The world premier of a new play called 鈥淣o Mama, No Cry鈥� is coming to a stage in 91原创 for two days this weekend.

Dark Glass Theatre, under the artistic direction of 91原创鈥檚 Angela Konrad, will debut at the Bez Arts Hub on Friday and Saturday.

鈥淏lack mamas are fierce mamas, right?鈥� said Konrad, quick to explain that this question is at the heart of Shayna Jones鈥� exploration into her own lineage.

Jones was born in Chicago, but grew up in Vancouver under the protective and nurturing wing of her father.

鈥淗ow she got there is a fascinating journey of exploded myths and expanded hearts,鈥� Konrad said.

鈥淕rowing up, my father always told me 鈥楤lack families are strongly matriarchal鈥�,鈥� Jones shared.

鈥淗is mother, Ollie Ree, was a strong and faithful woman; his grandmother, 鈥楤ig Mama,鈥� was an overwhelming force of grit and tenacity鈥� he learned how to raise me from them.鈥�

Jones has been closely involved with Dark Glass Theatre since its early days.

An associate artist with the company, she won a Jessie Award for her portrayal of Salima in the Dark Glass production of 鈥淟ynn Nottage鈥檚 Ruined.鈥�

Konrad describes Jones as 鈥渁 big part of the reason there is a Dark Glass Theatre.鈥�

鈥淪he believes in 鈥� and creates 鈥� the kind of stories we want to tell, and her insight and counsel are invaluable. 鈥楴o Mama, No Cry鈥� is Shayna Jones at her finest 鈥� visceral, compelling, and deeply human,鈥� Konrad said.

This premiere represents many years of development and revisions.

In 2019, Dark Glass commissioned Jones to write a play about her experience growing up without a mother in a matriarchal culture.

That play, 鈥淏lack Skin Deep,鈥� was slated for production with a Vancouver theatre in 2020, but then the pandemic hit.

After receiving a staged reading in 2022, Shayna made massive rewrites to the script, transforming it into 鈥淣o Mama, No Cry,鈥� which Konrad said is now ready for its first audiences.

After taking some time to refocus and restructure, this year is the first for Dark Glass Theatre since the COVID shutdown.

鈥淲hen we relaunched, we wanted to really lean into our tagline 鈥楽ee face to face鈥� to create intimate shows, in intimate spaces,鈥� Konrad elaborated.

鈥淔or our first play presentation, we knew that Shayna鈥檚 particular artistry would be perfect,鈥� Konrad said.

鈥淚 am excited that this play is finally going to be witnessed,鈥� Jones shared. 鈥淪tories are meant to be heard and I can鈥檛 wait to share 鈥楴o Mama, No Cry鈥� with others.鈥�

Several performances of 鈥淣o Mama, No Cry鈥� were held in living rooms around the Lower Mainland leading up to this weekend鈥檚 debut. Now, it鈥檚 been show to the masses at Bez Arts Hub this Friday and Saturday, June 7 and 8.

鈥淲e love the Bez for its warm and human ambiance,鈥� Konrad interjected. 鈥淲e also love that the seating can be configured in different ways so we can shape the space to best serve the piece being performed.鈥�

Tickets are $35, and available at .

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