salt:dispersed

salt:dispersed is the filmed performance of Selina Thompson’s award-winning work salt. last seen by Toronto audiences live at The Theatre Centre at Progress Festival in 2019.

In salt., Selina Thompson is a passenger onboard a commercial container ship taking the route upon which her ancestors were deported from Ghana to Jamaica and then on to Britain. Thompson’s forebears were among several million black men, women and children sold as slaves whose work made Western prosperity possible and served as the foundation of contemporary European economic success.

On her own journey, Thompson is confronted with normalised, systemic and casual racism and observes patriarchal power structures within the crew, suggesting that the colonial past is not as distant as she believed it was before embarking. As Thompson stands in front of the Door of No Return at Elmina Castle in Ghana and looks out to the Atlantic Ocean, she recalls the people who died there, on the journey and in the plantations. How can the sorrow that she feels at that moment exist in a world which also contains such banal things as post offices and perfume atomisers? And what does it mean to live as a black woman in a country with a majority white population?

Experience note: The artists have been thoughtful & intentional about the experience for audiences both in the theatre and at home. We highly recommend you attend these pieces in full as each one is a journey. Because these pieces were programmed as an evening of activities, we don’t have exact start and finish times. We would love it if you could join us for the whole evening, but if you are unable, we anticipate Broken/Sometimes Repaired beginning at 8 p.m. EST and salt:dispersed beginning at 9 p.m. EST and will do our very best to adhere to these start times on the night. We recommend the following for all the at-home performance experiences: 

• Cast to a large screen if you have one
• Lower the lights to mimic the darkened in-theatre experience 
• Good sound (big speakers or wear headphones) & turn it up! 
• Have your favourite snack or beverage nearby 
• Stay tuned to @thetheatrecentre on Instagram for updates on the nightly signature cocktail by Aislinn Rose that you can make at home!