'Ain't I A Woman'? On Tour - 1 & 2 May 2025, UK
About
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 2024.
About the production:
No black woman writer in this culture can write “too much”. Indeed, no woman writer can write “too much”…No woman has ever written enough. – bell hooks
- Thursday, 1 May 2025, The Corn Hall, Diss, Norfolk. Book NOW
- Friday, 2 May 2025, The Fisher, Bungay, Suffolk. Book NOW
'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.
'Nicki Takes A Breath'
'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."
Nicola (“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”……
'In Conversation'
'Mary, Queen of Thots'
'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….
'2037: The Burden'
'Mary, Queen of Thots'
'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…
'Mary, Queen of Thots'
'Mary, Queen of Thots'
'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?