Written and directed by David Woods
Once is a dramatization of the people and events of Africville- an African Nova Scotian community destroyed by the City of Halifax in the 1960’s and its residents re-located in the name of urban renewal. Told through drama, storytelling, poetry, contemporary dance and music, the play takes us on a journey through true stories of individuals and events before, during and after the community’s controversial expropriation. Once attempts to paint the emotional landscape of a people in the throes of not only fighting for the community’s survival but for their identity as a people.
Performance History
CBC Radio broadcast Feb. 1997
Performed
Awards/Achievements
- A selection of poetry from a later version of Once was shortlisted for the 2004 CBC Literary Award.
- Winner of the 1998 George Elliot Clarke Literary Competition
- Selected poems and spoken word excerpts from Once were included on Africville Suite by jazz composer Joe
- Sealy (1996 Juno Award, Best Contemporary Jazz Recording)