UNDER HEAVEN'S EYES Comes to United Solo Festival

The U.K. based Pulse, Thought and Spirit Theatre Company will present the U.S. premiere of Under Heaven's Eyes: The Systemic and Systematic Unjustified Killing of Black Lives, a new Off-Broadway play spotlighting the ways discrimination permeates a black person's life, as part of the upcoming United Solo – the world's largest solo theatre festival. Written, performed and directed by OFFIE nominated actor and United Solo's “Best Screen Storyteller” Award Winner Christopher Tajah, this poetic, political theater piece stitches together shared stories of systemic and systematic generational racism between the African American people of America and the Black British people of England. The production features music with music by Paloma Verseda and will take place on Saturday, October 3 at 7:00pm in the Studio Theatre (4th floor) at Theatre Row, 410 West 42nd Street. All proceeds from ticket sales will go to benefit the National Action Network.  

Michael Livingston is a father and Accountant who lives in London, UK, comfortably and content. But ever since he viewed the killing of George Floyd, he finds himself continually trying to understand the generational societal racism that exists all around him. Michael hasn't been able to get it out of his mind, throwing his life into freefall. The backdrop of Under Heaven's Eyes: The Systemic and Systematic Unjustified Killing of Black Lives is Covid-19, the worst flu pandemic to hit the world for over a century bringing everything into focus for Michael highlighting the discrimination, inequality, and unlawful disproportionate killings of communities of color that die at higher rates than the white population. 

Despite the global outcry and public machinations over a myriad of unjustified killings in both America and England, the continual discovery of new footage of members from communities of color being brutalized and losing their lives at the hands of law enforcement entrusted to protect and serve them shows this to be a systematic problem. It will also show how systemic and systematic societal racism squeezes' communities of color to the margins. Meanwhile, in Britain, is there a parallel history of systemic and systematic racism which has pervaded society instilling an underlined racist mistrust between the Police and the Black community? 

“Being a Black Briton of African-Caribbean descent, racism is something that I have been keenly aware of all of my life,” says Tajah. I've experienced it personally - and have observed how it has affected friends and family. I hope the piece not only inspires audiences to challenge isolated instances of racism that they or their friends and family may encounter, but to show solidarity and empathy with and for persons of color whom they hardly know. To stand up for them and speak out on their behalf. To not allow their voices to be sidelined, dismissed, disparaged, forced shut or knees to be pressed down onto their necks.”

Under Heaven's Eyes: The Systemic and Systematic Unjustified Killing of Black Lives was written in 2020 but due to COVID-19 lockdown restrictions it was performed via online through Zoom to venues such as the Edinburgh Fringe Festival Online Season 1 at theSpaceUK (2020), Newham Black History Month (2020), Online Brighton Fringe (2021), and The Space Arts Theatre (2021). The production also completed a successful run of shows at the VAULT Festival (2023). 
 
The production features set design and wardrobe design by Ana Bretes, and lighting and sound design by Michael Cleary.

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