'Ain't I A Woman'? Collective Fringe Festival (Jan 2025)
About
Play 2: 'Nicki Takes A Breath'
Play 1: 'Changing Rays'
Devised and produced by Landé Belo
Directors: Landé Belo, Eileen Gbagbo, Lydia Newman
A theatrical initiative showcasing black female talent through a collection of five short plays written, directed and produced by black women. Nominated for 3 Black British Theatre Awards: Best Production - Play 2024, Best Producer 2024, and Best Director 2024. Winner of Best Producer 2024.
Venue:
The Theatre, The Collective Acting Studio, The Laundry, Hornsey Road Baths, 2 Tiltman Place, London, N7 7EE.
Performances:
8.30pm, Thursday 23 Jan 2025
8.30pm, Friday 24 Jan 2025
8.30pm, Saturday 25 Jan 2025
Production Team:
Producer: Landé Belo
Music Director & Composer: Isabelle Ajani
Singers: Chaachi Deane & Anoä-Kanelle Calpas
Stage Manager: Isabel Quiroz
Costume Designer: Laura Coulton
Sound Designer & Operator: Anna Kidd
Light Designer: Haley Yiu
Light Operator: Landé Belo
PR & Marketing: Simi Belo
Play 1: 'Changing Rays'
Play 2: 'Nicki Takes A Breath'
Play 1: 'Changing Rays'
By Mauricia Lewis
Directed by Eileen Gbagbo
"Labelled the angry black woman whenever I challenge the status quo."
Enter the world of Changing Rays where willing participants can undergo treatment to change their skin colour from black to white. Will Ngozi finally get the acceptance and recognition she craves by undergoing this treatment?
A dystopian satire offering a strong social commentary on western conventions of beauty standards and the pervasive impact on the black psyche.
CAST:
Ngozi - Anoä-Kanelle Calpas
Karen - Kailee O'Sullivan
Play 2: 'Nicki Takes A Breath'
Play 2: 'Nicki Takes A Breath'
Play 2: 'Nicki Takes A Breath'
By Sara Amanda
Directed by Lydia Newman
"Be your idea of you and not the idea of you they want you to be."
Nicole (“Nicki”) and Adenike (“Nicki”) will do anything to clinch their dream role: Nora in A Doll’s House. Just one thing, this Nora needs to be “ghetto”……
CAST:
Nicole/Nic ("Nicki") - Saffron Dey
Adenike/Nike ("Nicki") - Zainab Ottun
Play 3: 'In Conversation'
Play 5: 'Mary, Queen of Thots'
Play 2: 'Nicki Takes A Breath'
By Eileen Gbagbo
Directed by Landé Belo
"We’re not going anywhere until you get my name right."
Who better to wax lyrical about managing personal finances than expert Dr Tiwa Sowunmi-Smith and what better platform than TV show, Inside Money in front of a live audience? If only the host will let her get a word in edgeways….
CAST:
Dr Tiwa Sowunmi-Smith - Zainab Ottun
Lauren Morris - Louise Paton
Producer - Matteo Caporusso
Play 4: '2037: The Burden'
Play 5: 'Mary, Queen of Thots'
Play 5: 'Mary, Queen of Thots'
By Rukiat Ashawe
Directed by Landé Belo
"They always want us to be “strong”, the one who everyone else depends on."
It’s 2037 and the beginning of the end for The Movement. After valiant resistance in a 20-year war, they have been decimated by a deadly virus released by the other side.
Their survival hangs in the balance and their leader, Fin, has a very difficult decision to make…
CAST:
Doctor - Trudi Dane
Fin - Kahlea Allison
Clive - Matteo Caporusso
Brave - Manuela Lazic
Max - Tyrone Miller
Jinx - Chaachi Deane
Play 5: 'Mary, Queen of Thots'
Play 5: 'Mary, Queen of Thots'
Play 5: 'Mary, Queen of Thots'
By Katrina Smith-Jackson
Directed by: Landé Belo
"But if prayer’s the answer to ‘hashtag winning’...where’s my Academy Award at, Lord?!"
Sick of rejection being the theme tune to her love life, Mary decides to bite the bullet and give dating apps a go. Yet throwing herself head first into the deep end of messy love (and even messier sex) as a depressed Black zillennial definitely has its “kinks”...race play fetishes to name one!
But as touch starvation and swipe addiction begin to wash over her, will Mary sink or swim in the murky waters of the digital dating pool?
CAST:
Mary - Aisha Jalloh