From humour to history, here are all the exciting shows handpicked for you by ALT to get your summer theatre going. Here we encourage theatre for everyone!! Get your show listed here email for £49.99:
Last Chance: August in England at Bush Theatre
Lenny Henry stars in his playwriting debut exploring a life impacted by the Windrush scandal.
Charming, flawed, and with the gift of the gab, we all know a man like August Henderson. Between his three kids, devoted wife-to-be, and part- ownership of a fruit and veg shop, he is proud of the life he has built since landing in his beloved West Bromwich.
So, when faced with deportation to a country he has no memory of, he isn’t prepared to go quietly. Listen up, he is ready to tell his own story.
Dates : 15 May – 10 June
For tickets and more information, click here !
Beneatha’s Place
1959. The first wave of independence is sweeping across Africa and Beneatha has left the prejudice of 1950s America for a brighter future with her Nigerian husband in Lagos. But on the day they move into their new house in the white suburbs, it doesn’t take long for cracks to appear, changing the course of the rest of their lives.
Present day. Now a renowned Dean whose colleagues are questioning the role of African American studies for future generations, Beneatha returns to the same house in search of answers. Inspired by the groundbreaking modern classic, A Raisin in the Sun, this UK premiere challenges today’s culture wars about colonial history and reckoning with the past.
Dates : 27 June – 5 Aug
Written & Directed by : Kwame Kwei-Armah
Cast : Sebastian Armesto, Jumoké Fashola, Tom Godwin, Nia Gwynne, Zackary Momoh and Cherrelle Skeete.
For tickets and more information , click here !
In Hiding
Excitement and joy usually surround a Nigerian “Owambe” party: the see-and-be-seen, power networking opportunity for status climbers like Bimpe DaCosta of Lagos high society. But the realities of being a single mum raising an autistic child prove discordant dance steps for Bimpe, whose experience of motherhood is at war with tradition.
In turns funny, moving and always insightful, In Hiding weaves through universally relatable themes of social identity and motherhood, exposing a world in love with status, real or imagined.
Hackney-born and raised, British Nigerian newcomer, Adenike Ojo, offers in this exuberant and touching play, a heartfelt appeal to the land of her ancestors.
This plate of “jollof rice” is one you should certainly not miss out on!
Dates : Wednesday 21 – Saturday 24 June and
Tuesday 27 June – Saturday 1 July at 7.30pm.
Director : Kanayo Omo
Cast : Titilope Elegbede or Tayo Elesin, Kemi Kentebe, Chidinma Ifunanyachi, Buki Bimbi-Philips, Jeffery Kwateng-Acheampong, Chidi Okeke, Joshua Aketse-Entsie, Xara Chisano, Frank Atoro, Chidi Okeke, Stella Betton, Shane Afolabi, Emefa Owusu-Cole
For tickets and more information, click here !
Possession at Arcola Theatre
Possession is a tale of four mother’s lives interweaving across continents and time. It is a tale about desire. About owning and being owned. About colonising and being colonised. And ultimately about the power of the spirit to escape oppression.
Dates : 15 June – 15 July
Written by : Sasha Hails
Directed by : Oscar Pearce
Cast : Diany Samba-Bandza, Sarah Amankwah, Dorothea Myer-Bennett, Milo Twomey, Nedum Okonyia
For tickets and more information, click here !
A Strange Loop at Barbican Theatre
Meet Usher – he’s black, gay and hell-bent on breaking free from his own negative self-perception. Oh, he’s also a writer, one who is struggling to balance his day job with his dreams of penning the next groundbreaking musical – and what better to base it on than his own experiences?
His story is brought to life on stage in a riotous, straight-talking ensemble performance that will have you doubled over in stitches! This heart-wrenching yet hilarious peek into the mind of a young artist speaks to the sinister grip of self-doubt, as our titular character tries with all of his might to make sense of his own perplexing and dizzying loop.
Dates: 17 Jun — Sat 9 Sep 2023
Directed by : Stephen Brackett
Performers : Kyle Ramar Freeman, Nathan Armarkwei-Laryea, Danny Bailey, Eddie Elliot
For tickets and more information click here !
Recognition at Talawa
Meet Song, a young Black composer of the modern generation. Her composition deadline is fast-approaching, and the pressure is high. Discovering Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, the classical composer, Song learns she is joining a legacy of Black classical music in Britain she never even knew existed. His captivating scores inspire her, but will she claim her voice ?
Dates : 1 Jun – 24 Jun
Written by : Amanda Wilkin
Directed by : Rachael Nanyonjo
For tickets and more information, click here !
School Girls; or, The African Mean Girls Play
Ghana’s prestigious Aburi Girls Boarding School.
Queen Bee Paulina and her crew excitedly await the arrival of the Miss Ghana pageant recruiter. It’s clear that Paulina is in top position to take the title until her place is threatened by Ericka – a beautiful and talented new transfer student. As the friendship group’s status quo is upended, who will be chosen for Miss Ghana and at what cost? Bursting with hilarity and joy, this award-winning comedy explores the universal similarities (and glaring differences) facing teenage girls around the world.
Dates : 8 Jun – 15 Jul
Written By: Jocelyn Bioh
Associate producer: Idris Elba
Directed by : Monique Touko
Cast list: Heather Agyepong, Bola Akeju, Deborah Alli, Francesca Amewudah-Rivers, Jadesola Odunjo, Tara Tijani
For tickets and more information, click here !
Ain’t too proud at Prince Edward Theatre
Beginning within the tense and turbulent times of civil unrest, AIN’T TOO PROUD follows the journey of five men, who against all odds use their raw talent to rise from the streets of Detroit to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, but the road to victory is unsteady. Watch as the group go through trials of trust, family and brotherhood in an unforgiving and relentless battle of betrayal that threatens to tear apart everything they know. Following multi-platinum plaques and critical adoration, the rest is history.
Dates : 31 March – 1 October
Written by : Dominique Morisseau
Directed by : Des McAnuff
For tickets and more information, click here !
We need new names at Sheffield Theatres
Paradise. Home of 10-year-old Darling and her friends. A playground overflowing with mischief and games where they imagine countries a luxurious life away from theirs in Mugabe’s Zimbabwe. But when Darling moves to Michigan, the western world she encounters as a teenager is far from the American utopia of her dreams…
Based on the novel by the first Black African woman and first Zimbabwean to be Booker Prize-shortlisted, this defiant coming-of-age story is full of exuberance, humour and humanity.
Dates : 5 – 6 June
Directed by : Monique Touko
For tickets and more information, click here !
Tambo & Bones
Tambo and Bones are stuck in a minstrel show. It’s hard to know what’s real when you’re stuck in a minstrel show. Their escape plan: get out, get rich, get even., Join Tambo (Rhashan Stone) and Bones (Daniel Ward) on their journey from comedy double-act, to hip-hop superstars, to activists in an America at the epicentre of the global Black Lives Matter movement. TAMBO & BONES laughs through our past, blows the roof off our present and imagines an explosive future for our world and for theatre.
Dates : 16 Jun – 15 Jul
Written by : Dave Harris
Directed by : Matthew Xia
Cast : Rhashan Stone, Daniel Ward , Jaron Lammens, Dru Cripps
For tickets and more information, click here !
Es and Flo at Kiln Theatre
Es and Flo fell fiercely in love in the 80s. They’ve been secretly living as lovers ever since. But as Es becomes more forgetful, an unexpected carer arrives. When the outside world comes crashing in, Flo must battle to hold onto the woman she loves and protect the life they’ve built together. Coloured with memories of the Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp – where Es and Flo first met as activists –Jennifer Lunn’s award-winning new play, directed by Susie McKenna, celebrates the love of an older lesbian relationship, women coming together to fight for what’s right and the healing power of chosen family.
Dates : 05-24 June
Cast : Doreene Blackstock, Liz Crowther, Michelle Mcternan, Adrianna Pavlovska, Chioma Nduka, Renée Hart
For tickets and more information, click here !
Under the Kundè Tree
Under the Kundè Tree is set in the 50s during the secret Cameroonian War of Independence. It follows Sara, a young woman, struggling to strike a balance between her heart’s desire and the pressure to fulfil traditional familial obligations.
Tackling issues of colonialism, love, family, identity and freedom, this story explores themes of contemporary relevance, whilst reading an overlooked and often unknown period of history.
Dates : 24 May – 17 Jun
Director : Ebenezer Bamgboye
For tickets and more information, click here !
