Celebrating African and Black theatre traditions through performance, education, and community engagement in British Columbia.
Celebrating African and Black theatre traditions through performance, education, and community engagement in British Columbia.
Providing vibrant and culturally rich performances that bring African storytelling to life, creating memorable experiences for our audiences.
A resource for knowledge about African and Black culture and theatre, fostering a deeper appreciation for diversity and heritage.
Akofena Afro-Theatre Society is dedicated to bringing African and Black theatre and performance traditions to educate, entertain, and inform our British Columbia audience.
Through our performances, we celebrate cultural heritage, foster understanding, and build connections within our community.
We are passionate about sharing stories that reflect African and Black experiences, engaging audiences with vibrant performances that create lasting impacts and encourage cultural appreciation.
Our storytelling focuses on African folklore and real-life experiences to pass on cultural knowledge and values.
We celebrate traditional African and Black dances, expressing our culture and community spirit through movement.
Our theatre performances portray stories that explore African and Black heritage, social issues, and community life. Our performance style is the African Total Theatre form. It integrates indigenous African music and dance, storytelling, and drama.
Black Futures + Ananse Tales: Diasporic Storytelling in Motion
Akofena Afro-Theatre Society is proud to collaborate with the Museum of Anthropology (MOA), UBC, on Black Futures + Ananse Tales: Diasporic Storytelling in Motion — a vibrant celebration of African and diasporic storytelling through performance.
Ananse the Spider is more than a trickster. He is a cultural archivist, a philosopher of survival, and a master weaver of stories that have travelled across Africa and the Black diaspora for generations. In this event, Ananse tales are activated through movement, music, voice, and embodied storytelling — reminding us that these stories are not relics of the past, but living knowledge systems.
RSVP and join us on Thursday, February 5, 2026, for a thrilling night.
Tickets will be sold at the gate.
Through a Film Darkly by Joe de Graft | Directed by Stephen Yaw Oppong
Anvil Theatre, 777 Columbia St. New Westminster | July 24–26 at 7:30 PM | July 27 at 3:00 PM (with Talk-Back Session)
Set in post-independence Ghana, Joe de Graft’s powerful drama “Through a Film Darkly” explores identity, belonging, and the lingering shadows of colonialism.
Centered on the marriage between Janet, a young English woman, and her Ghanaian husband Fenyinka, the play examines interracial relationships, xenophobia, and the struggle to belong in a society shaped by history. With sharp dialogue and emotional depth, the story unfolds as a deeply personal and political exploration of how we see—and fail to see—each other through the lens of our pasts.
This timely revival, directed by Stephen Yaw Oppong, promises a compelling and thought-provoking theatrical experience that resonates far beyond its historical setting.
This theatre production is proudly funded by the Foundation for Black Communities (FFBC) and the Government of Canada (Canadian Heritage) through the Black Ideas Grant 2.0.
Admission is free. Register to attend.
To support future productions like this, donations are welcome and can be sent via e-transfer to: [email protected].
If you want to get in touch with us or learn about our programs, contact us
Support this mission of celebrating African and Black culture through theatre.
Your contribution allows us to educate, entertain, and inspire our community.