Introduction

“When it stops being headline news that a Black actor is playing a lead part, then we will have got somewhere.” Michael Buffong, Artistic director of Talawa Theatre Company

This dissertation explores the inclusion and exclusion of blackness and the Black actor within UK theatre. The current cultural discourse within media realms such as television and film, very much supports the notion that there is a lack of blackness and restricted representation. This argument has been brought into the public domain by numerous famous names within popular culture. One being Lenny Henry who commented on the lack of Black, Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) in television and film, advocating for more Black narratives and the push for color blind casting (Bafta, 2014). On an international level, the lack of representation was shown with the 2016 Oscars boycott which for the second year in a row, not a single non-white actor has been nominated for an award, even though 2015 saw stand-out performances (Independence, 2016). This discourse can be seen as an entry point in which to explore BAME representation within the institution of theatre as the representation of blackness is equally if not more limited. According to Gaffney, theatre has the capacity to publicly demonstrate a wide range of images, attitudes and values representative of, real life (Gaffney, 1970: 10). However, the exclusion of blackness doesn’t reflect UK society as a whole and the Black British identity is generally perceived as being located in a difference from, and not within the constructed ethnic identity (Englishness) of the mainstream (Godiwala, 2005: 3). 

Black theatre in Britain has not been documented, criticized or analysed in any depth (Harrison, 1997:116). Theatre as a setting is considered a form of avant-garde culture, typically dominated by western ideals and by predominantly white and middle/upper class individuals. It is important to point out that a vast amount of the literature surrounding artistic representation of the Black diaspora is centred on television and film which reveals theatre as a notable gap within current literature. I am aware of Pearce (2016) who is currently writing about blackness and UK theatre and an extensive search of the literature has revealed a lack of focus on theatre with race at the centre of analysis. In addition, the fact that my research will be based in the UK rather than the US, separates it from existing research. Within this dissertation, social theory such as multiculturalism (Vertovec and Wessendorf, 2010), assimilation and orientalism (Said, 1980) will be used to determine the level of inclusion that is available for blackness and the Black actor. These theories will be used to indicate whether Black theatre is functioning as a predominant socio-political force by providing Black subjects with an atmosphere of self-awareness and cultural identity (Gaffney, 1970: 12). This dissertation will contribute to these debates by exploring both the creative and the public relations side of theatre using performance and discourse analysis.

My chosen methodological approach is interdisciplinary and supports the rationale of this project. The choosing of this topic being in relation to my reflexivity as a researcher; being a Black subject and wanting to direct theatre as a profession. Conducting this research will situate me as a Black creative and uncover the industries flaws and inability to include blackness. This will allow me to critically explore the tensions, complications and limitations that arise even when Black people, and blackness more broadly, are indeed incorporated into contemporary theatre productions. Through being involved in the arts, I aim to portray Black subjects in an authentic and dignified manner in an arena which has had limited Black presence and be part of a cultural shift where blackness is included to a much larger degree. At this point in my development, it necessary as an aspiring director to properly explore and analyse the challenges that blackness poses to contemporary theatre. In this study, I have selected three productions which all depict blackness: The Lion King, Every Man and Julius Caesar. This research can be seen as a valuable contribution to cultural studies with race as a lens of analysis and theatre as a rare site of analysis. Cultural studies have provided a whole new lexicon of talking about race and multiculturalism in Britain with all the talk about struggle, resistance, identity, difference, authenticity, representation and recognition. (Favell, 2001:43).

Performance analysis will be used to unpick the creative portrayal of blackness and the Black experience and furthermore identify relatable social theory. In addition, discourse analysis will be used to uncover the recent developments surrounding blackness by looking at reviews surrounding each of the productions. In this dissertation, I will also show that there has been recent developments within theatre that have improved the presence of blackness but it is not enough. Theatre as an institution can be seen as institutionally racist and blackness is still viewed as other and less which results in exclusion.

To answer my research question, I have formulated four sub questions:

• Outline notable recent developments in UK theatre regarding the inclusion as well as representation of blackness and Black people.     

• Evaluate how blackness and the Black experience is represented on stage?

• Evaluate how the wider theatre discursive space (reviews, blogs, etc.) have framed these recent developments.

• How do debates about race and culture help capture the tensions surrounding blackness within UK theatre?

The structure of this project will be as follows; I will first outline within the literature review, the debates surrounding blackness and the construction of the Black British identity, then hone in on UK Black theatre and the current inclusion and exclusion within it. The next chapter will outline the research design and provide a justification as to why performance and discourse analysis have been used. The next chapter will present my findings and analysis by interpreting the three productions together with extracting relevant social theory. The discussion section will answer my research questions and provide a summary of the current state of blackness and the Black actor within UK theatre.