The Flight show poster

The Flight

February 10–18 2023, Mainspace Theatre

Running Time: 75 minutes (no intermission)

Written and Performed by Beryl Bain
Directed by Marcel Stewart

The Flight, a new work by acclaimed theatre artist Beryl Bain, explores the ground-breaking life of aviation pioneer Bessie Colman – the first African-American woman and the first Native-American to hold an international pilot’s license.

Rising above economic obstacles and social barriers in the Roaring ’20s, she earned the nickname “Brave Bessie” and even her dreams were quite literally sky high. From flight school in Paris to spectacular barnstorming shows, Bessie dazzled audiences with her bravery, beauty, and technological mastery.

The Flight evokes Bessie’s unshakable optimism, her determination, her vision, and the indomitable self confidence that led her to soar above the clouds, reaching ever closer to the sun.



COVID-19 Protocols at Factory

Please visit our COVID-19 page to view the current protocols in place at Factory.

The wearing of a mask is strongly encouraged for all performances. 

MASKED PERFORMANCES (The following performances will require all audiences members to be masked while inside the building and for the duration of the performance):

  • Thursday February 16 at 7:30PM
  • Friday February 17 at 7:30PM


About the Playwright/Performer

Beryl Bain

Beryl Bain is a first time playwright, long time actress, and a dilettante who loves to travel. Selected theatre credits: Mother’s Daughter (Soulpepper), Bronte: A World Without, Paradise Lost, A Comedy of Errors (Stratford Festival), How Black Mothers Say I Love You (Factory Theatre/Girls In Bow Ties), The Mountaintop (Grand Theatre), A Christmas Carol (Theatre Northwest), The Living by Colleen Wagner (Summerworks 2015), Complex (Summerworks, 2014), The Mountaintop (Theatre Calgary- Betty Mitchell Award Nomination, Calgary Critics
Award Nomination 2014), Dirty Butterfly, (Bound To Create/Obsidian Theatre-Critic’s Pick, NOW Magazine), Nadia in Awake (Expect Theatre), Race, (Theatre Yes), The Women, Born Yesterday, The Stepmother, After The Dance (Shaw Festival), The Little Prince (Grand Theatre). Film/TV: Caught in the Act (webseries), Suits, Awake (Best Actress Nomination, Miami Urban Film Festival), Rogue,Warehouse 13, Ubisoft: Far Cry 5 B.F.A York University.


About the Director

Marcel Stewart

Marcel Stewart is a father, artist, facilitator, dope wordsmith, and arts administrator who loves vacuuming the house while listening to the soundtrack to Waiting to Exhale. Marcel serves as Artistic Director of bcurrent Performing Arts and as an Artistic Associate for SpiderWebShow Performance. Marcel also sits on the Board of Directors for Essential Collective Theatre. He has worked with Soulpepper, Factory Theatre, Thousand Islands Playhouse, Obsidian Theatre, Suitcase in Point, The Theatre Centre, The Blyth Festival, Festival Players, Studio 180, The Grand Theatre, Persephone, Theatre Direct, Carousel Players, and Atlas Stage. He was the founding youth development coordinator for Shakespeare in the Ruff. When he is not creating theatre, Marcel is an arts educator who has facilitated programming to community youth groups, professional actors, students in university, high school, and elementary. He has taught theatre performance to students at Brock University and Carlton University. He was a member of the Soulpepper Academy and completed the Theatre Enhancement Program (as a Directing Foreman) through Factory Theatre. Marcel has directed the podcast play Toronto Pigeons (Factory Theatre); the digital play Meet Chloe (Carousel Players) and the live theatre production of Serving Elizabeth (Thousand Islands Playhouse). Currently, Marcel is developing an immersive audio theatrical series. Loosely based on his dad’s life in Jamaica, the story weaves together themes of home, grief, family, and the influence of Caribbean mythology. Inspired by the teachings of d’bi young anitafrika, Marcel often returns to the questions: Who am I? How am I? How did I get here? Who have I lost? What is my purpose?