UK Black History Month: #SalutingOurSisters
By Tabitha Gilbert, in collaboration with the Dramatic Resources trainer team
The theme of UK Black History Month this year is #SalutingOurSisters (specifically to "honour Black women’s achievements, amplify their voices, and challenge the systems that oppress them" - find out more here). Inspired by this theme, the Dramatic Resources team has been reflecting on Black women who led the way both on- and off-stage.
In the first of two pieces co-authored with our global trainer team, we are highlighting some of the women who have moved and motivated us from the world of theatre and performance. Stay tuned for Part 2 later this month.
Joan Armatrading: Beloved by many members of the team, Joan Armatrading was an early pioneer among female singer/songwriters in the UK. Much-decorated, much-loved, and much-admired, she has stayed true to herself over four decades of performing and has gained international success. Armatrading was awarded an OBE and later CBE for her services to music, charity and the fight for equal rights.
Viola Davis: We could discuss countless performances from American actress Viola Davis (one of the few performers to have been awarded an ‘EGOT’: an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony). However, we were particularly moved by her title role in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom – a mind-blowing performance in which she embodies incredible pride and contained rage. Davis is also an activist and philanthropist and has shared details of her own difficult childhood whilst campaigning to eradicate child hunger in America.
Michaela Coel: In recent years, Coel has grown to become a national treasure in Britain. She is best known for creating and starring in her award-winning series Chewing Gum and I May Destroy You, and is the youngest performer on this list! Controversially, Coel turned down a million-dollar deal from Netflix in an effort to keep control of her artistic work and "say no to being exploited". Her integrity and raw honesty shines; Michaela Coel wrote I May Destroy You after being sexually assaulted. "It took me two and a half years all in all to write it and I didn't do any other job" she said. Through her work on I May Destroy You, Coel was the first Black woman to win the Emmy Award for ‘Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special’.
Anna Deavere Smith: Anna Deavere Smith has been a prolific changemaker throughout her career as an artist, speaker, and author. Her work is interrogative, and she has created incredible plays based around real events (which are now considered to be essential pieces in the canon of verbatim theatre). Smith was raised in a racially segregated middle-class area of Baltimore, USA. She developed a talent for mimicry in childhood which proved to be essential in her later work as an observer and documenter of modern America. As a member of the DR team stated, “in a time of divisiveness, her artistry is necessary and can bring hope.”
Michele Austin: We recommend that anyone and everyone should see Michele Austin in The Effect at The National Theatre, which is showing until 7 October in London. One of our trainers said that Austin’s performance as Dr Lorna James was “one of the most searing, tender, well-crafted performances I have ever seen, and I will never forget it. She is a walking Masterclass in the art of acting. She has to win the Olivier!” Austin also left an impression in the hugely popular BBC adaptation of This Is Going To Hurt, a memoir based on the experiences of an NHS doctor. Don’t miss the last days of The Effect! Tickets and more.
Josette Bushell-Mingo: Leader, performer, changemaker – Bushell-Mingo is an English theatre actress and director. She has had a long, glittering career with many memorable performances (including nomination for a Laurence Olivier Award in 1999 for ‘Best Actress in a Musical’ for her role as Rafiki, which she originated in the West End production of The Lion King). She is also heavily involved in contemporary Black activism; One example is in founding the Push Arts Festival in 2001, an event which seeks to empower Black creators and normalize their presence and leadership within major theatre institutions. Her work with Push led to her being awarded an OBE in 2006. She is currently the principal of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (the first person of African descent, and the first woman since 1942, to hold this role).
Adjoa Andoh: Andoh shot to international fame in 2020 for her role as Lady Danbury in Shondaland’s hit series, Bridgerton. However, she has been acting for decades and has a long, successful theatre career. She has embodied classic roles such as Richard II, and more recently, Richard III, in subversive, original new ways. Andoh recently sparked controversy (attracting the highest number of complaints for a TV broadcast in 2023!) for her comments about a lack of diversity in the coronation of King Charles III. Andoh’s life and work are reminders to keep pushing boundaries and to champion and uplift the creative work of others.
Zawe Ashton: Our final spotlight rests on Zawe Ashton. Ashton smashed through stereotypes in her compelling performance as Vod in Channel 4’s Fresh Meat. We love Ashton’s brilliant comic acting and she steals every scene throughout the four seasons of the show. Ashton portrayed a genuinely undefinable, barrier-breaking, anti-establishment, military brat character who you can’t help but fall in love with, making Vod an alternative icon for British teenagers in the 2010s. Ashton is also a writer of poetry and plays and published a fictionalized memoir in 2019. An enigmatic, multi-talented powerhouse!
Next time, we will be sharing the work of some incredible women who have made waves off-stage – from entrepreneurs to activists to writers (and more).
UK Black History Month is a chance to acknowledge and celebrate the immense contributions of Black people to British society. To learn more about UK Black History Month, its significance, and ways to get involved, you can find a 2023 resource pack here.