Theatre highlights this June include School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play at Lyric Hammersmith …
We have an array of performances to watch this month from plays with real historical context to those that speak on stigma around Mental health, colourism and the LGBT community.
Recognition co-created by Amanda Wilkin and Rachael Nanyonjo
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?
Through two mirrored lives, one world and a common passion: music, Recognition asks how we acknowledge and celebrate those who came before.
Recognition runs 1st-24th June @ Fairfields Hall
Book tickets and find out more here.
Romeo and Juliet directed by Rebecca Frecknall
Your family teaches you to hate. You meet someone forbidden. You act without thinking.
Verona is a powder keg of blood-lust and rage, with death threats proudly shouted in the streets.
As two families wage war, will a young couple become the next sacrifice of this brutal feud?
Romeo and Juliet runs from 6th June – Saturday 29th July @ Almeida Theatre
Book tickets and find out more here.
The Crucible directed by directed Lyndsey Turner
A witch hunt is beginning in Salem. Raised to be seen but not heard, a group of young women suddenly find their words have a terrible power. As a climate of fear spreads through the community, private vendettas fuel public accusations and soon the truth itself is on trial.
The Crucible runs 7th June – 2nd September @ Gielgud Theatre
Book tickets and find out more here.
School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play written by Jocelyn Bio and directed by Monique Touch
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.
School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play runs Thursday 08 June – Saturday 15 July 2023 @ Lyric Hammersmith
Book tickets and find out more here.
Mom, How Did You Meet The Beatles? Starring Rakie Ayola
The extraordinary story of Kennedy’s attempt to adapt John Lennon’s book ‘In His Own Write’ for the National Theatre in the 1960s, as a young playwright trying to make her name in a new world.
Mom, How Did You Meet The Beatles? Runs 16 June – 8 July @ Chichester Festival Theatre
Book tickets and find out more here.
Es & Flo by Jennifer Lunn
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.
Es & Flo runs 15th June – 24th June 2023 @ Kiln Theatre
Book tickets and find out more here.
Tambo & Bones Directed by Matthew Xia
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 and Bones on their journey from comedy double-act, to hip-hop superstars, to activists in America at the epicentre of the global Black Lives Matter movement.
Tambo & Bones runs 16 June – 15 July 2023 @ Theatre Royal Stratford East
Book tickets and find out more here.
A Strange Loop written and directed by Michael R. Jackson
Usher – a young, gay, Black writer who hates his day job, so writes a musical about a young, gay, Black writer who’s writing a musical about a young, gay, Black writer…a strange loop. Usher grapples with desires, identity and instincts he both loves and loathes, all brought to life on stage by a hilarious, straight-talking ensemble.
A Strange Loop runs 17th June – 9th September @ Barbican Theatre
Book tickets and find out more here.
In Hiding by Adenike Ojo. Directed by Kanayo Omo.
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 Hiding runs 21st June – 1st July @ The Tower Theatre
Book tickets and find out more here.
Roll Your Sleeves With Eve written and directed by Shamila Sulaiman
A futuristic piece, set in 2050. A romantic comedy/drama about a badly behaved celebrity chef who goes through intrusive, borderline illegal therapy to confront her demons from her past, both romantic and familial relationships. The intervention is also televised for the world to see. Think Big Brother. Think Black Mirror. Think Chaos.
Roll Your Sleeves With Eve runs from 22nd – 25th June @ Chelsea Theatre
Book tickets and find out more here.