Episode 48 — Black on trial: The journey of tackling tokenism in theatre

An interview with two actors currently on stage at the Stratford Festival's 2023 season. They're performing in two plays: Much Ado About Nothing as well as King Lear. Austin Eckert is a Nigerian-Canadian actor from Regina, Saskatchewan. He went to college in Victoria, BC at the Canadian College of Performing Arts. He has been working in theatre, film and television for the past eight years. This is his second season at Stratford. Also joining the conversation is Andre Sills. Andre is a Guyanese-Canadian veteran actor and producer. This is his ninth season at Stratford since his debut in 2005. He's a graduate of George Brown College's Theatre program. During this engaging exchange, we delve into the pressures of striving for excellence at all times and the dream of being allowed to fail in a world where tokenism has too often straight-jacketed the evolution of Black stage performers.