22 March Black British Theatre: Study Day and
Lecture: Changing the Nation, Changing the Station
the Playwright's Relationship to Heritage, Representation and Legacy
with Kwame Kwei Armah, Michael Bhim and Deidre Osborne
(in collaboration with the National Theatre Archive)
Following upon the STR's successful Asian Performance Study Day at the Theatre Museum, this study celebrates the new Black British Theatre archive at the National Theatre. Theatre scholars and practitioners will discuss the contributions of Black British performance to the development of contemporary British theatre, as well as review its position in post-Empire studies. Participants will also have an opportunity to learn about the archive's script, production and film holdings.
Tickets: £30 (£20 for STR members)
Convener: Dr. Valerie Kaneko-Lucas, vklucas@gmail.com
Changing the Nation, Changing Your Station - lecture with Kwame Kwei Armah, Michael Bhim and Deidre Osborne.
The Study Day is followed at 7.30pm by one of the STR's scheduled monthly lectures, Changing the Nation Changing Your Station, also at the National Theatre Archive. The lecture is free and open to all; it is not necessary to have attended the study day in order to come to the lecture.
Discussion on contemporary British drama between KWAME KWEI-ARMAH,MICHAEL BHIM and DEIRDRE OSBORNE. This discussion will focus upon the transformations of perception wrought by 'changing your nation and changing your station,' which draws on history, the present and the reception abroad of contemporary dramatists and the ways in which they seek to project their work beyond the UK. It will consider Kwame's recent television road trip following the route of Queen Elizabeth's 1953 Commonwealth tour, and Michael's mentoring of an incarcerated writer and commission from the Caribbean Unity Theatre. This is a chance for taking stock for both writers - who arguably exemplify two different generations of black British writers.
MICHAEL BHIM won the Alfred Fagon Award in 2005 for Dreams of Hailey. This was followed by Distant Violence at the Tricycle Theatre and two plays for the Royal Court Theatre. He is currently writing commissioned plays for the Royal Court and Hampstead theatres, Tiata Fahodzi and the Caribbean Unity Theatre. His short story, Rocket Man was recently published by Brand.
KWAME KWEI-ARMAH has written eight plays; the Royal National Theatre commissioned three: Elmina's Kitchen (2003), which upon its transfer to the Garrick Theatre in 2005, was the first play ever by a black British-born dramatist to be staged in the West End. Fix Up (2004) was followed by Statement of Regret (2007) and two seasons at the Tricycle Theatre for Let There Be Love in 2007/8. He is also known as an actor, singer broadcaster for Newsnight Review and television writer.
DR DEIRDRE OSBORNE is a Lecturer in Drama and Theatre Arts at Goldsmiths, University of London and a literary activist for promoting the work of black British writers. She has interviewed and published essays on many black British writers over the past decade; she was contributing editor of an anthology of critical essays and plays, Hidden Gems (Oberon, 2008) and is currently writing Critically Black: Black British Dramatists and Theatre in the New Millennium (Manchester University Press).
Black British Theatre: Study Day and 
