Bill Pinkney and I decided to found a Fan Club for Shelley Hamilton after hearing her singing two nights ago. Shelley was invited by Joe Sealy to participate as vocalist in his Africville Suite Concert. That night we saw a stunning jazz diva...her voice enchanted both of us, and I am sure we were not alone with those feelings in the packed Neptune Theatre in downtown Halifax.

Tonight Shelley Hamilton proved to be a supreme chameleon. Somehow she managed to transform her glamorous looks into dramatic roles of an Africville teacher and a real slave - Lydia in "A New Hope", a one-woman play based on the historical accounts of John Clarkson's mission to improve the conditions of the Black Loyalists in Nova Scotia and organizing the fleet that departed to Sierra Leone in 1792.

  Shelley, through the voices of the characters from the past, told us of their hardships and hopes for a better life. She presented the skills of those dramatic performers who are often revered for their 'range' - actors blessed with the talent to become various characters on stage not just to play them. Within a few seconds, Shelley, by removing her shoes and wrapping herself in an apron, was changing herself on stage from a warm Africville mother and teacher into Lydia Jackson, a battered and abused women from 225 years ago.

Listen to Captain Bill Pinkney's recommendation recorded just two hours after we left the tent where Shelley Hamilton performed her magic on an improvised stage in Seaview Park...excuse me, in Africville!

You can still see the play!

Don't miss the following performances of A New Hope by Shelley Hamilton in Halifax:

• Tuesday, July 29th - 7:30 p.m. at Maritime Museum of Atlantic
• Wednesday, July 30th -  7:00 p.m. at Bus Stop Theatre
• Thursday, July 31st - 7:00 p.m. at Black Cultural Centre.

Visit Shelley Hamilton website

Listen to her latest composition Connected

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