Overview
In the early twentieth-century, Canada’s theatres were mostly controlled by Americans. As variety shows flooded these stages, new forms of blackface, inspired by modern forms of amusements, changed the theatre. In this era marked by progressive social reforms, the stage embodied the modern ethos of imitation, mimicry, and change. Staging Blackface in Canada covers a moment when Canadians did not produce professional theatre, but they built amusement parks, wrote songs, and produced records. As the stage (drama), and its variants (burlesque, light opera) adapted elements from the new stages (amusement parks, social dance, and film), the modern culture popularized forms of blackface that impacted white, Anglo-Protestant, and English-speaking audiences, and drew theatrical criticism. This book explores a twenty-year period in Canada’s history when there was no media regulation, and no mandate to promote Canadian culture. Through an examination of theatrical reviews, images, and textual records, Staging Blackface in Canada locates how the Canadian stage became a playground for ethnic jokes, racial caricature, and women’s emancipation. It also locates some of the first Black musicals and operas to appear on Canadian stages.
Full Product Details
Author: Cheryl Thompson
Publisher: Wilfrid Laurier University Press
Imprint: Wilfrid Laurier University Press
ISBN: 9781771127011
ISBN 10: 1771127015
Pages: 300
Publication Date: 14 April 2026
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
College/higher education
,
Professional & Vocational
,
Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming
Availability: Not yet available 
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Table of Contents
Prologue Introduction: Staging Blackface in Canada’s Modern Era Chapter 1: Free, Continuous and “High-Class” Vaudeville at Toronto’s Amusements, 1898–1910 Chapter 2: Black Vaudeville and Burlesque at Theatres: Salome, Oriental Operas, and the Integration of the Stage, 1898–1909 Chapter 3: American Syndicates, Jewish “Coon” Acts, and the Foreign Annexation of Canadian Stages, 1904–1913 Chapter 4: Ziegfeld Follies and Sound Recording Modernize the Musical with Imitation Songs, and Mimetic Dances in Toronto and Montreal, 1907–1919 Chapter 5: Amateur Blackface During World War One, and the Birth of a Nation at Home, 1914–1919 Conclusion Selected Bibliography
Reviews
Cheryl Thompson has written a nuanced and bold book about stagings of blackface, illustrating how dance, literature (including dramatic literature), theatre, film, performance, the co-performatives of cultural criticism, and anti-racist activism are all intertwined in the study of Black musical forms. Thompson's writing is both accessible and exquisite, making this book attractive to both scholarly and general readers. -- Vershawn Ashanti Young, Professor, Communication Arts & English Language and Literature, University of Waterloo
Author Information
Cheryl Thompson is author of Canada and the Blackface Atlantic: Performing Slavery, Conflict, and Freedom, 1812–1897 (2025), Uncle: Race, Nostalgia, and the Politics of Loyalty (2021) and Beauty in a Box: Detangling the Roots of Canada's Black Beauty Culture (2019). She holds a PhD in Communication Studies from McGill University.
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