Loved-ones keep reaching out: blowing up her phone and showing up at her front door. They say they’re going to “save” her. She’s not saying anything back.
Until, in the dark early hours, surrounded by half-eaten food, dirty washing, and a damn good playlist, she focuses on the letter in front of her.
…blackbird hour is a visceral and moving exploration of a queer Black woman’s call to arms for loving oneself when love has made itself scarce. Making its world premiere at the Bush Theatre, babirye bukilwa’s profound insight into caring and belonging serves as a continuation of their critically acclaimed playwriting debut …cake (Theatre Peckham).
babirye bukilwa is an actor and writer for stage, audio, and screen. Their first play, ...blackbird hour, was shortlisted for the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting in 2019, the inaugural Women’s Prize for Playwriting 2020, and the Alfred Fagon Award 2020. The play they wrote as its prequel, …cake, was presented at Theatre Peckham and was nominated for the Alfred Fagon Award in 2021. They co-directed their play The Master’s House with Chris Sonnex for the National Youth Theatre in 2021, which was shortlisted for the George Devine Award 2022, and developed it into an audio drama for Talawa Stories on BBC Radio 4. In 2022 two of their short plays were presented, YUMMY, as part of the Burn It Down festival at Theatre Royal Stratford East and 616: DAWN as part of Talking about a Revolution at Watford Palace, Lyric Hammersmith Studio and Bristol Old Vic. babirye is currently under commission to the Yard Theatre and the Royal Court Theatre.
Director malakaï sargeant is a multidisciplinary artist, educator, and producer from pre-gentrified northeast London. Led by curiosity and care, malakaï works across theatre, festivals, literature, audio, and live events– creating and interrogating through an unapologetically Afroqueer lens. Their work is often non-linear, employing unconventional forms that disrupt notions of time and space; orbiting around ideas of Black interiority, hood surrealism, and carceral geographies.
malakaï's directing credits include: The Master’s House (Talawa/BBC Radio 4/BBC Sounds), The Costumed Gallery (UAL/National Gallery), Still Here? (Unicorn Theatre), Yummy (Theatre Royal Stratford East), We Are Here To Make Change (Royal Court), ...Cake (Theatre Peckham), Do Nitties Live Forever? (Battersea Arts Centre), Over To You (Tamasha/Rich Mix), Void (The S+K Project/Battersea Arts Centre), I Am Not A _____, (Immediate Theatre/Chat’s Palace), Platform Tottenham (The S+K Project/Royal Court Theatre/Bernie Grant Arts Centre).
As associate/assistant director their credits include Hyde and Seek, directed by Tristan Fynn-Aiduenu (Guildhall School of Music & Drama), Foxes, directed by James Hillier (Defibrillator Theatre/Theatre503), Calm, directed by Stella Odunlami (Hackney Empire), Decolonising History, directed by Anthony Simpson-Pike (Tamasha/SOAS).
Evlyne Oyedokun plays Eshe. Evlyne is an African Caribbean Autistic Actress who graduated from RADA in 2016. Her theatre credits include Autistic as Fuck (Barbican 2024), Cinderella (Northern Stage 2023), An Inspector Calls (UK world tour 2022) and One Under (Graeae 2019). Her film / TV credits include RIPD2 (Netflix 2022) and Kirkmoore (BBC3).
Olivia Nakintu plays Ella. Olivia attended London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art. Her credits include the role of Zadie in the short film Mango directed by Joan Iyiola, Esther in BBC 1’s, Better, Jay in BBC 1’s, Am I Being Unreasonable, and Amber in ITV’s Vera.
Ivan Oyik plays Michael. His recent credits include by their fruits (Initiative.dkf/Theatre503) and Ludwig (BBC One). Ivan's first professional opportunity was Blue/Orange directed by Daniel Bailey for which he was nominated for The Stage Debut Award. Other credits include Shook (Southwark Playhouse), Red Pitch (Oval House), and a three-episode story arc in Doctors (BBC).
Danielle Kassaraté plays Sissy. Danielle’s credits include The Architect (Greenwich Docklands Festival/ATC), I Wonder If (Young Vic), Till Death Do Us Part (Theatre 503), Cake (Theatre Peckham), The Curious Incident of The Dog in the Night-Time (Gielgud/International Tour), The Color Purple (Birmingham Hippodrome/Leicester Curve), Macbeth (Queen’s Hornchurch), and Wildfire (Hampstead).
Designer Khadija Raza’s selected credits include Peanut butter and blueberries (Kiln Theatre); The Secret Garden, (Regents Park Open Air Theatre); Untitled F*ck M*ss S**gon Play (Royal Exchange Theatre / MIF / Headlong / Young Vic); Girl in the Machine (Young Vic); Bach & Sons (Bridge Theatre); A History of Water in the Middle East (Royal Court).
Jahmiko Marshall is a Lighting and Sound Designer from Bermuda. He obtained his Lighting Technology Certificate from Stagecraft Institute of Las Vegas. He was a student at LAMDA studying towards his BA Hons in Production and Technical Arts.
Sound Designer and Composer Mwen is a multifaceted artist, working as a theatre sound designer and composer, music producer, and live performing artist. Their creative practice blends the realms of music technology, electronic music, live sound, and performance.
Creative Captions and Video Designer Will Monks is a London-based lighting and projection designer. His work has accessibility at the heart of it; driven by collaboration and variety, he is always exploring new ways in which the world can be seen.
All performances of …blackbird hour will be chilled and will include integrated creative captions and integrated audio description. Touch Tours will be available on selected show dates.
…blackbird hour is supported by the Talawa Firsts programme. With thanks to the National Theatre.
Tickets
?Tickets for …blackbird hour are priced from £15 (concessions available) and can be booked from today at bushtheatre.co.uk or the Box Office on 020 8743 5050.
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