Recently, I read a piece by Ben Okri about what he saw as the narrow field of vision of writers of colour in the West. Minority writers should move beyond issues of racial injustice, slavery and colonialism, he argued, and concentrate instead on something wider: the human condition. My first thought was, Okri really should… Continue reading The risk of putting our stories in the spotlight

The Selma march: Corey Reynolds (Rev. C.T. Vivian), David Oyelowo (Martin Luther King Jr) and Colman Domingo (Ralph Abernathy) Film: Selma Director: Ava DuVernay Screenplay: Paul Webb Genre: Drama Review by Joy Francis Dr Martin Luther King, Jr is a global legend; a man whose powerfully eloquent words still resonate today, across all ages and… Continue reading Selma

Brothers up in arms: Malachi Kirby (Yemi) and O.C. Ukeje (Iku) Film: Gone Too Far! Director: Destiny Ekaragha Screenplay: Bola Agbaje Genre: Comedy-drama Review by Christopher Johnson Director Destiny Ekaragha’s feature debut Gone Too Far!, based on the award winning stage play by British-Nigerian writer Bola Agbaje, raises some serious questions about race and culture… Continue reading Gone Too Far!

The Jaipur Literature Festival attracts many ‘want-to-be-published’ writers, but the scale of the event is immense. I was among the 245,000 people estimated to have attended the five-day celebration of books and writers, held annually since 2008 in the historic grounds of Diggi Palace.

Tian Glasgow’s Changing State is a darkly comic coming-of-age story set in inner city London. Three of the characters cling to the hope that the uncertainty and confusion of adolescence will clear, but having returned from university one of them knows that it is a long road ahead. As they each try to realise their… Continue reading Changing State

The critically acclaimed True Brits, written by Vinay Patel and directed by Tanith Lindon, will headline the VAULT Festival 2015 after two sold out preview performances at the Bush’s Radar Festival. A presentation by Rich Mason Productions and the HighTide Festival Theatre, True Brits is Patel’s debut play. When a violent encounter leads to a… Continue reading True Brits @ The VAULT Festival 2015

The National Theatre is to launch its On Demand in Schools programme this autumn with three acclaimed National Theatre curriculum-linked productions which will be free for every secondary school classroom in the UK. The productions include Danny Boyle’s Frankenstein by Nick Dear, based on the novel by Mary Shelley, featuring Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee… Continue reading National Theatre’s On Demand in Schools initiative

Sexual charades: Charlie Brooks (Kelly) with Ralph Aiken (Ryan – left) and Jason Durr (Matthew). Photo credit: Kim Hardy Play: Contact.com Theatre: Park Theatre Playwright: Michael Kingsbury Director: Ian Brown Review by Maria Teresa Sette The world premiere of Michael Kingsbury’s Contact.com at Park Theatre is a fun, light-hearted sex comedy-drama which rummages through the… Continue reading Contact.com

Book: So The Path Does Not Die Author: Pede Hollist Publisher: Jacaranda Books Price: £12.99 Review by Natalie Gormally The World Health Organisation estimates that up to 140 million women and girls have been subjected to genital mutilation across the world. Those who support the practice claim it protects women’s so-called “honour”, believing that a… Continue reading So The Path Does Not Die

Janet Kay is not called the Queen of Lover’s Rock for nothing. Cited in the Music Guinness Book of Records as the first Black British woman to have a hit reggae song in the British pop charts with the classic Silly Games, Kay hasn’t slowed down in her artistic pursuits.