Lineup Set For Talawa’s 40th Anniversary Gala

A lineup of the UK's Black theatre artists, from across Talawa's history, will come together on Tuesday 13th October 2026 to celebrate the company that championed them for one 40th anniversary event. Talawa Iconic will arrive at Hackney Empire for an evening looking back on Talawa's profound influence on Black British theatre.

Set to open with a speech by Olivier Award-nominated actor and trustee of host venue Hackney Empire Josette Bushell-Mingo OBE (The Lion King, Lyceum Theatre; Nina – A Story About Me and Nina Simone, Unity Theatre), whose illustrious career reflects the excellence Talawa has championed for generations, the night's programme brings together excerpts from productions spanning Talawa's pioneering four decades. Performances include Talawa's inaugural production The Black Jacobins (1986), The Importance of Being Earnest (1989), Talawa co-founder Yvonne Brewster OBE's history-making Antony & Cleopatra (1991), King Lear (2015), Theresa Ikoko's award-winning drama Girls (2016), immersive dance experience Run It Back (2019), A Place for We (2021), musical tribute to overlooked Black British history Recognition (2023), Play On! (2025) and its powerful fusion of dance and spoken word Fragments of Us (2026). Accompanied by music from Chineke! Quartet, the performances will celebrate the breadth of Talawa's work and its lasting influence on British theatre.

Bringing her formidable comic energy to Talawa Iconic, BBC screen star Tameka Empson (Eastenders, BBC; Aladdin, Hackney Empire) returns to Hackney Empire's stage joining longstanding Talawa actor Ben Thomas (Antony and Cleopatra, Everyman Theatre Liverpool) whose own history with the company goes back three decades to revisit Oscar Wilde's witty The Importance of Being Earnest.

Award-winning playwright and Talawa alumna Theresa Ikoko (WAHALA, BBC; Girls, Soho Theatre, Talawa) will showcase an excerpt from Girls (2016) which won the prestigious Alfred Fagon award, her powerful drama about three friends whose bond is tested after they are kidnapped from their Nigerian hometown. Talawa first supported Ikoko through its Talawa Firsts programme before producing the play, which won the prestigious Alfred Fagon Award. The programme continues today, reflecting Talawa's enduring commitment to nurturing vital new voices within the industry.

Original cast member David Webber (After Sunday, The Bush Theatre; Chewing Gum, Channel 4) reunites with Laurence Ubong Williams (The Motive and the Cue, National Theatre) for A Place for We, using humour and heart to explore belonging and cultural identity. While returning cast member Lifford Shillingford (Britain's Got Talent; ITV) serenades audiences in a snippet from Talawa's hit musical revival Play On!

In a particularly poignant homecoming, Doña Croll (Antony & Cleopatra, Bloomsbury Theatre; All My Sons, New Wolsey Theatre) will return to Antony & Cleopatra and the role that made theatrical history when she became the first Black actor to play Cleopatra professionally on the British stage. Originally directed by Talawa co-founder Yvonne Brewster OBE in 1991, the production will form one of several special tributes celebrating the visionary woman who helped make Talawa what it is today.

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