TONY AWARD-WINNING JAJA’S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING

TONY AWARD-WINNING JAJA’S AFRICAN HAIR BRAIDING BY JOCELYN BIOH AND DIRECTED BY MONIQUE TOUKO RECEIVES ITS UK PREMIERE, REUNITING THE TEAM BEHIND SMASH HIT SCHOOL GIRLS

“Are we making money today or what?”

Welcome to Jaja’s! This bustling Harlem braiding salon is where neighbourhood women come to have their greatest hairstyle dreams come true, all in the hands of a lively group of West African immigrant braiders.

Across one hot summers day, these women experience everything in the pressure cooker of the sweltering shop: from demanding customers to secrets and lies, laughter and betrayal. But each of these women has big dreams as well, dreams which increasingly pit them against the city they call home.

The UK premiere of this Tony Award-winning comedy reunites the team behind smash-hit School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play including writer Jocelyn Bioh and director Monique Touko.

Jaja’s African Hair Braiding is set designed by Paul Wills; Wigs, Hair & Make-Up design by Cynthia De La Rosa; lighting design by Simisola Majekodunmi; sound design by Tony Gayle; movement direction by Kloé Dean; casting by Julia Horan; assistant direction by Gráinne Flynn.

Jocelyn Bioh (Writer), said: “At the center of it, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding is about the power of community and I cannot think of a better theatre community to come back to! The love that UK audiences gave to me and my play School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play two years ago was beyond incredible and it is truly an honor to team back up with Lyric and the incomparable director Monique Touko for the UK premiere of Jaja’s African Hair Braiding. I hope audiences will once again connect with the heart, humor and universality of my work. I truly cannot wait for the shop to open!”

Monique Touko (Director), said: “I’m so thrilled to return to the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre with Jocelyn Bioh for our second collaboration. Jaja’s African Hair Braiding is a portrayal of femininity rooted in the African experience. Jocelyn’s writing is a celebration and interrogation of what it means to dream and survive in a place where you are othered. We will invite everyone to the shop- to listen, learn and laugh and expose UK audiences to a context which puts black women front and centre with joy, complexity and power.”

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