BARBER SHOP CHRONICLES Celebrates 250th Performance With New Tour Information

Inua Ellams' hit play Barber Shop Chronicles today marks its 250th performance by announcing new autumn dates and a special programme of work Fades, Braids & Identity which will run alongside the season at the Roundhouse in London, opening in nine weeks. The overwhelmingly successful Barber Shop Chronicles returns to London for the first time since its premiere in 2017, playing two sold out runs at the National Theatre and acclaimed performances at Leeds Playhouse. It has subsequently toured across Australia, New Zealand, the United States of America and Canada.

Featuring work from the creators of Hot Brown Honey, Selina Thompson, Ruth Sutoy , and Julian Knox as well as a resident barber from Hackney's renowned SliderCuts, Fades, Braids & Identity champions the stories of Black and Brown artists, exploring and expanding on the themes of the play, from race, gender and identity to the importance and politics of Black hair culture.

This season of events will present acclaimed artists alongside emerging talent to engage with new audiences and to open new conversations reflecting the themes Inua Ellams explores in Barber Shop Chronicles.

Much of the work focuses on the voices of femmes of colour; Hive City Legacy is an unapologetic satire bringing together redefined narratives and social activism to confront Femme experiences across race, sexuality and mental health, Bald Black Girl(s) looks at the experiences of bald black women and their own relationship with barbers and Selina Thompson presents Race Cards, inviting audiences to ask her questions about race. Inua will also present his well-established spoken word and hip-hop night R.A.P. Party on 11th August. Throughout Fades, Braids & Identity, the Roundhouse will also welcome a collection of African Fusion Food pop-ups blending Nigerian, Ghanaian and South African cuisines. Full details of the programme can be found below.

The current national tour of Inua Ellams' play Barber Shop Chronicles will reach further regional audiences across the UK with new Autumn dates now added. Working closely with a national partnership of venues, Barber Shop Chronicles will visit Birmingham and Leeds as well as the first Scottish dates for the production in Edinburgh and Inverness, supported by the National Lottery through Creative Scotland. Funding from both Creative Scotland and Arts Council England is helping the production to attract new, young and diverse audiences with 10% of all available tickets across the entire tour made available for free via local engagement initiatives aimed at young people, refugees and people with experiences of the criminal justice system and others who traditionally wouldn't attend theatre performances. Full tour listings can be found below.

The cast for both the Roundhouse and autumn tour has also been announced featuring: existing cast members Maynard Eziashi, Ad Dee Haastrup, Emmanuel Ighodaro, Demmy Ladipo, Mohammed Mansaray, Anthony Ofoegbu, David Webber, and incoming cast members Micah Balfour, Okorie Chukwu, Tom Moutchi, Elmi Rashid Elmi, and Eric Shango. Both Maynard and David have been with the show since the world premiere at the National Theatre in 2017.

Barber Shop Chronicles is directed by Bijan Sheibani, designed by Rae Smith, with lighting design by Jack Knowles, movement direction by Aline David and sound design by Gareth Fry.

Barber Shop Chronicles is a Fuel, National Theatre and Leeds Playhouse co-production in association with the Roundhouse.

Co-commissioned by Fuel and the National Theatre. Development funded by Arts Council England with the support of Fuel, National Theatre, Leeds Playhouse, The Binks Trust, British Council ZA, ran M r and A Play, a Pie and a Pint.

The tour has received National Lottery funding through Arts Council England's Project Grants programme and Creative Scotland's Open Funding programme.

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LISTINGS

Roundhouse, London
July 18th August 24th 2019
http://www.roundhouse.org.uk/
Press Night: Wednesday 24th July

Birmingham Repertory Theatre
September 26th -28th 2019
https://www.birmingham-rep.co.uk/

Oxford Playhouse
October 9th 12th 2019
www.oxfordplayhouse.com

Eden Court, Inverness
October 16th 19th 2019
https://eden-court.co.uk/

Edinburgh Lyceum
October 23rd 9th November 2019
https://lyceum.org.uk/

Nuffield Southampton Theatres
November 13th 16th 2019
www.nstheatres.co.uk

Leeds Playhouse
November 20th 23rd 2019
https://leedsplayhouse.org.uk/

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