News

From February 26 to 28, Théâtre français de Toronto (TfT) presents Nzinga at the Theatre Centre. This work, co-produced by the Centre du Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui and the Montreal-based company La Sentinelle, is being staged as part of Black History Month. Only three public performances are scheduled—a unique opportunity to discover this production presented in French with English surtitles.

SYNOPSIS: Born in Congo, Tatiana Zinga Botao grew up in Brussels before moving to Quebec. As an adult, she discovers that she shares her name with a queen who ruled over a vast African territory in the 17th century. Alone on stage, the artist reconstructs the ancestral thread that connects her to her ancestor while following the Congo-Belgium-Canada triangle that she herself has traveled.

Written by Alexis Diamond, Marie Louise Bibish Mumbu, and Tatiana Zinga Botao, Nzinga explores with strength and sensitivity the notions of exile, sovereignty, legitimacy, and transmission. The work affirms a proud and dignified stance, while claiming the place of women—and particularly Black women—in spaces of power, memory, and creation.

A WORD FROM THE AUTHORS: It is a story of fusion and intertwining. It comes from the gut, it is organic. Our relationship preceded the project, and each of us made it our own. That is where its strength lies...

NZINGA, woman-Queen, woman-Sister, woman-Mother, woman-Citizen, speaks of sovereignty, legitimacy, choice, truths, posture, friendship, respect, judgments, sisterhood, and blind spots.

The show, its staging, and all the design work will give clues as to what the writing phase was like for the authors. We enjoyed being together, thinking together, raving together, dreaming together, questioning together, and finding solutions together.

We are NZINGA.
We are Queens.
We are one.

We move forward together, taking turns and pulling our weight.

There is no question of backing down.
There is no question of apologizing.
There is no question of justifying ourselves.

We are not artists hired to play stereotypes. We are not checkboxes on a form. We are neither shooting stars nor distant stars in the heavens. We are an integral part of the galaxy. We are here, we occupy space. Spaces...

— Les Trois Brodeuses (Alexis Diamond, Marie Louise Bibish Mumbu, and Tatiana Zinga Botao)

Text by Alexis Diamond and Marie Louise Bibish Mumbu, with the collaboration of Tatiana Zinga Botao | Directed by Albertine M. Itela | Assistant Director Josianne Dulong-Savignac | Set Design Xavier Mary | Lighting Valérie Bourque | Sound Environment Larsen Lupin | Video Joy Boissière | Costumes Ange Blédja Kouassi | Movement Claudia Chan Tak | Makeup Audrey Toulouse | Scenic Painting Véronique Pagnoux | Video Integration Vladimir Cara | **Stage Management **Ariane Brière | Production Management Marie Christine Martel | Technical Direction Xavier Côté

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

Dates and times of performances:
From February 26 to 28, 2026 at Theatre Centre (1115 Queen St W, Toronto, ON M6J 1J1).
Opening nights on Thursday, February 26 and Friday, February 27, 2026 at 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, February 28 at 3:00 p.m.
Running time: 70 minutes (no intermission)
Ticket prices: Regular: $60 | Seniors: $50 | Under 30 and Artists: $22.50 | Same-day last-minute tickets: $15, $20, or $25 | Group rate (8 or more): $20 per ticket
Box office: 416-534-6604 or theatrefrancais.com