Talawa Theatre Company

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The Talawa Theatre Company was founded in London in 1985 by Jamaican born Yvonne Brewster, Mona Hammond, Carmen Munroe and Inigo Espejel, becoming the UK's most prominent black theatre company. It has produced award-winning plays from and about the African diaspora and has championed reinterpretations of classical British pieces.

The name Talawa comes from Jamaican patois, meaning gutsy, feisty. The companies mission is to provide opportunities for black actors, to use black culture to enrich British theatre, and to enlarge theatre audiences among the black community.[1] The company also run workshops for schools and colleges.

In March 2006, Patricia Cumper, one of Jamaica’s leading contemporary playwrights, became the companies artistic director. Previous directors have included U.S. born Bonnie Greer.

Talawa's Mission Statement in 2007: "Talawa Theatre Company is Britain's foremost Black-led Theatre Company. We give voice to the Black British experience and we nurture, develop and support talent. We cultivate Black audiences and audiences for Black work. In so doing, we enrich British Theatre."[2]

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