Grandmama Speak by Shayna Jones

A part of the Performance Series – Get Tickets to all 5 shows

Ages 13+

We are proud to begin our season with a captivating performance that will undoubtedly leave audiences leaning into poetic storytelling like never before.

Shayna Jones is an award winning actor, an emerging playwright, a folklorist, and a multi-disciplinary spoken word artist specializing in performance poetry and traditional oral storytelling. As a folklorist and oral storyteller, Shayna combines her passion for live, theatrical performance with the study of African and Afro-diasporic folklore and contemporary narrative.

She has performed her one woman shows for theatres, schools, and festivals across Canada.  Presently, she is the leader of a federally funded project called Black and Rural, a multi-year artistic investigation into the hearts and minds of black folks tucked away on the Canadian countryside. Partnering with both arts and heritage organizations, her vision is to gather, honour and showcase black and rural Canadian life through a nationally touring performance series.

Learn more about her and her work at www.wearestoryfolk.com

Grandmama Speak is a kaleidoscope of Afro-centric folklore and fact, old wives tales and history. With song, rhythm and fine movement infused throughout the telling, Shayna mesmerizes her listeners with tale upon interlocking tale pieced together from the diverse traditions of the African Diaspora.

Love and loss, pride and pain, hambones and redfish take center stage in a show packed with bold vocal and physical dynamism. Listeners will be left laughing, sighing, and lingering over the age-old wisdom of Grandmama Speak.

“Grandmama Speak with Shayna Jones… was a magical experience and a highlight of Kimberley Kaleidoscope Festival. The audience was spellbound throughout the entire performance. Shayna’s ability to captivate her audience with her movement and story-telling is truly a gift not to be missed. We would be delighted to have her back at our arts & culture festival in years to come.” – Chantel Delaney, Festival Coordinator, Kimberley, BC

 “Jones is an artist who clearly studies the art and craft of traditional storytelling, and does so with great love….her sensuous style is incredibly rich and vivid.” – Robyn Grant-Morin, Parton and Pearl Reviews, Toronto, ON

“Shayna Jones…can only be described as a force of nature. She’s a river, pent-up behind a dam, that upon bursting leaves us devastated.” – Lilian Jasper, Two Cents Two Pence Reviews, Vancouver, BC

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