working in various detective roles, investigating criminal offenses ranging from homicides to sexual assaults. Having done over 1000 forensic interviews with children, Jeff is a youth communication specialist, who now travels North America giving soul-stirring talks to high schoolers.

Budgetary constraints have claimed another one. After 46 years on radio and television, the Royal Canadian Air Farce signs off with a farewell special on December 30, 2019. The show, known for political satire and comedic sketches, has managed to steer clear of controversy in its multi-decade run. Uniquely Canadian, eh. We had a chance to chat with Darryl Hinds, a Second City alum and ensemble member of the Air Farce since 2014. Hinds’s resume is littered with Canadian staples, such as Degrassi, The Beaverton, Murdoch Mysteries, Little Mosque on the Prairie, and The Ninth, situating him in a unique…

What happens when you tell a little white lie and it snowballs into a cascade of unraveled secrets? That’s the leitmotif of the first film produced by Crossfield House Productions -- “A Little White Lie” – which will have its world premiere in Toronto on November 29 at the Regent Theatre.

Given that so many places in southern Ontario played such a key role in Harriet Tubman’s Underground Railroad network, you’d think it would be a no-brainer for the newly released Harriet film to screen in a place like Chatham-Kent. A city where some of the first early Black settlers landed, that was once home to several thriving Black settlements and that now boasts three Black History museums. 

Joseph Lewin’s first children’s book - Calvert and the Wolf - is creating quite a buzz. It certainly helps when John Tory, the mayor of Toronto, buys a copy of the book and tweets about it after meeting the author in Kensington Market on a Pedestrian Sunday.

ByBlacks Review: BBBB*