Oreo, coconut, Bounty Bar — micro-aggressions used to disempower a black person deemed to be 'acting white'.

Donning a camouflage of Oreo-filling, Tania explores the masks we wear to put our heads above the parapet in a climate of systemic racism.

Access

Time: Friday 15 October 2021, 7.30pm to approximately 8.30pm.

Location: STUN Studio at Z-arts, 335 Stretford Road, Manchester, M15 5ZA.

Ticketing: book a space here on Eventbrite, Pay What You Decide via PayPal.

Age Advisory: 16+ (parental/guardian discretion).

Content Warnings: includes an archive recording of a speech by Diane Abbott where she uses a term that may offend, for specific warnings please click here.

Features: live + recorded audio, spoken word, and choreographed movement.

For specific access queries please get in touch by emailing info@habmcr.org

About

A semi-autobiographical solo about being a successfully educated black woman within western society, Oreo interrogates racial micro-aggressions and their effect on mental health within private and public personas — focusing on public figures such as British MP Diane Abbott + Portuguese politician Joacine Katar Moreira.

Exploring the racial term ‘Oreo’ in relation to experiences of episodic racism within higher education and employment, Tania challenges the notion of whitening her physical and phenomenal self to achieve success in society.

Oreo developed from, and is inspired by, difficult conversations and the complexities of what it means to be black in Great Britain. As a black EU national living in the UK, Tania uses Oreo to investigate the mechanisms of survival black women use to protect themselves and endure the current hostile times.

Artist

A Manchester-based solo performance artist, Tania works across devised theatre, dance, site-specific, live art, installation, video + photography. A graduate of the University of Amsterdam with an MA, she uses her cultural heritage, past experiences, research, and the interdisciplinary structure of Batuku (including singing, dancing, drums + spoken word).

Tania’s current practice focuses on personal accounts of memory, collective and ancestral, to uncover her racial and cultural identity; the concept of self and other; belonging and the black performing body.

Tania is a member of In Between Time’s Creative Exchange Lab + The Lowry’s Class of 2020.

Reviews

★★★★ A tour de force of a performance …utterly compelling. — The Grouchy Critic on Oreo at HOME

Captivating and thought provoking. Food for thought. — Number 9 Reviews on Oreo at HOME

Brave thoughtful piece… Gutsy, moving… Unsettling and joyful. — Audience Response to Oreo Variations

Credits

Creator, Performer, Producer: Tania Camara

Dance Mentor: Pape Ibrahima N’diaye (a.k.a. Kaolack)

Director: Peader Kirk

Original Oreo Lighting Designer: Kamini Patel

Image by Ricardo Vilela at Sagitta Media.

Oreo commissioned by STUN (Sustained Theatre Up North), developed with the support of HOME, Divergency + hÅb. Supported using public funding from the National Lottery through Arts Council England. The Oreo Suite, a digital version, supported by In Between Time’s Seed Fund for artists.

Oreo by Tania Camara