After months of being closed, the Anvil Centre is thrilled to raise the curtain, light up the stage and present the premiere of Hey Viola!, a musical exploration of Canadian Civil Rights hero, Viola Desmond, performed from Oct. 15 – 25. Set in a cabaret style, this show could not be more relevant in this time of Civil Rights, Black Lives Matter, and Women’s Rights movements.

But who is Viola Desmond…? other than the newest face on Canada’s ten-dollar bill. She is best known for her courage in refusing to leave the whites-only section of Nova Scotia’s Roseland cinema in 1946, a decision that made history, but she was also a feminist and beauty product icon. What was the fire within this successful black Canadian businesswoman that gave her the courage and confidence to stand up to systemic racial injustices in Canada?

In Hey Viola!, Vancouver songstress and performer Krystle Dos Santos, with the support of local musicians Chris Davis, Steven Charles and Mary Ancheta, brings the life of Viola Desmond to the stage using the dynamic and inspirational music that filled the home of this trailblazer of the civil rights movement.