About the Play:

How Black Mothers Say I Love You is a full-length family drama by Trey Anthony. Starting a better life in Canada is a dream for many immigrants, but for Daphne the decision presents an unthinkable sacrifice. From the author of the blockbuster hit 'da Kink in my hair comes an emotional and raw look into family dynamics, trust, resolution, and change.

How Black Mothers Say I Love You is a story of separation and reconciliation infused with a bold original score that blends gospel, reggae, and R&B with classical music. Claudette still can't forgive her mother for leaving. For six years of her childhood, Claudette and her sister Valerie were left with their grandmother while their mother, Daphne, moved from Jamaica to Canada to start a new chapter for their family. But in that time, Daphne remarried and had another daughter. Feisty activist Claudette, now in her late thirties, travels to visit her dying mother in a house in Brampton, Ontario, but that doesn't stop her anger and abandonment issues from bubbling up. It doesn't stop Daphne from voicing her opinions on how Claudette lives her life, either. With Daphne, Claudette, and Valerie all under one roof again, each family member is forced to confront their emotions while there's still time. How Black Mothers Say I Love You is a raw and honest portrayal of the choices many mothers have made in effort to create a better home for their families.

How Black Mothers Say I Love You premiered in 2016 at the Factory Theatre in Toronto. Since then the play had its U.S. premiere in 2018 at Horizon Theatre Company in Atlanta, Georgia, as well as regional premieres at professional theatres across Canada.

Cast: 4 female

What people say:

"She's especially adept at switching from the serious to the comic in a few lines, and the audience reacts audibly to certain revelations as well as to the play's moments of intensity and humour." — NOW Magazine

"Anthony plumbs this generational trauma to create a story of poignant truth about racism, colonialism, and their effect on the family… Trey Anthony is a national treasure." — Mooney on Theatre

About the Playwright:

Trey Anthony is a Canadian comedian and playwright. A former television producer for The Women's Television Network and a writer for the Comedy Network and CTV, she is also is the first African-Canadian woman to write and produce a television show (da Kink in my Hair, based on the hit play of the same name) on a major prime time Canadian network.