Timeline, Conflict, and Jubilee Singers in Canada and the Blackface Atlantic

The Authority File

In the second episode of this four-part series, Dr. Cheryl Thompson, Associate Professor in Performance at Toronto Metropolitan University, digs into the timeline and conflict of her book, Canada and the Blackface Atlantic: Performing Slavery, Conflict, and Freedom, 1812-1897. First, she discusses the difficulty in choosing a starting point for the title. Aiming to include the theater’s rich history, she elected to begin at the War of 1812—one of the defining moments of Canada and its burgeoning identity—and intersperse the theater’s techniques and history throughout the book. Additionally, as Cheryl explains, the War of 1812 revealed Canada’s varying viewpoints, with factions of Loyalists versus pro-America/Republic groups, and, later during the US Civil War, Unionists versus Confederates.

In fact, Cheryl points out that diverging audiences continued past 1865 as all-Black minstrel groups and Jubilee singers, often formerly enslaved, began to tour Canada, leading to a split of working-class crowds at minstrel shows and upper class viewers for Jubilee performances. Cheryl explores the competing narratives of these two shows, their popularity in Canada, and the intersection of conflict and entertainment in this fascinating episode.

Missed an episode? Subscribe to our monthly newsletter, Choice Podcast Updates, and check out the Authority File Round-Up on our blog, Open Stacks!