Nova Scotia

New production at Pier 21 highlights experience of young newcomers to Nova Scotia

A theatrical production about the struggles and experiences of young newcomers to Nova Scotia will be featured on Saturday at Pier 21 in Halifax.

Over 20 countries are represented by creative team behind short plays, monologues

Three characters hug in a stage production.
The production shows young newcomers adapting to life in Nova Scotia and the challenges they face. (Stoo Metz )

A new production called Newcomers: Stories of Refugee and Immigrant Children is telling the stories of the struggles young newcomers to Nova Scotia face as they adapt to life in their new home.

The production is a partnership between the Halifax Theatre for Young People and the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21.

Tessa Mendel, the artistic director for the theatre, said the production consists of four short plays and monologues that tell the stories of refugee and immigrant children.

There are over 20 countries represented by the creative team of writers, designers and actors, Mendel said.

Mendel said the production has been performed at schools and has been received with enthusiasm.

"We see the kids seeing these actors who are all young people and coming from different countries, they're newcomers to Canada," she said.

"It's actually very moving to see and for them so important because it's not a chance they get very much to see themselves represented right there live on stage, so it's quite beautiful."

Sarah Poko, one of the nine writers involved in the production, said she wrote her section, called Chalk Dust, as a horror story about what it is like to learn a new language.

Poko said it was partly inspired by her own experience learning French.

She said people told her it resonated with them.

"It's supposed to show this kind of representation so that these children know that they're not alone," Poko said.

"Whether you're moving here to Canada or you're moving to India or you're moving to China ... it's the same universal struggle that we have."

Actor Harmony Adesola said he plays a kid from Kenya who gets in trouble at school because another kid is making fun of his lunch.

His character meets someone who becomes his friend who he can talk to about his feelings without feeling judged. 

As an immigrant from Nigeria, Adesola said he can relate to the character he portrays.

"We need more immigrant people in theatre spaces and … this is a start," Adesola said.

There will be two public performances of the play at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday at the Bronfman Theatre at Pier 21.

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.

A banner of upturned fists, with the words 'Being Black in Canada'.

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With files from Information Morning Nova Scotia

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