The Afronauts at Royal Court Theatre
By Ryan Calais Cameron

14 Nov – 19 Dec 2026

Jerwood Theatre Upstairs

The Afronauts by Ryan Calais Cameron, Royal Court Theatre
The Afronauts by Ryan Calais Cameron, Royal Court Theatre

‘As long as a man can dream, he can push the limits of what’s possible’

Zambia, 1964: the space race has a new contender.

As the world’s great powers set their sights on the moon, a schoolteacher gathers a group of misfit dreamers and trains them for lift-off.

The true(ish) story of the Zambian Space Program, and a nation’s defiant dream to reach for the stars. A World Premiere from Sky Arts Award-winning playwright Ryan Calais Cameron (For Black Boys…, Retrograde).

Ryan Calais Cameron says: “The Afronauts is a love letter to the dreamers history forgot.  It’s about what happens when imagination becomes a form of resistance, and how the fight for freedom isn’t just political, it’s cosmic. At its heart, this play asks: what does liberation look like when the whole universe is watching? For me, it’s not just a story about reaching the moon, it’s about the courage to believe we belonged there all along.”