USAFILM: Sorry To Bother You is a 2018 American science fiction comedy film written and directed by Boots Riley, in his directorial debut. It stars Lakeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, Danny Glover and Armie Hammer. Set in Oakland, California, the film follows a young African-American telemarketer who adapts a white accent in order to thrive at his job. The film showed at the Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2018, in Utah. It is scheduled to be released in USA cinemas on July 6, 2018. No confirmed UK dates yet. Image credit “Still Sorry to Bother You” #BootsRiley
THEATRE:
Shebeen at the Theatre Royal Stratford East: It’s a hot and humid summer in 1958 St Anns, Nottingham. Tempers are flaring and Teddy Boys are on the march. Jamaican couple Pearl and George are helping Caribbean migrants to cut loose by hosting a forbidden party at their Shebeen. Pearl has dreams of opening a restaurant on the Wells Road. George, a retired boxer, has hung his dreams next to his gloves. A young interracial couple are falling in love and figuring out how to be together. As tensions mount on a night filled with rum, calypso and dancing, and with the Shebeen under threat from the police, everyone is forced to confront the uncomfortable truths their relationships are built upon.
Specially commissioned by Nottingham Playhouse, Shebeen invites you to a party you never knew existed. This world premiere by Nottingham Writer, Mufaro Makubika, shines a light on a community under siege and the sacrifices made for love.
WHEN: from Wednesday 20th June 2018 to Saturday 7th July 2018 WHERE: Theatre Royal Stratford East (Gerry Raffles Square, London, E15 1BN) TICKETS: £10 – £32 (book your tickets here)
The Jungle at the Playhouse Theatre: This is the place where people suffered and dreamed. Meet the hopeful, resilient residents of The Jungle– just across the Channel, right on our doorstep. The Jungle tells stories of loss, fear, community and hope, of the Calais camp’s creation – and of its eventual destruction. Join the residents over freshly baked naan and sweet milky chai at the Afghan Café, and experience the intense, moving and uplifting encounters between refugees from many different countries and the volunteers who arrived from the UK.
Experience the Playhouse Theatre as never before, as the venue undergoes an extraordinary transformation to recreate the intimate in-the-round staging of Miriam Buether’s critically-acclaimed Young Vic design. Audiences are invited to choose from two unique experiences: take a seat at the benches and tables of the vibrant and bustling Afghan Café at the heart of the Calais Jungle, or watch from ‘The Cliffs of Dover’ in the circle, overlooking the dynamic performance space below. Wherever you sit, prepare to be transported into the world of the Calais camp, where a community forged from necessity shares its unimaginable stories of hope against all odds.
For more information please visit the website. WHEN: from Thursday 5th July 2018 to Saturday 3rd November 2018 WHERE: Playhouse Theatre (Northumberland Avenue, London, WC2N 5DE)
TICKETS: £15 – £62.50 (book your tickets here)
MUSIC:
Emeli Sande at the Old Royal Naval College: A soul singer, songwriter, and pianist from Aberdeen whose treacle on gravel voice has made her hotly sought after as a collaborator by such artists as Chipmunk and Wiley. Smart, sussed, talented, entrepreneurial, shiningly engaging in the flesh, utterly transfixing on stage and unforgettable in her words and melodies, Emeli Sande is the epitome of the brilliant modern artist.
WHEN: Tuesday 3th July 2018 WHERE: Old Royal Naval College (Greenwich, London, SE10 9NN) TICKETS: £57.05 – £86.40 (book your tickets here)
LITERATURE:
Africa Writes 2018 at The British Library: In her first UK public appearance since her poetry reached millions of people in Beyonce’s visual album Lemonade, poet Warsan Shire will headline Africa Writes festival in London, Friday 29 June to Sunday 1 July 2018. The UK’s biggest annual African literature festival brought to you by the Royal African Society will be held at The British Library and Rich Mix London.
Fellow poets Yomi Sode and Octavia Poetry Collective will perform at the Friday and Saturday headline events of the festival, which brings together over 50 of the most influential voices in contemporary writing from Africa and its diaspora over an exciting literary weekend exploring themes of migration and identity, and celebrating the poetic form.
The Africa Writes daytime programme of more than 20 events includes book launches of writers from across the continent and the diaspora, panel discussions, workshops and an international book fair with classics, recent publications and rare finds. Tickets are now available to book at africawrites.org/tickets/africa-writes-2018 and the full festival programme will be announced at the end of May. For more information please visit the website
WHEN: from Friday 29th June to Sunday 1st July 2018 WHERE: The British Library (96 Euston Rd, London NW1 2DB)
TICKETS: £12 – £18 (please book your tickets here. Please note that some of the night events must be booked individually)
