It’s Carlos and Marta’s twelfth wedding anniversary, yet while Marta yearns to tango, Carlos insists on the comfort of routine. As their story unfolds through a mosaic of memories, we see what began as a blissful courtship quickly descend into a pas de deux of possession, control, and resentment orchestrated by Carlos. But like a dancer ensnared in an unyielding abrazo, Marta must battle with herself to finally break free.

A story about many women told by many voices, Happy Anniversary is an unflinching portrayal of the insidious violence that can infiltrate relationships disguised as love. It sheds light on the silent battles waged at home, giving voice to the countless women who endure the painful dance of domestic abuse.

Hailing from Brazil, Vanessa Cardoso Whelan is a playwright, multidisciplinary artist, street performer, and clown with a passion for contemporary theatre and body movement awareness, especially related to Flamenco dancing. Graduating in Theatre Arts in 2004, she has performed with several artistic groups on stage and in street productions as an actress, Flamenco dancer, puppeteer, and fire-flow dancer. Vanessa has been actively engaged in the local arts scene since moving to Newfoundland in 2014. She likes to give her art back to the community, doing volunteer performances for new Canadians/refugees and non-profit organizations. Because of that and other achievements, Vanessa received the 2023 Inspiring Immigrant Woman Award from the We Care Foundation. Always inspired by nature, Vanessa loves the mountains on the west coast of Newfoundland. It reminds her of home.

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Sobia Shaheen Shaikh is a faculty member at the School of Social Work, Memorial University of Newfoundland. Dr. Shaikh’s community-engaged scholarship works to redress racisms, Islamophobia, sexism, ableism, environmental degradation and other interlocking relations of oppression within universities, non-profit organizations and local communities. Dr. Shaikh brings a critical lens to a range of scholarship which explores the subjectivity and motherwork of women and girls who have experienced intimate partner violence; relocation in northern and rural communities; and the everyday work of parents vis-à-vis individualized education plans in K-12 schools.

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