Photos: TAMBO & BONES At Actors Touring Company

Actors Touring Company has released production photos of their acclaimed production of Dave Harris’ Tambo & Bones which will return for a national tour from 7 March - 24 May 2025, following its European premiere in a co-production with Stratford East in 2023. 

Clifford Samuel (2:22 A Ghost Story, McMafia) plays the role of Tambo and Daniel Ward (Cat on A Hot Tin Roof, Rebellion) reprises his role as Bones.

Directed by Olivier-award-winning Director, Composer and DJ Matthew Xia (Artistic Director and Joint CEO of ATC) Tambo & Bones is an Actors Touring Company, Stratford East and Royal & Derngate, Northampton Co-Production in association with Belgrade Theatre, Leeds Playhouse and Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse.

One of the most talked-about cultural events of 2023, Tambo & Bones is an exhilarating, darkly comic and provocative satire on capitalism and Black performance, that explores the commodification of the Black experience through the mediums of minstrelsy, hip-hop and afro-futurism. Spanning 500 years, Tambo and Bones journey from comedy double-act, to hip-hop superstars to activists in a future America, contending with the alarming repercussions of a nation torn apart by race. Harris’ blistering play laughs through our past, blows the roof off our present and imagines an explosive future for our world and for theatre.  

The production is currently playing at Royal & Derngate, Northampton until 15 March before touring to Liverpool Playhouse (26 – 29 March 2025), HOME Manchester (1 – 5 April 2025), Belgrade Theatre (9 – 12 April 2025), Stratford East (29 April – 10 May 2025) and Leeds Playhouse (14 – 24 May 2025). Tickets are on sale now.

The creative team includes set and costume designers Sadeysa Greenaway-Bailey and ULTZ, who won the 2023 UK Theatre Award for Best Design for the show. The full creative team are Lighting Designer Ciarán Cunningham, Hip-Hop Beats  Excalibah*, Sound Designer & Additional Composition Richard Hammarton, Movement Director Kloé Dean,| Video Designer Gino Ricardo Green, Associate Director Dubheasa Lanipekun, Costume Supervisor Ysanne Tidd, Fight Director Sam Lyon-Behan, Original fight choreography Kevin McCurdy, Voice and Dialect Coach Joel Trill, Magic & Illusions Consultant Chris Cox, Production Drama Therapist Wabriya King, Lighting Associate Tom Lightbody,  Puppetry Designer Hugh Purves, Assistant Designer Mark Simmons and Original Casting by Julia Horan CDG.  *WAR produced by Roly Botha and Excalibah and Dollas to Dreams produced by Excalibah and Roly Botha. 

Tambo & Bones is the latest in a series of acclaimed productions from ATC, one of the only British theatre companies dedicated to producing international plays and presenting them throughout the UK. ATC’s recently celebrated work includes The Architect (2023), Family Tree (2023) and Bodies of Water (2024). 

Photo Credit: Jane Hobson