Identity: a song cycle Dinuk Wijeratne
Against the Grain Theatre

An artistic exploration of Self

In early June 2020, Torontonian and baritone Elliot Madore opened up on social media about his struggles with “unabashedly expressing [his] identity” as a biracial person.

Director Joel Ivany and Elliot Madore came together to find a way to present to the Canadian arts community the universal themes behind Madore’s moving Instagram post. In collaboration with genre-bending composer Dinuk Wijeratne and acclaimed poet Shauntay Grant, AtG and Madore will present a song cycle that sets new and original Canadian poetry to music that fuses classical music with an array of influences.

Presented at Toronto’s iconic El Mocambo, Identity combines jazz and western classical traditions with personal narratives, exploring how we choose to define ourselves. This world premiere expands upon AtG’s original 2022 Identity film project with new songs and staging.

Identity will have three performances on May 22nd, 23rd, and 24th, 2025 at 7:30 pm.