Contemporary black british playwrights: Margins to mainstream

Abstract

The first decade of the twenty-first century has been described as witnessing a 'cultural renaissance' of black British playwriting, demonstrated by an increased visibility at London's main theatres, including the National Theatre, the Royal Court, the Soho Theatre, the Tricycle, and even in the West End. At the forefront of this increased visibility are four key playwrights, Kwame Kwei-Armah, debbie tucker green, Roy Williams, and Bola Agbaje, whose plays arguably exemplify twenty-first century black British playwrights' engagement with topical social issues, which have warranted their increased recognition by the mainstream. Through an exploration of these four playwrights' portrayal of a range of topical themes, such as urban crime and violence, domestic and sexual abuse, immigration and asylum, the prison system, global poverty, genocide, and the Iraq War, this book explores both the critical frameworks for analysis of new black playwriting, while mapping the socio-political and theatrical conditions that have heralded the shift from the margins to the mainstream.