The season is set to include Black Joy 2024, the return of Talawa Firsts and TYPT.
The theatre company have confirmed details of its 2024 season which will see the return of Talawa Firsts and TYPT, as well as their celebratory Black Joy season.
Black Joy is a season of theatre that celebrates Black stories and artists, which is a partnership between Talawa, Olivier Award-winning J Clare Productions and Chuchu Ngawu Productions to create local and national opportunities for Black artists. This season will include a new touring Studio Commission, Seed Commissions supporting Black artists around the country, and a major musical production, Play On! A joyous and jazz-fuelled retelling of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, Play On! The production wil tour from September 2024.
Meanwhile, this year will also see the return of of Talawa Firsts for its 12th year, which is two weeks of theatre firsts which will run from the 1st the 12th July. This will be the second year in which the company will present the festival, formed of new and emerging work by Black creative
and production artists, from workshops and link-up events, a rooftop club night, scratch nights and two double-bills of new writing.
Also included as part of the 2024 programme is Talawa Connects, the theatre company’s programme dedicated to creating connections and developing local artists through workshops and networking. This will feature 10 events from April 2024 – June 2025, including talks and workshops by
acclaimed writer and director Tristan Fynn-Aiduenu.
Talawa is also hosting a creative programme for Older People in the Croydon community. In 2023, they worked with older people to collect and archive stories as part of London Borough of Culture’s Our Croydon programme, including the short film Legacy. With Community Engagement Assistant Producer Regina Agard-Braithwaite, Talawa will facilitate poetry workshops for older Croydon residents.
For the first time, the company is expanding into the area of early years work for 0 – 5-year-olds. The are providing shows and early years settings for Croydon residents and those further afield, working with known and established artists to create work for this age range over the next few
years. As part of this drive to create more culturally diverse work for early years, Talawa is working in collaboration with Unicorn Theatre’s artist development programme, which will culminate in a brand new co-production in 2025.
Also this year, Talawa is reinvigorating its Unconscious Bias and Anti-Racism Training, with training opportunities and wellbeing offerings within the programme. Talawa will pilot bespoke offerings for organisations and individuals who continue the important work championing diversity and inclusion.
Talking about the news, Talawa’s Executive Director Carolyn ML Forsyth said: ” Our 2024 season has, quite literally, been years in the making. We welcome the arrival to the stage of Play On!, our passion project featuring as part of Black Joy – a unique opportunity to once again take Black-made theatre production nationwide. Talawa in 2024 sees the return of our established workstreams in TYPT and Talawa Firsts, and an expansion of our workshop and Fringe theatre events through Talawa Connect and Talawa Firsts on Tour. In addition, we will continue to lead the way in creating
supportive and inclusive environments for Global Majority artists and audiences through our training programmes.”
To find out more visit: https://www.talawa.com/