''Calpurnia'' is a 2018 play by Canadian playwright

Audrey Dwyer Audrey Dwyer is a Canadian writer, actor, and director. She is currently the associate artistic director of the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre. She wrote the 2018 comedy, '' Calpurnia''. Early life Dwyer was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She stu ...

. It is named after Calpurnia, a character in

Harper Lee Nelle Harper Lee (April 28, 1926February 19, 2016) was an American novelist best known for her 1960 novel ''To Kill a Mockingbird''. It won the 1961 Pulitzer Prize and has become a classic of modern American literature. Lee has received numero ...

's ''

To Kill A Mockingbird ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' is a novel by the American author Harper Lee. It was published in 1960 and was instantly successful. In the United States, it is widely read in high schools and middle schools. ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' has become ...

''.

Synopsis

''Caplurnia'' centres around Julie, a twenty-something Black woman living with her father, an Afro-Caribbean judge, in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. She is a screenwriter attempting to write a film about Calpurnia, the Finches' maid in ''

''. Julie's brother, Mark, is an up-and-coming lawyer struggling to live up to his father's expectations. Julie's research on racial prejudice spark debates between her and her brother as Mark feels Julie is "not Black enough". Julie asks the family's

Filipina Filipinos ( tl, Mga Pilipino) are the people who are citizens of or native to the Philippines. The majority of Filipinos today come from various Austronesian ethnolinguistic groups, all typically speaking either Filipino, English and/or other ...

housekeeper, Precy, about her life to further her research while Precy cooks dinner for Lawrence and his friend James. Mark's white girlfriend, Christine, also attends the dinner and sparks discussions of

white privilege White privilege, or white skin privilege, is the societal privilege that benefits white people over non-white people in some societies, particularly if they are otherwise under the same social, political, or economic circumstances. With roots ...

and

respectability politics Respectability politics or the politics of respectability is a form of moralistic discourse used by some prominent figures, leaders or academics who are members of various marginalized groups to consciously set aside and undermine cultural and mor ...

Productions

''Calpurnia'' premiered in 2018 at

Buddies in Bad Times Buddies in Bad Times Theatre is a Canadian professional theatre company. Based in Toronto, Ontario and founded in 1978 by Matt Walsh, Jerry Ciccoritti, and Sky Gilbert, ''Buddies in Bad Times'' is dedicated to "the promotion of queer theatrical ex ...

in Toronto. The premiere was directed by Dwyer and co-produced by

Nightwood Theatre Nightwood Theatre is Canada's oldest professional women's theatre and is based in Toronto. It was founded in 1979 by Cynthia Grant, Kim Renders, Mary Vingoe, and Maureen White and was originally a collective. Though it was not the founders' ori ...

and Sulong Theatre. The premiere starred Meghan Swaby as Julie,

Carolyn Fe Carolyn Fe is a Filipina singer and actress based in Montreal. She has released three full-length albums and an EP with the Carolyn Fe Blues Collective. Fe is also the recipient of 2018 Toronto Theatre Critics' Awards for Best Supporting Actress f ...

as Precy, Matthew Brown as Mark, Andrew Moodie as Lawrence, Don Allison as James, and Natasha Greenblatt as Christine. Anna Treusch designed the set which stadium-style seating on either side of the stage. In March 2022, ''Calpurnia'' was performed at the

Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre (Royal MTC) is Canada's oldest English-language regional theatre. Next to the Stratford Festival, Stratford and Shaw Festival, Shaw Festivals, MTC has a higher annual attendance than any other theatre in the countr ...

. The 2022 production was directed by Sarah Garton Stanley and starred Emerjade Simms as Julie. The play featured Kwaku Adu-Poku as Mark, Ellie Ellwand as Christine, Rochelle Kives as Precy, Arne MacPherson as James, and Ray Strachan as Lawrence.

Analysis

''Calpurnia'' examines what it means to be Black in Canada and focusses on how its characters shift their identities to suit their environments. The character of Lawrence embodies the traditional image of an immigrant parent trying to make the best life for their children while also trying to educate them about their culture. However, Laurence does not speak

Patois ''Patois'' (, pl. same or ) is speech or language that is considered nonstandard, although the term is not formally defined in linguistics. As such, ''patois'' can refer to pidgins, creoles, dialects or vernaculars, but not commonly to jargon or ...

to his children, indicating his attempt to make his children "more Canadian". Julie and Mark engage in several conversations about the usefulness and worth of updating canonical texts as well as who has a right to tell what stories. ''To Kill A Mockingbird'' is Mark's favourite book and he does not feel as though it needs any retelling. He also feels that Julie, a rich woman living in Toronto with no Black friends, does not know any more about being African-American in

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

in the 1930s than Harper Lee did. Julie, on the other hand, faults Atticus Finch for his "

slut-shaming Slut-shaming is the practice of criticizing people, especially women and girls, who are perceived to violate expectations of behavior and appearance regarding issues related to sexuality. The term is used to reclaim the word ''slut'' and empower ...

" and refusing to call out the prejudice of white jury members. The character of Precy acts as a model for Lee's Calpurnia, in that she serves Lawrence and his children the same way Calpurnia serves the Finch family. Dwyer was interested in using Precy to examine how different racial minorities interact with each other as well as to examine the concept of

allyship ''Allyship'' is an English-language neologism used in contemporary social justice activism to describe efforts by groups of people to advance the interests of marginalized groups both in society at large and in particular social contexts, for examp ...

Development

Dwyer began writing ''Calpurnia'' in 2012 after playing a maid in a show. She developed the play with Obsidian Theatre as part of their playwriting unit. During the time between the play's 2018 premiere and this staging, Dwyer made several changes to the script and the play underwent dramaturgy from Sarah Garton Stanley. Of the 2018 and 2022 productions, Dwyer said "this definitely is not the same play."

References

{{reflist Canadian plays 2018 plays Comedy plays Plays about race and ethnicity Plays based on novels Plays set in Canada