(Montreal) A highly controversial children’s puppet show in February continues to be performed in the Montreal area.
Several black organizations criticized the play — The Incredible Blackbeard Secret — because the puppet used by the artist reminded them of the shows of yore presented by white actors who blackened their faces.
These criticisms surprised the author of the show, the storyteller Franck Sylvestre, a Black. He defends himself by saying that the controversial puppet represents a caricature of himself. According to him, her detractors would not have judged her to be racist if they had seen the show.
Mr. Sylvestre says he has no intention of modifying his puppet. He does not accept the idea that he cannot create a caricature of a person who is Black because racists have created caricatures of Black people in the past.
“It’s unheard of for an artist,” he says.
A presentation of the play had been canceled in Beaconsfield after complaints from black groups. In Pointe-Claire, it remained on the schedule, even though the authorities withdrew it from the official programming of Black History Month. It will be presented starting Sunday in Laval. Mr. Sylvestre must then fly away for a tour of France. The piece will be performed there at least 30 times.
The play was written in 2009. It is aimed at children aged five to nine. Mr. Sylvestre says he had never received a complaint about him until February.
The author seeks to tell the story of a young Martinican who came to settle in Montreal – Franck Sylvestre is from this Caribbean island – at the request of his dying grandfather. This one remains haunted by a mysterious wooden chest which would have links with the pirate Blackbeard.
Max Stanley Bazin, president of the Quebec Black Coalition, describes the puppet as “very, very, very, ugly”. He fears that this depiction of a black man will cause emotional wounds to a young audience.
“It will affect them. It will have effects on the minds of young people who see it. And that’s what we have to think about. »
Mr. Bazin maintains that people are more ready to denounce racism than they were in 2009. According to him, Mr. Sylvestre should listen to his community and replace the puppet with a less controversial creation.
“If there are people who say it’s not good, we have to react. »
Philipe Howard, a professor at McGill University, can swear that the puppet is an example of blackfacebut that is not the point.
“It’s really about representation and the potential use of monstrous and grotesque depictions of black people as sources of entertainment and even humor,” he said.
According to him, the intentions of the artist are less important than the repercussions of a performance on an audience.
“A lot of people are reacting and saying they don’t like it, they don’t think it right, and they’re especially upset about it during Black History Month.”
Mr. Sylvestre maintains that many of the people who criticized him have not even seen the play.
It is up to the community to see the purpose of these cartoons. Do they denigrate blacks, like the blackface ? Or, as in my case, do they raise them? In my opinion, the puppet is a strong character. And when I created it, I was inspired by myself.
Frank Sylvester
He compares his puppet named Max to “a great sage” whose interventions allow a happy conclusion to the story.
“Max is the voice of reason, the one who advises us, the one who laughs at me when I make a bad decision, the one who is above me. »
Cheryl Thompson of Toronto Metropolitan University, who admits to disliking puppetry, says an artist should be prepared to discuss their choices with the public, especially if their story is different from theirs.
“Why doesn’t this person at least try to hear the voices of people whose experience is different from his? »