91香蕉视频成人在线

For generations, barber shops have been a place where African men gather 鈥� for haircuts, yes, but also to talk. Barber Shop Chronicles, a play currently running at the American Repertory Theater (A.R.T) in Cambridge, traces the global ties between these spaces as they exist in different geographical contexts. The show takes audiences to shops in London, Johannesburg, Harare, Kampala, Lagos, and Accra, and offers a window into a space that鈥檚 part newsroom, part political arena, part stadium, part confessional 鈥� and all important to the men who gather within.

鈥淚n the UK, as I imagine it is in America, the barber shop is a space where we can sit, chill for hours, and loiter in public space without fear,鈥� said Nigerian-born, London-based playwright Inau Ellams in an A.R.T press release. 鈥淭hey are safe spaces for men to speak about things associated with masculinity. That harkens back to traditional African communities where men would gather to talk and, now and then, someone would cut their hair.鈥�

Ellams鈥� idea for the show came after seeing a flier advertising a course designed to teach barbers the basics of mental health counseling. He then traveled around England and Europe recording conversations, and those conversations formed the basis for the play.

Dr. Natalie Cort, assistant professor of Clinical Psychology, core faculty in the Center for Multicultural and Global Mental Health and in the Concentration on Children and Families of Adversity and Resilience (CFAR), and director of the 91香蕉视频成人在线 Black Mental Health Graduate Academy, was invited to host an on-stage, post-show discussion with actors from the show after the December 15 performance.

鈥淧laywright Ellams provides us with a port of entry into the everyday lives of extraordinarily ordinary, brilliant, and multifaceted men. He allows us to peek into safe and welcoming spaces where Black men feel a sense of belonging, and feel valued and respected, and feel like they matter,鈥� said Dr. Cort addressing the panel and audience. She was joined by members of the cast , , and , and the play鈥檚 associate director .

鈥淎s a Black psychologist, I am aware that expression of vulnerability, and seeking mental health services, is often taboo in our community,鈥� Dr. Cort said, asking the panelists for their thoughts on the impact of powerful alternative spaces, like the barber shop, in mental health.

Ofoegbu said that works like this play enable people to gain an understanding that 鈥�测别蝉,鈥� there is an effort to understand a need, 鈥渨e are trying to face up to it, deal with it, manage it, like everybody 鈥� it does not matter where you鈥檙e from, we鈥檙e all trying to manage our lives.鈥� Regarding the impact of the space, he continued, 鈥淭he impact for us as Black men is that it helps us to understand鈥� because we鈥檙e left asking our own questions if we can鈥檛 turn to anybody, or we find that there are doors that are closed that will not open. There鈥檚 a Nigerian saying, 鈥榳hen you haven鈥檛 got a way, you鈥檝e got to find a way.鈥欌��

The show鈥檚 cast is all male. Odunlami, the show鈥檚 associate director and the lone female panelist representing the production, said the focus for her was the impact of oral tradition and 鈥渉ow barber shops are spaces where stories, traditions, knowledge can be passed on across generations and, particularly when you are a part of the Diaspora, how few and far between those spaces are.鈥�

Dr. Cort asked the panelists to reflect on the Diaspora and immigration as a theme presented in the play. She said, 鈥淚t鈥檚 about leaving home and the loss you鈥檝e incurred when you leave, and the challenge that is present as we attempt to acculturate, assimilate, find a place to belong,鈥� and asked them to speak to that experience, personally or in their character portrayal.

All of the panelists said they grew up in London, but each spoke of connecting to different cultural identities through their parents and communities, and some referenced spaces where they felt 鈥渁t home.鈥� For Edusah, a barber shop was one such space.

鈥淭he barber shop was always a place, when I was growing up, I鈥檇 go and hang out 鈥� and I wouldn鈥檛 even get a haircut. It was a place where we could come and speak,鈥� he said. 鈥淏arbers were seen as the fathers in our neighborhood. I鈥檝e seen the same barber since I was about 4 years old and I see him more than I see some of my uncles. That shows the relationship, the bond, is strong and real.鈥�

He continued, 鈥淪ometimes you come to the barbershop as a place of refuge, as well as a place of enjoyment and banter and fun, it鈥檚 a place where real conversations are held, and people learn a lot in a barber shop 鈥� surprisingly.鈥�

Dr. Cort also asked the actors to reflect on 鈥渃hallenging socio-cultural topics鈥� explored in the play and what the reaction from audiences around the world has been as they, as actors, enter in to conversations that people feel uncomfortable discussing.

鈥淭his is a universal human story from an African perspective,鈥� Ofoegbu responded, adding that the story is mostly a reflection of what people talk about when they gather, which tends to be things they fear.

鈥溾��Fear about sexuality, color of skin, where you鈥檙e from鈥� we just have to see it for what it is,鈥� Ofoegbu said. 鈥淲hat鈥檚 lovely about this is that a story like this from this perspective is rarely seen, rarely told,鈥� but it鈥檚 a reminder that we 鈥渁re all human beings.鈥� He added, 鈥淲e have a lot of responsibility as actors, we have to hold up a mirror to show back to you that we鈥檙e all human beings. To remind you of what we all are.鈥�

Matt Kramer, research and writing specialist in the 91香蕉视频成人在线 Academic Resource Center, attended the show and the post-show discussion. In a comment , he called the experience 鈥渁 wonderful look at so many topics (father-child relationships, couples, generational differences, politics and culture) in an entertaining and illuminating fashion.鈥�

Barber Shop Chronicles will be presented at the American Repertory Theater through January 5. The production is the show鈥檚 penultimate stop on its North American premiere tour, which followed critically-acclaimed runs at London鈥檚 National Theatre and the West Yorkshire Playhouse. Tickets and information are available .

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