Theatre Peckham and Words of Colour Launch Annual Alex Wheatle Day

Theatre Peckham and Words of Colour have announced the launch of Alex Wheatle Day on Monday 4 May 2026 at Peckham Fringe to celebrate the literary legacy of the multi-award-winning author who died on 16 March 2025. 

The inaugural Alex Wheatle Day, which will be an annual event, includes a staged adaptation of Alex’s YA novella WITNESS (Serpent’s Tail, 2022) written by Theatre Peckham’s CEO Suzann McLean and writer David Fielding. Commissioned by Alex before he passed away, the play explores courage, loyalty and the price of telling the truth against a backdrop of knife crime. 

There will be a post-show panel featuring award-winning writer and poet Derek Owusu (Borderline Fiction), actors Sheyi Cole (who played Alex) and Elliot Edusah (who played Alex’s Best Friend Valin) in Small Axe, Steve McQueen’s anthology film series, and Iyare Igiehon, film and TV industry executive and former Creative Diversity Partner at the BBC where Alex’s Crongton series was adapted for TV.

Alex Wheatle, aka the ‘Brixton Bard’, wrote 21 books, including a novella, and won the London Arts Board Writers Prize 2000 for Brixton Rock, the Guardian’s Children’s Fiction Award in 2016 and the Renaissance Quiz Writers’ Choice Award for Crongton Knights. The BBC’s adaptation of Crongton won the RTS Award for Best Children's Programme 2026 and has been nominated for a BAFTA Television Award 2026.

A regular visitor to schools and prisons across the country on literacy programmes, Alex believed that “creativity is a necessary tool to tackle the modern world for young people”.

Joy Francis, Alex Wheatle Day Co-Founder and Executive Director, Words of Colour, said: “I knew and worked with Alex Wheatle for over a decade. Alex was a literary activist, poet, playwright, novelist, screenwriter and MC with a deep knowledge and love of reggae, dub and Lovers Rock which he admitted saved his life. He wanted young people, especially young black people, to have the opportunity to be creative, to shine and be heard. Once a year, Alex Wheatle Day will honour his creative palette while championing storytelling at an unprecedented time of financial strain on the arts.”

Suzann McLean MBE, Alex Wheatle Day Co-Founder and CEO and Artistic Director, Theatre Peckham, said: "Theatre Peckham and Words of Colour wanted to create Alex Wheatle Day to honour Alex’s legacy as a writer and the impact of his work. Alex encouraged people from underrepresented backgrounds to tell their own stories, and his books offer a realistic picture of growing up in contemporary Britain. He believed sharing these stories could inspire change. At Theatre Peckham, Alex Wheatle Day allows storytelling, community and opportunity to connect.”

Alex Wheatle Day will also host a foyer exhibition on Alex’s legacy, curated by Words of Colour, a special reggae, dub, Lovers Rock and grime set by DJ Hybrid J, alongside food stalls and raffles for prizes, including Alex’s award-winning Crongton book series donated by Hachette Children’s Group.

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