A Crowd of Shadows: Performances, Protests, Streets and Stages.

This article examines the intertwined histories of Black consciousness and antiblackness in Montreal's theatre scene, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests. It argues that longstanding, embodied, and spatially ingrained paradigms of antiblackness have shaped Quebecois theatrical spaces and cultural practices for centuries, manifesting in incidents such as blackface performances and the marginalization of Black artists. The study highlights the role of Montreal theatres as contested sites where racism and resistance coexist, using performance studies methodologies and visual archives like David K. Ross's photographic series *A Crowd of Shadows*. It also foregrounds the Black Theatre Workshop, Canada's oldest Black professional theatre company, as a key agent of Black artistic expression and activism within predominantly white Quebecois cultural institutions. The article situates these theatrical dynamics within broader socio-political contexts, including Quebec's linguistic identity politics, colonial legacies, and urban protest movements, emphasizing the ongoing challenges and resistances related to race, representation, and cultural memory in Quebec's performing arts landscape.