Brampton playwright d’bi.young anitafrika named runner-up for $75,000 Siminovitch Prize

Playwright and Brampton’s own d’bi.young anitafrika has been named runner up for the coveted Siminovitch Prize, Canada’s largest theatre purse.

Awarded to the artist whose work helps transform the country’s theatre scene, d’bi.young anitafrika was shortlisted for the $75,000 prize in October along with St. John’s artist Berni Stapleton, Francophone playwright Mishka Lavigne of Gatineau and David Yee of Toronto.

Yee took the prize with the jury praising his artistic range and the way he’s opened doors for talent in the Asian Canadian community, while d’bi.young anitafrika was named a runner-up with a prize of $5,000.

In addition, each runner-up will also choose an emerging artist to receive $5,000.

Creating work that centres Black queer feminist theatrical forms, d’bi.young anitafrika has also dedicated time and energy to mentoring other theatre artists.

“Throughout the last twenty-five years, d’bi.young has written poetry, created plays, published books, developed a decolonial framework and founded Black-queer-feminist initiatives such as fiwi aat space, anitafrika dub theatre, Spolrusie Press, Watah Theatre and Ubuntu! Decolonial Arts Centre,” reads the biography on their website.

The Siminovitch Prize rotates on a three-year cycle, recognizing professionals in the alternating fields of theatre design, direction and playwriting.

With files from The Canadian Press