Canadian Stage's Topdog/Underdog tackles the contradictory expectations of Black masculinity

There's a type of fear that comes with being a Black man, one that can be hard to voice, let alone showcase. In the Pulitzer Prize-winning Canadian Stage production Topdog/Underdog, that fear is not only given a platform but is intuitively examined in the form of a complicated relationship between two Black brothers. 

The play highlights Lincoln and Booth, siblings comically named for the historical president Abraham Lincoln and his notorious assassin, John Wilkes Booth. It is no mistake that the brothers are named for a man often linked with giving Black people in America their freedom and a man who punishes that decision. 

Lincoln works as an Abraham Lincoln impersonator in whiteface and as a card-game hustler on the side. Booth deals in petty theft and shoplifting after being thrown out by his wife. The brothers' fates revolve around an inheritance of $500 each that they received from their parents prior to their abandonment. While Lincoln squandered his inheritance, Booth managed to save his, and it is a point of contention between the two. Both men seek glory, but like many Black men, they encounter a lack of community support and opportunity that results in a continuous cycle of poverty and violence. 

Actor Mazin Elsadig, who plays Booth, says the intertwined narratives of masculinity and Blackness is something he can relate to. 

"It's something I've experienced as a Black man myself," said Elsadig. "There's a hardened exterior that you form while navigating the world as a Black man. Everyone's trying to be the alpha. There's a glorification of the drug dealer, the boss — stereotypical images that we aspire to. A lot of Black men in certain neighbourhoods feel like there's one way to be a Black man — to grow up, gain respect and be respected."  

Respectability politics loom in the background of this play. That need for Black people to conform to whiteness is ever present. The characters feel compelled to prove themselves worthy; equating success with freedom. These men can't wield power in the form of a high-powered corporate job and the respect it would bring, but they crave it.  

Lincoln wants the power and dominance that comes with being a top card dealer. Booth tries to impress his woman with shoplifted luxury goods. You can practically taste it: the money, the power, the respect rooted in fear are almost at the tips of their fingers — but of course they fall short. As Sébastien Heins, who plays Lincoln, says, the show is an interesting comment about what happens when people in society are diminished and forced to wield some kind of power over each other. 

"Both of these characters can't be who they are in society," said Heins. "Lincoln can't be the hustler. He can't be a Lincoln impersonator. Booth steals things, and he's very good at living illegally. Both of these men are pariahs in society, and the only place they can exact their dominance is over each other, within their household."

For director Tawiah M'Carthy, who directed the breakout hit Fairview for Canadian Stage, Topdog/Underdog is another masterclass in race and intimate relationships — his preferred themes for storytelling. Like Fairview, which juxtaposed a Black family gathering with the voiceover of white people having a problematic argument about what race they would be if they could choose, Topdog/Underdog similarly challenges audiences' views of the Black experience. 

"These characters come with a history that informs the present," said M'Carthy. "There's something intimate about these characters. For Black people, there's been the need to protect ourselves with armour and plant our feet in the ground to protect our kind. This armour is out of necessity for these two characters." 

Topdog/Underdog is the latest in Canadian Stage's productions that showcase the intimacies of Black life in ways that are innovative and experimental. Most of this work has been directed by M'Carthy, who says all of his shows are about intimate relationships formed by his experience as a Black man. 

Canadian Stage plays like Fairview, Topdog/Underdog and Maanomaa, My Brother, as well as the upcoming Universal Child Care and The Inheritance, all feature innovative depictions of racialized communities. This diverse lineup is further strengthened by Canadian Stage's 2020 statement on Black Lives Matter, in which they acknowledged that while they "aspire to create spaces of safety," they "have not lived up to this aspiration." 

In the statement, the company committed to hiring an anti-racist and anti-oppression trainer, and to developing a diversity, equity, accessibility and inclusion (DEAI) plan that will articulate clear and measurable goals. The company largely met these goals in 2021, according to a statement that outlined the creation of a strategic plan in partnership with Rania El Mugammar, an arts educator and equity consultant; the implementation of anti-racist workshops; a permanent annual budget allocation for diversity, equity, accessibility and inclusion; a DEAI committee; and training resources for new staff. 

Buddies in Bad Times Theatre alum and Canadian Stage artistic director Brendan Healy — who has led the company's creative decisions for the last five years — noted that such equity efforts also extend to the stage, saying there's been a real re-evaluation of the Western theatre canon and a greater acknowledgment of the multiplicity of voices that have created that canon. 

"Canadian Stage is learning," said Healy. "We don't get everything right. A big aspect of what's happening behind the scenes is seeing what works, what didn't work, and next time we try something different. It's all about learning, conversation and openness." 

This kind of collaboration between consultants, actors, crew and directors makes theatre that manages to both engage audiences and reflect a commitment to inclusivity.

As Healy said, "Topdog/Underdog will always have some kind of relevance. It's an extraordinary piece about the collision between history and identity. It's an existential play focused on how history informs identity, how it shapes us and creates a kind of fate for us as humans."