Tapping into black talent

When I took over as Artistic Director of Talawa Theatre Company in 2012, I inherited a company with a 26-year legacy of being at the forefront of the UK’s black theatre scene. Founded in 1986 by Yvonne Brewster, Carmen Munroe, Mona Hammond and Inigo Espejel, Talawa was created in direct response to the lack of creative opportunities for actors from minority ethnic backgrounds. Since then we have grown, and survived fires, protests and spending cuts…

It is true that today there is a greater representation of black actors than in 1986. Many established black actors are now recognisable from both stage and screen, and have worked with us, such as Norman Beaton, Cathy Tyson, Don Warrington, Danny John-Jules, Mona Hammond and Diane Parish. But black people are not as well represented in other areas of the theatre industry. Where are the theatre producers, directors and writers?

What surprised me by this year’s programme was the varied nature of voices on display

I launched ‘Talawa Firsts’ last year to try and address this balance, to give a platform for emerging black writers and directors to tell new stories that better represented a black experience not seen in mainstream theatre. Now in its second year, Talawa Firsts turns the Talawa Studios, a multi-purpose space next to our offices in London, into a hub of activity for three weeks. Here up-and-coming directors lead development on the scripts by emerging black writers.

What surprised me in this year’s programme was the varied nature of voices on display. We had plays examining the care provided for the elderly community, racism on the football pitch, sexual abuse hidden away within the family and the devastating effects that can have, and a hilarious debate between a group of black women discussing their relationships to each other. Not a single gang member in sight!

Our directors/writers surgery gave practitioners the opportunity to discuss their craft with either myself or our in-house writer Christopher Rodriquez. We also wanted to spark some debate with those involved in Talawa Firsts by hosting a series of Q&A sessions by industry leaders: Young Vic Artistic Director David Lan talking about the success of diverse programming, Soho Associate Director Nina Steiger on ‘Finding the writer’s voice’ and myself on directing ‘From first day rehearsals to press night’.

Talawa Firsts is also a space where practitioners at the start of their careers can explore and present new work via workshops and performance. Every Friday throughout the three weeks we held HotSpots, a development programme for emerging writers and directors to work on new ideas, tell stories and experiment with styles of theatrical presentation in front of an audience of their contemporaries.

Most importantly, Talawa Firsts will continue to grow in order to include greater networking opportunities among participants, and to attract the attention of mainstream theatre, television and film industry professionals to the emerging black talent on display.

Talawa Firsts is ultimately a way for us to engage with as many black writers, directors and actors as possible. As the country prepares to face more cuts, it is often those from minority backgrounds who find career pathways into the arts more difficult. Without fresh black talent, we would find it more difficult to sustain the work that we do. Talawa Firsts is the lifeblood in our mission to move towards a greater equality.

Michael Buffong is Artistic Director of Talawa Theatre Company.
www.talawa.com