Yard Theatre Will Host a 'Black Out' Night For SAMUEL TAKES A BREAK

The Yard has announced that it will hold a Black Out Night for Rhianna Ilube's Samuel Takes A Break In Male Dungeon No. 5 After A Long But Generally Successful Day Of Tours. An environment for an all-Black audience to collectively engage with theatre, film, and other cultural forms, the Black Out Night will be held on 28 February at 7.30pm.

When Black Britons Trev and Letty seek out their roots in Ghana, suddenly, history isn't what it used to seem. A seismic shift forces their tour guide Samuel to confront truths and transform his relationship with history, taking audiences on a soul-searching odyssey through time, space and one man's inner turmoil.

The play has this week been nominated for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, the prestigious award honouring female, transgender and non-binary playwrights.  There are eight other plays on the shortlist for the award, chosen from more than 200 submissions.  The winner will be announced on 11 March and will be awarded £19,900.

Initiated by playwright Jeremy O. Harris (Daddy, Almeida Theatre; Slave Play, New York Theatre Workshop, the Golden Theatre), the Black Out Night concept has gained momentum, with events hosted at theatres across the United States and the United Kingdom.

In 2021 and 2022, The Yard hosted a trio of successful 100 Black Men nights—a similar initiative specially curated for Black men, conceived by artist Lanre Malaolu, as part of their sold-out smash hit run of SAMSKARA.

The Yard will foster a space for Black audiences to come together and engage with stories that reflect their culture, historically a rarity in theatre, in a space where Black people are the majority, rather than a minoritised group.

The event will include a free post-show discussion with Samuel Takes A Break director and Yard Deputy Artistic Director Anthony Simpson-Pike, writer Rhianna Ilube,  hosted by Assistant Director Taiwo Oyebola. Afterwards, audiences are welcome to join together in The Yard bar, where DJ Shafire will play a mix of soulful classics and soft R&B, fostering an atmosphere to keep the conversations going. 

This performance has been programmed specifically for Black audiences. But The Yard will not turn anyone away, or question anyone's identity. Audiences with questions about how the event should contact hello@theyardtheatre.co.uk. 

Rhianna Ilube is a playwright and events curator from London. Her debut play, Samuel Takes A Break, was Highly Commended for the Soho Theatre's Verity Bargate Award, and shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Playwriting. She is currently a member of the Soho Six and an alumnus of the Royal Court Intro Group, Oxford Playmakers, BBC London Voices and Omnibus Theatre's Engine Room. She developed her first TV pilot with Expanded Media for a Sky Table Read in May 2023. Rhianna was previously Associate Director at interactive theatre-makers Coney, where she wrote '1884', a new game-theatre show premiering in Spring 2024. She is also a film programmer for BFI Flare and has curated events for cultural venues and NGOs across London and Berlin since 2015.

Anthony Simpson-Pike is a director, dramaturg, and writer. He is currently Deputy Artistic Director at The Yard Theatre and was previously Associate Director at The Gate Theatre. Anthony is also a facilitator, having worked with young people and communities at the Gate, the Royal Court, the Young Vic, the Globe, and The National Theatre. Recent directorial work includes the Olivier award-winning The P Word and Lava at the Bush; An Octoroon at the Abbey, Dublin; Living Newspaper at the Royal Court; The Electric for Paines Plough and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama; and The Ridiculous Darkness at the Gate, London

As a dramaturg, Anthony has developed multiple seasons of work for the Gate and The Yard Theatre. Recent dramaturgical credits include Much Ado About Nothing for the RSC; Samskara at The Yard Theatre; Hotline with Produced Moon at the Tron; Dear Young Monster by Pete McHale for The Queer House; and Coup de Grace at the Royal Court. Samuel Takes a Break will be the first play Anthony has directed at The Yard Theatre.

Taiwo Ava Oyebola is an interdisciplinary artist working across theatre, literature and arts and heritage based in London. Interrogating the world through their lived experiences centring the voices of historically overlooked communities is the thread that runs throughout their creative practice. Working intuitively, they use the poetic potential of language to explore afro-futurity, intimacy and care. Their writing has been performed at the Almeida Theatre, Theatre 503 and with Talawa Theatre Company. Directing credits include ‘1961' and ‘The Sexiest Woman in the World' (The North Wall Arts Centre), Talking Stages (Pleasance Theatre). Assistant directing credits: ‘here, here, here' (dir. Katie Greenall) and ‘Man is Di Feast' (dir. Rochelle Thomas).

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