The Postman Always Sings Twice: #Panamania

The Brighton Festival, and the Brighton Fringe, formed an annual highlight to our cultural year when we lived in Hove. In fact, sometimes they were our cultural year. I found out recently that there is a Toronto Fringe, though not, apparently, a matching Toronto Festival, so it's unclear what this Fringe is fringing. Never mind. Husband and I attended a play called Mandelshtam,  performed in the basement of a tiny synagogue near us, and were impressed  http://fringetoronto.com/fringe-festival/shows/mandelshtam/.

At the Pan Am Park

Now the Pan Am Games have come to Toronto, and along with dozens of sports, we also have a panoply of interesting artistic and cultural events under the aegis of 'Panamania'. In fact one such event, the staging of an innovative play called The Postman, happened at the park across the street this very evening. Drama delivered to our doorstep! The kids and I wandered over, dragging our lawn chairs. Husband popped along later, kindly delivering cups of tea. What a perfect way to spend a warm, light Saturday evening.

Finale, with Mrs. Jackson, a descendant-in-law of Albert, seated

The Postman uses words, music, movement and clever costuming to tell the story of Albert Jackson, the first black postman in Canada. Jackson was born into slavery in Delaware, and as a child, youngest of nine, made the journey by Underground Railroad with his mother and siblings to freedom north of the border. They all settled in Toronto.

The play gets performed in different venues around our neighbourhood, sometimes on the front porch of a house that Albert Jackson himself once owned. The music is terrific, the writing wonderful, and the acting engaging. I really hope this play gets a wider showing, as all the performances for Panamania are apparently sold out.

 http://thepostmanwalks.ca/