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Black Matters: Baybra’s Tulips; Begetters; Motherson

Black Matters: Lewis Morrow Plays is a play anthology that maps the impact of emotional, social, cultural, and economic forces that shape the quality of African American life in the 21st century. Focusing on the narratives of Black men and women carrying the hopes and dreams of a generation, Morrow writes stories of dreams deferred, lives incarcerated, and families broken by circumstance who strive to beat the stereotypes of Blackness. Bending time to create hyperreal poetic engagements with anti-Blackness and systemic racism, Morrow questions who has the audacity of hope while living within circumstances that anticipate premature death. Morrow's poignant characters speak truth to power directly from their hearts as they present as unapologetically Black in a world that is indifferent to, and fatigued by, claims of racism and inequality. Baybra's Tulips: Baybra, a recently rereleased convict, returns home to live with sister Tallulah and her husband Charles under the pretence of rehabilitation but with the objective to avenge his sister's spousal abuse by his brother-in-law that resulted in the loss of her child. Begetters: Explores generational inheritance of trauma focusing on husband and wife, Spicer and Norma, in the twilight years of their marriage, and their descent into darkness and therapy after the loss of a family memberMother/son: A dark dramedy about a white mother who is in denial about her racist perspective and her cocaine addiction. Forced to get clean, she comes to live with her Black son (mixed race) who is reluctant to invest in her latest efforts to get clean in the converging pandemics of BLM and Covid.

Black Lives, Black Words: 32 Short Plays (Oberon Modern Playwrights)

Do Black Lives Matter? Selected and edited by the award winning American playwright Reginald Edmund, who produced Black Lives, Black Words across the US, which premiered in Chicago, July 2015. The international project has explored the black diaspora’s experiences in some of the largest multicultural cities in the world, Chicago, Minneapolis, Cleveland, Toronto and London. Over sixty Black writers from the UK, USA, and Canada have each written a short play to address Black issues today. Featured in this collection are: Reginald Edmund, Idris Goodwin, James Austin, Williams, Rachel Dubose, Becca C. Browne, Marsha Estell, Aaron Holland, Loy A. Webb, Lisa Langford, Christina Ham, Harrison David Rivers, Dominique Morisseau, Winsome Pinnock, Trish Cooke, Mojisola Adebayo, Rachel De-Lahay, Max Kolaru, Yolanda Mercy, Somalia Seaton, Courttia Newland, Luke Reece, Tawiah BenEben, M’Carthy Kanika Ambrose. Jordan Laffrenier. Meghan Swaby. Mary Ann Anane. Allie Woodson. Elliot Sagay. Amira Danan. Cat Davidson. Noelle Fourte and Kori Alston

Black Jesus (Modern Plays)

And do you know why I was called by that name? Because I decided who would be saved and who would be condemned. I took that responsibility for others and now I take it for myself. I am Black Jesus. I do not crawl.Zimbabwe. 2015. The Mugabe Government has fallen and investigations into its abuses have begun. Eunice Ncube, working for the new Truth and Justice Commission, begins the interviewing of Gabriel Chibamu, one of the most infamous perpetrators of the horrors of the Mugabe regime. As Gabriel's trial and inevitable prosecution approach, Eunice begins to sift through the past – only to find that right and wrong, and guilt and innocence, are far less clear than she first thought . . . This stunning new play by Finborough Theatre Playwright-in-Residence, and one of the UK's leading political playwrights, Anders Lustgarten, is more urgent than ever. Black Jesus unpicks the political complexities of Zimbabwe through the devastating personal journeys of two very different people, both scarred by one of Africa's most notorious dictatorships.

Black Jesus: A Day At The Racists; If You Don't Let Us Dream, We Won't Let You Sleep; Black Jesus; Shrapnel-34 Fragments Of A Massacre; Kingmakers; The Insurgents (Modern Plays)

And do you know why I was called by that name? Because I decided who would be saved and who would be condemned. I took that responsibility for others and now I take it for myself. I am Black Jesus. I do not crawl.Zimbabwe. 2015. The Mugabe Government has fallen and investigations into its abuses have begun. Eunice Ncube, working for the new Truth and Justice Commission, begins the interviewing of Gabriel Chibamu, one of the most infamous perpetrators of the horrors of the Mugabe regime. As Gabriel's trial and inevitable prosecution approach, Eunice begins to sift through the past – only to find that right and wrong, and guilt and innocence, are far less clear than she first thought . . . This stunning new play by Finborough Theatre Playwright-in-Residence, and one of the UK's leading political playwrights, Anders Lustgarten, is more urgent than ever. Black Jesus unpicks the political complexities of Zimbabwe through the devastating personal journeys of two very different people, both scarred by one of Africa's most notorious dictatorships.

Black British Women's Theatre: Intersectionality, Archives, Aesthetics

This book marks a significant methodological shift in studies of black British women’s theatre: it looks beyond published plays to the wealth of material held in archives of various kinds, from national repositories and themed collections to individuals’ personal papers. It finds there a cache of unpublished manuscripts and production recordings distinctive for their non-naturalistic aesthetics. Close analysis of selected works identifies this as an intersectional feminist creative practice. Chapters focus on five theatre companies and artists, spanning several decades: Theatre of Black Women (1982-1988), co-founded by Booker Prize-winning writer Bernardine Evaristo; Munirah Theatre Company (1983-1991); Black Mime Theatre Women’s Troop (1990-1992); Zindika; and SuAndi. The book concludes by reflecting on the politics of representation, with reference to popular postmillennial playwright debbie tucker green. Drawing on new interviews with the playwrights/practitioners and their peers, this book assembles a rich, interconnected, and occasionally corrective history of black British women’s creativity. By reproducing 22 facsimile images of flyers, production programmes, photographs and other ephemera, Black British Women’s Theatre: Intersectionality, Archives, Aesthetics not only articulates a hidden history but allows its readers their own encounter with the fragile record of this vibrant past.

Black British Queer Plays and Practitioners: Basin; Boy with Beer; Sin Dykes; Bashment; Nine Lives; Burgerz; The High Table; Stars

A bold play collection representing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Intersex and Queer (LGBTIQ+) experiences, from Black British perspectives, this anthology contains seven radical plays by Black writers that change the face of theatre in Britain. With an international reach connecting Africa, the Caribbean and the Diaspora, these plays address themes including same-sex love, sex, homophobia, apartheid, migration and space travel. The collection captures the historical scope and range of Black British LGBTIQ+ theatre, from the 1980s to 2021. Including a range of forms, from monologue to musicals, realist drama to club-performance, readers will journey through the development of Black Queer theatre in Britain. Through a helpful critical introduction, this book provides important socio-political and historical context, highlighting and illuminating key themes in the plays. Each play is preceded by an intergenerational 'in-conversation' piece between two Black British LGBTIQ+ artists and writers who will talk about their own work in relation to the play, looking back at the history and on into the future. Through these rare conversations with highly acclaimed award-winning practitioners, readers will also gain an insight into the theatre industry, funding, producing, venues as well as the politics of identity, the diversity of LGBTIQ+ lives and the richness of Black British cultures.

Black British Queer Plays and Practitioners: Basin; Boy with Beer; Sin Dykes; Bashment; Nine Lives; Burgerz; The High Table; Stars

A bold play collection representing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Intersex and Queer (LGBTIQ+) experiences, from Black British perspectives, this anthology contains seven radical plays by Black writers that change the face of theatre in Britain. With an international reach connecting Africa, the Caribbean and the Diaspora, these plays address themes including same-sex love, sex, homophobia, apartheid, migration and space travel. The collection captures the historical scope and range of Black British LGBTIQ+ theatre, from the 1980s to 2021. Including a range of forms, from monologue to musicals, realist drama to club-performance, readers will journey through the development of Black Queer theatre in Britain. Through a helpful critical introduction, this book provides important socio-political and historical context, highlighting and illuminating key themes in the plays. Each play is preceded by an intergenerational 'in-conversation' piece between two Black British LGBTIQ+ artists and writers who will talk about their own work in relation to the play, looking back at the history and on into the future. Through these rare conversations with highly acclaimed award-winning practitioners, readers will also gain an insight into the theatre industry, funding, producing, venues as well as the politics of identity, the diversity of LGBTIQ+ lives and the richness of Black British cultures.

Black British Drama: A Transnational Story

Black British Drama: A Transnational Story looks afresh at the ways black theatre in Britain is connected to and informed by the spaces of Africa, the Caribbean and the USA. Michael Pearce offers an exciting new approach to reading modern and contemporary black British drama, examining plays by a range of writers including Michael Abbensetts, Mustapha Matura, Caryl Phillips, Winsome Pinnock, Kwame Kwei-Armah, debbie tucker green, Roy Williams and Bola Agbaje. Chapters combine historical documentation and discussion with close analysis to provide an in-depth, absorbing account of post-war black British drama situated within global and transnational circuits. A significant contribution to black British and black diaspora theatre studies, Black British Drama is a must-read for scholars and students in this evolving field.

Black British Drama: A Transnational Story

Black British Drama: A Transnational Story looks afresh at the ways black theatre in Britain is connected to and informed by the spaces of Africa, the Caribbean and the USA. Michael Pearce offers an exciting new approach to reading modern and contemporary black British drama, examining plays by a range of writers including Michael Abbensetts, Mustapha Matura, Caryl Phillips, Winsome Pinnock, Kwame Kwei-Armah, debbie tucker green, Roy Williams and Bola Agbaje. Chapters combine historical documentation and discussion with close analysis to provide an in-depth, absorbing account of post-war black British drama situated within global and transnational circuits. A significant contribution to black British and black diaspora theatre studies, Black British Drama is a must-read for scholars and students in this evolving field.

Black and She's Leaving Home (Plays for Young People)

Black Nikki doesn't think her dad is a racist … He just cares deeply about his community … But when a Zimbabwean family move in over the road, the dog won't stop barking … The local kids start lobbing stones … And her dad starts laying down the law.Black is a hard-hitting play about racial tensions in the UK todayShe's Leaving HomeAt 15, Kelsey has her whole life in front of her and feels that she has everything she wants: good mates, a supportive family and big ambitions. But as the years roll by she slowly realises that leaving home to fulfill her dreams isn't as easy as she first imagined.She's Leaving Home was commissioned by Culture Liverpool as part of the 50th Anniversary of the Beatles seminal album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.With bracing insight into the worlds of two young women with very different struggles, Keith Saha's Black and She's Leaving Home force the issues of modern Britain to take centre stage. This edition was published to coincide with 20 Stories High's national tour of Black in 2018.

Black and She's Leaving Home (Plays for Young People)

Black Nikki doesn't think her dad is a racist … He just cares deeply about his community … But when a Zimbabwean family move in over the road, the dog won't stop barking … The local kids start lobbing stones … And her dad starts laying down the law.Black is a hard-hitting play about racial tensions in the UK todayShe's Leaving HomeAt 15, Kelsey has her whole life in front of her and feels that she has everything she wants: good mates, a supportive family and big ambitions. But as the years roll by she slowly realises that leaving home to fulfill her dreams isn't as easy as she first imagined.She's Leaving Home was commissioned by Culture Liverpool as part of the 50th Anniversary of the Beatles seminal album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.With bracing insight into the worlds of two young women with very different struggles, Keith Saha's Black and She's Leaving Home force the issues of modern Britain to take centre stage. This edition was published to coincide with 20 Stories High's national tour of Black in 2018.

Black and Asian Theatre In Britain: A History

Black and Asian Theatre in Britain is an unprecedented study tracing the history of ‘the Other’ through the ages in British theatre. The diverse and often contradictory aspects of this history are expertly drawn together to provide a detailed background to the work of African, Asian, and Caribbean diasporic companies and practitioners. Colin Chambers examines early forms of blackface and other representations in the sixteenth century, through to the emergence of black and Asian actors, companies, and theatre groups in their own right. Thorough analysis uncovers how they led to a flourishing of black and Asian voices in theatre at the turn of the twenty-first century. Figures and companies studied include: Ira Aldridge Henry Francis Downing Paul Robeson Errol John Mustapha Matura Dark and Light Theatre The Keskidee Centre Indian Art and Dramatic Society Temba Edric and Pearl Connor Tara Arts Yvonne Brewster Tamasha Talawa. Black and Asian Theatre in Britain is an enlightening and immensely readable resource and represents a major new study of theatre history and British history as a whole. Chapter 1 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

Black and Asian Theatre In Britain: A History

Black and Asian Theatre in Britain is an unprecedented study tracing the history of ‘the Other’ through the ages in British theatre. The diverse and often contradictory aspects of this history are expertly drawn together to provide a detailed background to the work of African, Asian, and Caribbean diasporic companies and practitioners. Colin Chambers examines early forms of blackface and other representations in the sixteenth century, through to the emergence of black and Asian actors, companies, and theatre groups in their own right. Thorough analysis uncovers how they led to a flourishing of black and Asian voices in theatre at the turn of the twenty-first century. Figures and companies studied include: Ira Aldridge Henry Francis Downing Paul Robeson Errol John Mustapha Matura Dark and Light Theatre The Keskidee Centre Indian Art and Dramatic Society Temba Edric and Pearl Connor Tara Arts Yvonne Brewster Tamasha Talawa. Black and Asian Theatre in Britain is an enlightening and immensely readable resource and represents a major new study of theatre history and British history as a whole. Chapter 1 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

The Black Album: Adapted for the Stage (Revolutionary Writing Ser. #5)

Religion is for the benefit of the masses, not for brain-box types like you. Those simpletons require strict rules for living, otherwise they would still think the earth sits on three fishes. But you mind-wallahs must know it's a lot of balls.An Asian kid from Kent goes to college in London and teams up with a sympathetic group of anti-racists. But it's 1989, the year of the fatwa, and as Shahid begins a hedonistic affair with his lecturer, his radical Muslim friends want to steer him away from the decadence of the West.We're not blasted Christians. We don't turn the other buttock. We will fight for our people who are being tortured anywhere - in Palestine, Afghanistan, Kashmir, East End!Hanif Kureishi's witty stage adaptation of his strikingly prescient and acclaimed novel, The Black Album, humorously considers how the events of 1989 have shaped today's world, where fundamentalism battles liberalism.A co-production with Tara Arts, The Black Album premiered at the National Theatre, London, in July 2009.

Black Acting Methods: Critical Approaches

Black Acting Methods seeks to offer alternatives to the Euro-American performance styles that many actors find themselves working with. A wealth of contributions from directors, scholars and actor trainers address afrocentric processes and aesthetics, and interviews with key figures in Black American theatre illuminate their methods. This ground-breaking collection is an essential resource for teachers, students, actors and directors seeking to reclaim, reaffirm or even redefine the role and contributions of Black culture in theatre arts.

Black Acting Methods: Critical Approaches

Black Acting Methods seeks to offer alternatives to the Euro-American performance styles that many actors find themselves working with. A wealth of contributions from directors, scholars and actor trainers address afrocentric processes and aesthetics, and interviews with key figures in Black American theatre illuminate their methods. This ground-breaking collection is an essential resource for teachers, students, actors and directors seeking to reclaim, reaffirm or even redefine the role and contributions of Black culture in theatre arts.

Bitter Lemons (Modern Plays)

You look down to retrieve the ball but all you can see isLemonsLemons filling up the goalLemons writhing in the netLemons glistening and convulsing on the grassIn the pressurised worlds of football and finance, two women carve their own path.After the loss of her dad, a goalkeeper prepares for the league final, while an ambitious banker battles her fears of being tokenised to secure a promotion. But as their pitches get closer, worlds collide as life shifts unexpectedly and in parallel. How do you face your biggest challenge yet?Winner of a Pleasance Edinburgh National Partnership Award and supported by Bristol Old Vic, Bitter Lemons is an explosive debut play from Lucy Hayes, tackling the pressures on women's bodies and the power society holds over them.This edition was published to coincide with the world premiere at the Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, in August 2023.

Bitter Lemons (Modern Plays)

You look down to retrieve the ball but all you can see isLemonsLemons filling up the goalLemons writhing in the netLemons glistening and convulsing on the grassIn the pressurised worlds of football and finance, two women carve their own path.After the loss of her dad, a goalkeeper prepares for the league final, while an ambitious banker battles her fears of being tokenised to secure a promotion. But as their pitches get closer, worlds collide as life shifts unexpectedly and in parallel. How do you face your biggest challenge yet?Winner of a Pleasance Edinburgh National Partnership Award and supported by Bristol Old Vic, Bitter Lemons is an explosive debut play from Lucy Hayes, tackling the pressures on women's bodies and the power society holds over them.This edition was published to coincide with the world premiere at the Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, in August 2023.

Bites (Oberon Modern Plays Ser.)

Moving from the biggest democracy on the planet to the newest, Bites takes us back to Afghanistan via Texas. In the last diner at the end of a world ravaged by war, a menu of love, death and revenge is served by the ‘hired help'. Seven courses make for a poetic feast of universal tales looking back to the forgotten war and forward to a nightmarish future.Produced at the Bush Theatre, London in January 2005 (Mama Quillo in association with The Bush).

Bitch Boxer (Oberon Modern Plays)

Meet Chloe, 21 from Leytonstone. She likes the simple things in life: cherry sambuca, hairbrush-in-the-mirror karaoke with Rihanna and winding her Dad up. Oh, and she's a boxer. London, 2012. Women will step into the Olympic boxing ring for the very first time. And it's in Stratford. Down the road. As Chloe trains for the fight of her life, she is left winded by two life-changing events. In a man's world, can she prove she's still worth the title? Fighting fit from sell-out shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival as part of the Old Vic New Voices Edinburgh Season, you are invited ringside, for an adrenaline-fuelled, no-holes-barred one-woman show unafraid to document the blood, the sweat...and all the tears.

A Bit of Me: From Basildon to Broadway, and back

Denise Van Outen, original 90s 'ladette', West End star and primetime TV favourite, reveals for the first time the true story of grit and graft beneath the famous Essex sparkle.In this refreshingly candid memoir, Denise speaks openly and sensitively about her rollercoaster career, her struggles in a past high-profile relationship and the betrayal she suffered at the hands of those once closest to her, with the hope that in doing so, she can help empower others to avoid and overcome any similar difficulties they may face.Denise shot to fame on The Big Breakfast in her early twenties. After a decade grafting through theatre jobs and children's TV shows, she was finally living the dream. However her life soon turned into a nightmare off-screen and behind the headlines as her heart was broken in a very public relationship, whilst her every move was printed in the tabloids thanks to her phone being tapped. After receiving a panning by the critics for her late night TV show aimed at the post-pub crowd, she then auditioned for and accepted an offer to play Roxie Hart in Chicago, which turned out to be a life-changing experience. The role took her to Broadway, where she caught the eye of one Andrew Lloyd Webber, eventually landing a judging role on Any Dream Will Do, which saw her rise back to primetime and the career that she loves, where she has stayed and flourished. Now, in her first memoir, Denise tells her story with disarming candour, unafraid to reveal vulnerabilities beneath the cheerful exterior. Tackling difficult subjects of corrosive self-doubt, betrayal, invasions of privacy and professional struggles, interjected with the familiar humour that we all know and love, A Bit of Me is personal, at times raw, often mischievous and always compelling. Denise has lived the life, learned the lessons, and Basildon to Broadway and back is a hell of a journey.

The Birthday Party and the Caretaker: Text And Performance (Text and Performance)

The Birthday Party: The Birthday Party; The Room; The Dumb Waiter; A Slight Ache; The Hothouse; A Night Out; The Black And White; The Examination (Pinter, Harold Ser.)

Stanley Webber is visited in his boarding house by strangers, Goldberg and McCann. An innocent-seeming birthday party for Stanley turns into a nightmare.The Birthday Party was first performed in 1958 and is now a modern classic, produced and studied throughout the world.

Birthday (Modern Plays)

The birth of their daughter should be one of the happiest days of Ed and Lisa's life. An NHS maternity ward and their somewhat unusual circumstances make for an unsettling and satisfyingly comic sequence of events that tests their relationship to the core, and raises intrinsic questions about the nature of birth and renewal, fear and isolation.Subverting the received gender roles to darkly comic and disturbing effect, the play charts Ed and Lisa's personally fraught experience at the behest of an NHS labour ward. Penhall expertly weaves an acutely funny and emotionally charged sequence of events: he pitches wryly observed gender perceptions of a quite literal life and death situation against an indictment of the NHS system. The beautifully observed writing is at once vicious and searingly tender.Birthday achieves an intensely comic counterpoint to teh visceral domestic drama sutured to bigger issues of aspiration, sacrifice, who we are, how we communicate, the triumph of tolerance, nature and ultimately love.

Birthday (Modern Plays)

The birth of their daughter should be one of the happiest days of Ed and Lisa's life. An NHS maternity ward and their somewhat unusual circumstances make for an unsettling and satisfyingly comic sequence of events that tests their relationship to the core, and raises intrinsic questions about the nature of birth and renewal, fear and isolation.Subverting the received gender roles to darkly comic and disturbing effect, the play charts Ed and Lisa's personally fraught experience at the behest of an NHS labour ward. Penhall expertly weaves an acutely funny and emotionally charged sequence of events: he pitches wryly observed gender perceptions of a quite literal life and death situation against an indictment of the NHS system. The beautifully observed writing is at once vicious and searingly tender.Birthday achieves an intensely comic counterpoint to teh visceral domestic drama sutured to bigger issues of aspiration, sacrifice, who we are, how we communicate, the triumph of tolerance, nature and ultimately love.