From Thursday, July 3 to Sunday, July 13, 2025 – The Walking Griot, a TYA* collective for Black children and youth, brings its joyous new show LULU to the 2025 Toronto Fringe Festival. A music-filled adventure into a world of mythic creatures, young Lulu is running out of time to save her ailing grandmother. Presented at Soulpepper Theatre’s Tank House Theatre in the Distillery Historic District.
A quest into a mystical folk realm to save an ailing grandmother
Unbeknownst to 10-year-old Lulu Kromanti, she’s about to embark on a life-altering journey. With her grandmother in the hospital and her estranged father back in town, Lulu finds herself in the company of Anansi, a mythic trickster. Needing to find the key to save her grandmother’s life as she knows it, Lulu arrives in the mystical folk realm, a world on the verge of collapse, where she encounters beings she’s only heard about in stories – learning lessons from them as she grows in her understanding of her family and herself. Through many musical dub-filled twists and turns, Lulu discovers much about her ancestral lineage and cultural heritage. But with time running out, will she discover the hidden secrets – or will everything be lost forever?
Inspired by the essence of Jamaican poet, folklorist, actress, writer, educator and activist Louise Bennett-Coverley, LULU takes us into a world of Afro-Caribbean folklore, legacy and ancestry. Featuring familiar characters such as ‘Anansi’, ‘La Diablesse’ and ‘Rolling Calf’, it’s a tale of self-discovery, cultural inheritance and the highest stakes as the welfare of Lulu’s family hangs in the balance. Told through a myriad of dialogue, songs, movement and dub, it’s a story that’s evocative and familiar, for folks of all ages to enjoy.
Featuring an all-Black cast of talent from across the Caribbean
Written and produced by Sashoya Simpson, the recent recipient of the inaugural 2025 Che Kothari Artist & Instigator Award, as well as a Johanna Metcalf Performing Arts protégé prize – and directed by celebrated Jamaican dubpoet, three-time Dora Award winner and recent recipient of the Johanna Metcalf Performing Art Prize, d’bi.young anitafrika – LULU is a play that’s as timely as it is urgent.
The cast includes Leilani Ragobeer, Najla Nubyanluv, KayGeni, David Delisca, Danielle Grant, Kabrena Robinson and Tasha Gray, with choreography by Ern in Motion.
“A truly beautiful, powerful and impactful piece of theatre”
– Steel City Reviews
About The Walking Griot
The Walking Griot** is a collective dedicated to the facilitation and production of art and programs about Afro-Caribbean culture geared towards young Black audiences and communities. Created to fill a gap within the Toronto theatre community, it’s a space for Black children to engage with stories that are rooted in their cultural mythology, Caribbean knowledge systems and embodied experiences. The stories they create are interwoven with cultural and traditional elements, and invite audiences into African and Caribbean culture, while creating art that (re)connects and educates, and keeping culture and traditional storytelling art forms alive. While living in underserved communities, it’s a vital goal for them to bring theatre to those areas so that children and youth can participate – not just as audience members, but be their own creators and storytellers. Read more about them here.
* Theatre for young audiences.
** A griot is a West African travelling poet, storyteller, musician and keeper of oral history.
(Photo credits: Najla Nubyanluv, from the 2024 Hamilton Fringe Festival presentation of LULU at The Westdale Theatre. Photographer: Selina McCallum. Photo on the Events page by Sashoya Simpson, featuring herself.)
Event details
Presented by: The Walking Griot
Type of event: panto-dub theatre performance
Written & produced by: Sashoya Simpson
Directed by: d’bi.young anitafrika
Choreography by: Ern in Motion
Cast: Leilani Ragobeer, Najla Nubyanluv, KayGeni, David Delisca, Danielle Grant, Kabrena Robinson & Tasha Gray. Read about the cast here.
Dates & times: Performances take place throughout the Toronto Fringe Festival – which runs from Wednesday, July 2 to Sunday, July 13, 2025 – at various times and dates:
- Thursday, July 3 @ 6:00 PM ET
- Friday, July 4 @ 9:45 PM ET
- Saturday, July 5 @ 7:30 PM ET (Black Out performance)***
- Wednesday, July 9 @ 1:45 PM ET
- Thursday, July 10 @ 9:45 PM ET
- Saturday, July 12 @ 12:30 PM ET
- Sunday, July 13 @ 7:30 PM ET
*** Black Out performances are reserved for audience members who identify as Black, African, Caribbean, mixed, biracial, multi-racial, Afro-Indigenous or of African descent.
Latecomers will only be admitted into the theatre within the first 15 minutes of the performance. Re-entry will be permitted.
Duration: 60 minutes (no intermission)
Cost: C$15.00 plus fees, with discounts for kids and pass holders. The performance on July 9th is Pay-What-You-Can (PWYC).
Location: Soulpepper Theatre, Tank House Theatre, 50 Tank House Lane, Distillery Historic District, Toronto, ON, M5A 3C4, Canada
Video: Watch the recap video, featuring show excerpts & audience responses.
Booking link: Book your tickets here.
Contact details: The Walking Griot, Sashoya Simpson, sashoya@thewalkinggriot.com, thewalkinggriot.com
Content warning: This is a young audience production for anyone ages 8 and up.
Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible venue. The Tank House Theatre is located on the main floor at the back right of the main lobby. Accessible seating is located in the front row. Chairs can be removed or rearranged to accommodate mobility devices as needed. Venue access guide.