TYSON'S SONG

"In the World Premiere of Tyson's Song, Bryan and Tyson are two best friends out on their 

last boys night out, but when the evening goes awry, the two Black men are compelled to 

examine their pasts, and the true bonds of their friendship. Tyson's Song examines 

he dominant thoughts surrounding Black masculinity, and mental health."

Tyson’s Song by Peter N. Bailey, presented by Pleiades Theatre, 

runs from April 24 to May 19, 2024in the Factory Studio Theatre (125 Bathurst St., Toronto, 

ON M5V 2R2). Tickets are pay-what-you-choose starting from $5.

Jamar Adams-Thompson and Kyle Brown take the stage for seventy five minutes and quickly 

develop an intimate rapport befitting best friends who find themselves at a crossroads in their 

young lives. Standing at a bus stop that becomes increasingly elusive as far as a bus actually arriving, 

the two young men share trials, tribulations, and the long history of support and camaraderie they are 

about to see change as they face growing up and out of particular environments they have inhabited for 

a substantial part of their lives.

Playwright Peter N. Bailey speaks eloquently of the discourse inhabited by these two strong 

yet vulnerable young men as he describes the impulse for writing the play;

I wrote Tyson's Song, because I believe there was a need for a new kind of conversation. I see 

more and more spaces being created by black men for the purpose of connecting with other

black men. There is a growing sense among us, I think, that recognizes our survival is

dependent on many things, but in this moment, maybe none more important than our ability

to create the kind of spaces and the relationships that allow us to acknowledge our vulnerability without 

the fear of it being used against us. Common's rhyme on "Real People" resounds in my mind

                                    I guess knowing' I'm weak is when I'm being' strong.

The strength, through deliberation, and compassion for each other, even in times of conflict, 

shines thorough in the perofmrnaues and the direction of this tightly staged piece that reveals, 

with subtlety, and nuance the ways in which these characters can only fully see each other 

once they reveal their deepest fears - standing at a bus stop, late at night, in a large conflicted city, 

waiting to find the complex, at time life-saving intersections in life, love, and friendship where 

they can unite and survive.

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Dora Award Winner for Outstanding Performance by an ensemble in" R + K in Action; 

and Moby: A Whale of a Tale; Dora Award Nomination for Outstanding Performance by 

an Ensemble in: Three Ordinary Men. Jamar Adams-Thompson is a Jamaican-Canadian actor 

and storyteller. He is a graduate of. the Acting Program at the University of Windsor and holds 

a BFA Honours degree. In his career thus far, he has worked alongside numerous artists and companies to tell exceptional stories. Select Theatre credits Othello, Beauty and the Beast (University Players), Moby: A Whale of a Tale (Pirate Life Theatre), and The Ruins of Zindor (Luminato Festival Toronto). Film Credits Include: Flee The Light, Black Liberators WWII and Youth Under Fire.

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Kyle Brown is a Trinidadian-Canadian actor/singer. He studied Gospel/Improvisational 

Music and Biblical Studies at Gateway College is St. Louis MO- touring the United States 

with the college choir and ensemble. He recently spent a year overseas 

touring the Australian national production of Come From Away.