Talawa Theatre Company

A Theatrical History and the Brewster Era

David Vivian Johnson (Autor)

Buch | Softcover

272 Seiten

2022
Methuen Drama (Verlag)
978-1-350-18748-1 (ISBN)

Artikel merken

This book discusses the theatrical history of Talawa, the work of Dr Yvonne Brewster OBE, her contribution to the genre of contemporary black British theatre generally, and her founding and subsequent directing of Talawa from 1986 to 2001. The analysis details how Brewster's theatre helped forge a black British identity in Britain, both on and off the British stage, through its strategic presentation of black language and culture in performance.

Following explanations of definitions and sociolinguistic methodology in Chapter One: Voicing an Identity, Talawa's theatrical roots are shown in Chapter Two: Post Traumatic Slavery Disorder, to have begun in Africa, developed in Jamaica and further progressed by British Caribbean post war artists in Britain. In Chapter Three: A Stanger in Non-Paradise, Brewster's early life, her significant contribution to contemporary black British theatre, her founding of Talawa and the company's three year residency in the West End are discussed.

Talawa's work is then explored by genre as follows; Chapter Four: The Island Plays highlights Talawa's Caribbean productions. These are; An Echo In The Bone, Maskarade, The Black Jacobins, The Dragon Can't Dance, The Lion and Beef No Chicken. In Chapter Five: The Black South, Talawa's American productions; The Love Space Demands, From The Mississippi Delta and Flyin' West point to the relevance of African American work to Talawa's audience. Chapter Six: Stay in Your Box illustrates Brewster's ground breaking work in the British classical genre. The productions discussed are; Anthony and Cleopatra, King Lear, Tis Pity She's a Whore, The Importance of Being Earnest and Othello.

The book ends with Chapter Seven: Don't Tell Massa. Brewster and her work at Talawa are summed up, followed by an insight into her final attempt to secure a permanent home for black theatre in Britain.

David Vivian Johnson is a Londoner of Jamaican heritage. He is a multilingual creative and works in English, French, Portuguese and Spanish. In addition to writing, he is an experienced translator, theatre director and musician.

PREFACE
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

CHAPTER ONE: VOICING AN IDENTITY
Defining Black in Britain
Defining Voice
The Sociology of Language
Language Style as Audience Design and Related Theories
The Burden of Representation

CHAPTER TWO: POST TRAUMATIC SLAVERY DISORDER
Ritual: A Survival Technique
Storytelling
Jamaican Theatre 1700s –1980s
Louise Bennett's Lineage and Legacy
Lest We Forget: Black British Theatre and The Post War Pioneers
By Happenstance: EARL CAMERON b. 1917
A Black Trap: CY GRANT 1919 - 2010
Bottom Of The Pile: BARRY RECKORD 1926 - 2011
Unequal Opportunities: PEARL CONNOR 1924 - 2005

CHAPTER THREE: A STRANGER IN NON-PARADISE
Brewster's Beginnings
The Barn
The Making of Contemporary Black British Theatre: Brewster's Role
Dark and Light
Theatre of Black Women
Carib Theatre
Black Theatre Cooperative
Black Theatre Forum
Talawa
When The Time Is Right: Talawa’s Residency at The Cochrane

CHAPTER FOUR: THE ISLAND PLAYS
Contextualizing Talawa's Caribbean Genre with An Echo In The Bone and Maskarade
The Black Jacobins:
The Motivation To Revolt
Oral Language of Performance: We Speak Black
Non-Spoken Performance Vocabulary: Colonialism and Voodoo
The Dragon Can’t Dance
A Chosen Ethnicity
Oral Language of Performance: It Ain't Reach Yet
Non-Spoken Performance Vocabulary: All A We Is One: Music, Calypso and Carnival
The Lion
Oral Language of Performance: Speaky Spokey
Notions of Black Identity: Black..ish Brit...ish
Beef no ChickeN
Brewster: Directing Language

CHAPTER FIVE: THE BLACK SOUTH
Refusing Exclusion From The American Genre
The Love Space Demands
Piecing it Together: The Structure of the Work
Oral Language of Performance: Speaking From Her Heart
Non- Spoken Performance Vocabulary: The Psyche and Dancing the Dialogue
From the Mississippi Delta
Oral Language of Performance: Delta Voices
A cappella Actresses: The Performances
Flyin’ West
We Need Heritage Facts: Research Package and The Company's Response To It
My Eye Witness Account

CHAPTER SIX: STAY IN YOUR BOX
The British Classical Genre: No Voice For Blacks
Antony and Cleopatra
King Lear
Tis Pity She's Whore
The Importance of Being Earnest
A Critical Reception
Contemporary Black Victorians
White Words Black Mouths
O TO HELL GO Othello
Audience Response
Production Reviews
The Language of The Text Versus The Colour of The Performers: Even Casio is Black
Playing Othello: The Actors’ Perspective

CHAPTER SEVEN: DON'T TELL MASSA
The Contribution to Black British Theatre and Identity

The End

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Erscheinungsdatum	22.07.2022
Verlagsort	London
Sprache	englisch
Maße	138 x 216 mm
Themenwelt	Kunst / Musik / Theater ► Film / TV
Themenwelt	Kunst / Musik / Theater ► Theater / Ballett
ISBN-10	1-350-18748-8 / 1350187488
ISBN-13	978-1-350-18748-1 / 9781350187481
Zustand	Neuware