Talawa celebrates its 35th anniversary with a fantastic season of work

The UK’s outstanding Black British theatre company, Talawa, celebrates its 35th anniversary with a new season of work showcasing unmissable established and emerging talent.

Their forward-looking anniversary season includes works-in-progress by promising writers, the company’s first outdoor production, the return of one of the company’s most innovative shows and a  production that lost out on its original staging due to the pandemic.  

Talawa’s Artistic Director and Joint CEO, Michael Buffong said: “We’ve learned a lot through  the pandemic. We know that there are stories which can be told in many different ways, so we  will experiment with livestreaming and digital capture through this season so that Black work by vital, passionate and intelligent storytellers can be experienced by everyone, everywhere  and on-demand.” 

Talawa’s Executive Director and Joint CEO, Carolyn ML Forsyth added: “We’ve placed audience  development and community engagement at the heart of our programme. We're focused on launching in Croydon and talking to our communities nationwide, building towards UK wide activities over the next four years. It’s an exciting time to be at Talawa!”

Talawa Stories kicked off the anniversary season in May with broadcasts on BBC Radio 4 of  three original plays by three promising young writers, Sian Davila, Charles Entsie and Roberta  Livingston, which can still be listened to via the Talawa website.

Talawa Firsts, the stage for fresh Black creative voices, will present more new work by some of the most exciting British writers this July and pay-what-you-can booking opens soon. Alongside the staged readings of new work, Talawa Firsts will offer opportunities and workshops for Black artists, creatives and communities to learn about and  explore theatre making. 

The first staged readings will be on Thursday 8 July with new work by Manchester-based  playwright and film-maker William Nyerere Plastow and writer, performer and long-standing Talawa artist, Natasha Marshall. In Terror Management Theory, Plastow traces the cracks in  the marriage of businesswoman Violet and ex-soldier Chris when Violet’s abusive ex boyfriend Kwame comes to dinner with an unexpected guest. With The Smiley Show,  Marshall takes us into Mr and Mrs Smiley’s happy life with their daughter, Lucky. But things  are far from perfect: a clown keeps appearing to tell Lucky twisted fairy tales and leading her  to believe things aren’t what they seem.  

On Thursday 15 July, the new plays from Manchester-based writer, performance artist and producer, Keisha Thompson and writer and producer Juliana Ayeni Stevens will have their staged readings. Thompson’s 14% follows Nadia and Tony as they attempt to quantify their  Britishness in a spiralling double narrative set within a claustrophobic train carriage. Ayeni Stevens’ Work This Pussy introduces us to Kitz, a Black British Nigerian who is proud to be  from Essex and is unafraid to talk about her sexuality, her childhood, her culture and her  faith. After years of suppressing her sexual identity, she's on a path to tackle those cultural,  social and religious conditions to finally face who she really is. But how real is her life?  

In August, Talawa brings back The Tide for their first outdoor production. An artistic collaboration between choreographer Jade Hackett and writer Ryan Calais Cameron, The Tide explores the narratives and experiences of migration within the United Kingdom whilst holding a mirror up to an evolving British culture. The Tide is a Talawa Theatre Company,  FESTIVAL.ORG, and Breakin’ Convention co-production and is supported by Without Walls.  Having wowed festival audiences in 2019, The Tide will play in Croydon and at  Greenwich+Docklands International Festival, with full details to be announced soon. 

Bringing rave to theatre, Talawa’s revival of Run It Back will run from 2-18 September at  Fairfield Halls. Set in an explosive club night, Run It Back immerses the audience in Black  British club culture with dance, physical theatre and a live set from DJ and turntablist, Psykhomantus. Conceived and directed by Coral Messam, it was created with Gail Babb and  co-devised by TYPT:18. Booking will open in July 2021.  

This autumn, Talawa and Park Theatre present their co-production of Archie Maddocks’ A  Place for We, directed by Michael Buffong. Set in a funeral parlour in Brixton, A Place for We tells the story of London’s changing communities over three very different generations. In the  wake of the Windrush scandal, Archie Maddocks’ bittersweet comedy holds a mirror up to the ever-changing face of London’s communities in search of their common beating heart. A  Place for We will be presented at Park Theatre this autumn. Full details to follow. 

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