Britain’s oldest black theatre company, Talawa, is plotting its 35th-anniversary celebrations and hopes to go big. It might have gone bigger, had its plans to stage an ambitious season of works not been aborted late last year. Michael Buffong, its artistic director, had programmed Black Joy at Birmingham Rep for this autumn, which “was supposed to present a step change” in its scale and ambition.
Then Birmingham Rep decided to hire out space to the Ministry of Justice so it could function as a Nightingale court during the pandemic. Public statements were made by Talawa, whose plans were withdrawn because it “threatened the integrity” of the season. Buffong reflects: “We were presented with the decision: ‘This is what’s happening.’ What we learned is that it caused a lot of upset with black artists and communities in Birmingham [who] we need and want to be part of the Black Joy season. As soon as [the Rep’s] decision was made, it effectively made the season untenable. They were not now engaging with the Rep so how do we make this happen? It becomes impossible.”
Was it also a protest against Britain’s criminal justice system? That’s not for us to say, adds Carolyn ML Forsyth, who came to the company as executive director and joint CEO last November. But it was imperative that Talawa remain sensitive to local communities and artists, they stress.
Buffong says other theatre companies voiced their support privately: “It’s linked to the idea of theatre as safe and neutral spaces, which is very important for art to flourish.” In a statement last year, the Rep said it believed it “must be a theatre for all of Birmingham’s people and communities. In no way have we wished to put any artists or partners of ours in a compromised position.”
The plays in Black Joy are now on ice. They included a major new musical and an adaptation of a classic that Buffong hoped might break into the West End: “The aim was that it would have a future in town. That was really the idea behind the project.”
All the same, they are putting other work out there: a regular drama commission for BBC Radio 4 starting in May, a play that is yet to be announced and the continuation of their digital series Tales from the Frontline, which has had a wide global reach online. “What it shows is that there is a hunger for black British stories,” says Buffong.
Yet barriers remain. The West End, for instance, is a hard nut to crack. But what about the blazing success of shows like Misty and Nine Night? Or the upcoming Bob Marley musical, Get Up Stand Up, directed by Clint Dyer? Buffong hails Dyer’s raised profile as a fantastic step forward. “But it feels like a barrier to get through – black-led work in which a black theatre organisation is creating the work and taking it to the West End.”
Why isn’t it happening? “The conversation around commercial viability becomes very different and it is seen as risky – although we know it’s not,” says Forsyth. And while there is real significance in seeing individuals such as Dyer move to the centre of the industry, the aim is to create a culture of openness, on a systemic level.
“It can’t be Clint’s issue or Michael [Buffong]’s issue,” she adds. “It’s about the sector collectively taking responsibility. I know from the rooms I go into that there are not a lot of people who look like me in them.”
Talawa has come a long way since 1986, when it was set up as a response to the dearth of black actors on stage. Now, it runs as an 11-strong team and has nurtured some of the nation’s most exciting artists including Nicôle Lecky, Michaela Coel, Natasha Marshall and Arinze Kene. “There have been some undeniable strides forward,” says Buffong.
There is also a new generation of theatre-makers who are “unapologetic and demand the space to be seen”, he says. “I’m in awe of them. The fact that some of them have passed through Talawa en route makes you even more proud. I’m seeing new companies being set up. There’s such a groundswell, with artists saying ‘We’re going to kick this door down or find new platforms.’ It’s incredible.”
Since the Black Lives Matter protests last year, Talawa has seen an enormous rise in requests from major venues and drama schools as well as organisations outside the theatre sector for unconscious bias training. “Sometimes people think racism is saying the N-word, but it’s about unthinking discrimination. That’s the thing we want to tackle,” says Forsyth. Buffong agrees. “I’m sure there will be change following the events of last year but this should be the time to double down on all the statements and pledges of solidarity. It should be happening now.”
