This staging of US writer Ntozake Shange’s classic play For Colored Girls who have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow is Enuf coincides with the reopening of Yard Theatre which closed in May 2025. It also marks 50 years since For Colored Girls who have Considered suicide / When the Rainbow is enuf opened on Broadway.
Directed beautifully and with care by Diane Page, Shange’s choreopoem is an enthralling 70 minutes covering various performance art forms from poetry and dance to music and song with each character representing a different colour and cross-spectrum of emotions.
Yard Theatre’s iteration of For Colored Girls features a stellar cast. There’s the Lady in Blue (Nadine Higgin), Lady in Yellow / Lady in Green (Tatenda Matsvai), Lady in Brown (Ibilola Rossi, Lady in Red (Cherrelle Skeete), Lady in Purple and Lady in Orange (Alex Thomas-Smith) with the characters hailing from different American cities – Chicago, New York, San Francisco and St Louis. The actors nail the American twang with ease.
The play is set against a blank canvas performed on a bare black floor in the round – Ali Hunters’ precise lighting – sometimes it’s sultry, at others it illuminates the relevant cast member during their monologues whilst the others are in the shadows and with Mio Jue’s vibrant costume design this makes up for the stark set which means we are often left to own imaginations.
The themes are heavy and although told with sensitivity by the five hander, the characters share the devasting life experiences that have shaped them. Sexual abuse. Infidelity and HIV transmission. Grief. One recollection that lingers is Lady in Red’s poem (Cherrelle Skeete) as red mist descends, as she shares the harrowing tale of ‘the nite with beau Willie Brown’ which results in him dropping their children through the window of their apartment block.
Despite the traumatic subject matters, there is joy. Like in the first act when they are children playfully singing Shortnin’ Bread or when Nadine Higgin goes through a melody of dance to the sounds of reggaeton – showcasing Cuban mambo to Latin merengue which uplifts us. Alongside the warmth of chemistry between the cast.
As standard Ingrid Mackinnon’s choreographer is perfection as the cast glide, dance, strut, march and shock out across the stage matching the relevant mood of Shange’s rich script.
With the recent success of Ryan Calais Cameron’s For Black Boys When the Hue Gets Too Heavy still fresh in our minds it’s brilliant to see a modern-day version of For Colored Girls – the inspiration for Cameron’s play.
For Colored Girls remains one of the most stunning and important portrayals of black womanhood and a nourishing celebration of sisterhood and how self-love and the safety of these relationships can carry us through the darkest of experiences. It’s easy to see why this play has stood the test of time as a much-needed balm for our souls.
NEED TO KNOW:
- For Colored Girls who have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow is Enuf by Ntozake Shange is at the Yard Theatre until 17 Oct 2026 | see listing
- The final show in this season of Housemates is Runner Girl (15-19 Sep)
- Recommended for ages 16+
- Running time | 1 hour and 40 minutes
- Yard Theatre announces the cast of for colored girls
- The Yard Theatre is back with a new building and Ian McKellen
