Black female friendships take centre-stage in Vancouver performance of audio play by Aziza Barnes
The BLKS podcast is part of Us: A Black Peoples Month Festival

Dominique Wakeland. Photo by David Markwei
BLKS is playing as part of Us: A Black People’s Month Festival until the end of February at Ensemble Theatre Company.
BLKS IS A coming-of-age play by American poet Aziza Barnes all about Black female friendships. A celebration of the unshakeable relationships, the comedy covers everything from queer love to the pressures of adulting.
Directed by Gavan Cheema (associate artistic director of Theatre Conspiracy), this local performance features Shanique Kelly, aka Softieshan, a DJ, event producer, inclusion and equity consultant, and community organizer; performer, dramaturge, director, and drag artist Dominique Wakeland; South African-born multi-disciplinary artist Vuyo; and actor, writer, producer, and indie filmmaker Mariam Barry, the fest’s co-producer.
Us: A Black Peoples Month Festival, presented by Ensemble Theatre Company, is issuing new releases weekly throughout the month of February. Performances are free.
More information is at Ensemble Theatre Company.
Related Articles
Vancouver Writers Fest fundraiser features tastings from strong B.C. contingent, as well as Scottish distillers
Free offerings include a hockey talk led by sports journalists and a conversation with author Chelene Knight
A celebratory soirée at the Book Warehouse on May 22 honours authors across eight categories
The founding executive director of the Writers' Union of Canada and the Writers Development Trust was also founding president of Music on Main
The 2025 fest journeys from searing personal memoirs to hilariously neurotic short stories to a cookbook about modern Jewish cuisine
Lineup opens with memoirist Selina Robinson and closes with actor-comedian Brett Gelman of Stranger Things and Fleabag
Maya Arad and Eshkol Nevo will discuss their latest works
The neuroscientist, writer, and musician’s conversation with André Picard has musical interludes by Chor Leoni
New Westminster writer takes home award for young people’s literature—text with Crash Landing
Publication co-curated by Dana Claxton and Curtis Collins is accompanied by an exhibition at the Audain Art Museum in Whistler