Interview: Carolyn ML Forsyth on Talawa at 40

Talawa at 40: Carolyn ML Forsyth on strength, legacy and keeping the doors open

On Tuesday 13 October, Hackney Empire hosted Talawa Iconic, an evening marking the 40th anniversary of Talawa Theatre Company. Excerpts from productions across four decades were performed, from The Black Jacobins (1986), the company’s first production, to Fragments of Us (2026), with music from the Chineke! Quartet. Josette Bushell-Mingo OBE opened the night with a speech, and Doña Croll returned to Antony & Cleopatra, the role in which she became the first Black actor to play Cleopatra professionally on the British stage.

The event may be over, but the anniversary year is not. Talawa was founded in 1986 by Yvonne Brewster OBE, Mona Hammond OBE, Carmen Munroe DBE and Inigo Espejel, to address the lack of opportunities for Black actors on British stages. Its mission now is to make the theatre industry fully representative of the UK population, and the company is using this milestone year to build financial support for the next generation of artists.

Red Bus Londinium put some questions to Talawa’s Executive Director, Carolyn ML Forsyth, about what “strong and fearless” means after forty years, what the early repertoire says about progress, the pull between the canon and new writing, the memory of Yvonne Brewster, and why £20 tickets were held back for under-25s and for Croydon and Hackney locals.

Red Bus: Talawa’s name means strong and fearless. Forty years is a long time for any company to avoid calming into something safer or more mainstream. Do you feel that original gutsiness is still visible in Talawa’s work today?

Carolyn ML Forsyth: I hope so! For me, being strong and fearless means continuing to be ambitious about whose stories are told, who gets to tell them and where they are seen. It means trusting Black artists to make work on their own terms and making space for the full range of our experiences: our joy and humour as well as our history, struggles and complexity.

I see that spirit in the breadth of our work, from the scale and energy of Play On! to Home Song, which welcomed young children and their families into the theatre, and in the opportunities we create for the next generation through Talawa Firsts and TYPT (Talawa Young People Theatre). Forty years on, the forms may change, but the ambition to make brilliant work and open doors remains very much alive.

Red Bus: The anniversary showcase pairs The Black Jacobins from 1986 with work as recent as Play On!. What did revisiting the company’s early repertoire teach you about how much, or how little, has changed for Black artists in British theatre since Talawa began?

Carolyn ML Forsyth: Revisiting the repertoire was both a celebration and a reminder of why Talawa was founded. There has been progress: there are more Black artists visible on our stages, and more stories are reaching audiences. But some of the questions raised by that early work still feel strikingly current, particularly about who has access to opportunity, resources and the power to make decisions.

The Black Jacobins and Play On! are very different pieces, but together they show the range of work Black artists can create and the importance of having the space to do it. Visibility is not the same as lasting change. Artists need sustained investment, paid opportunities and support throughout their careers, and organisations like Talawa need the resources to keep making ambitious work possible.

Red Bus: Talawa sits in an unusual position: presenting the traditional British theatre canon (Shakespeare, Wilde, Miller, Beckett) as comfortably as it presents new writing by Black British playwrights. Is that dual identity ever a source of tension, either internally or in how audiences approach a given show?

Carolyn ML Forsyth: I see it as part of Talawa’s strength. Black artists should be able to make and perform new work that speaks to their own experiences, and they should also be able to bring their talent and perspective to plays that are already part of the canon. Both can help us see familiar stories, and ourselves, differently.

Audiences may come to a production with different expectations, but that can be exciting. The question for us is whether the work is artistically compelling and has something to say. Alongside reimagining existing plays, we want to support Black writers to create the stories that will become part of tomorrow’s canon.

The Black Jacobins, 1986, photo courtesy of Talawa Theatre Company

King Lear, 2016,
Royal Exchange Theatre
Photo by Jonathan Keenan

A Place for We, 2021
Park Theatre
Photo by Mark Douet

Play On!, 2025
Lyric Hammersmith
Photo by Ellie Kurtzz

Red Bus: This anniversary arrives a year after founder Yvonne Brewster’s death. How has planning this event, and marking her legacy specifically, shaped decisions in Talawa’s fortieth year programme?

Carolyn ML Forsyth: Marking this anniversary has given us a chance to pay tribute to Yvonne Brewster and the extraordinary women who founded Talawa with her: Carmen Munroe, Mona Hammond and Inigo Espejel. Their vision and determination created a home for Black artists and stories at a time when opportunities were far too limited.

Talawa Iconic brought together moments from across those 40 years and the artists and supporters who have helped shape the company. We wanted to honour that history while looking forward, recognising that the best way to carry the founders’ legacy is to keep investing in artists and creating opportunities for the generations coming after us.

Red Bus: £20 tickets were held for under-25s and for Croydon and Hackney locals specifically. What relationship with these groups is Talawa trying to forge or honour?

Carolyn ML Forsyth: We want young people and local communities to feel that Talawa’s work is for them and that they belong in the room. Cost can be a real barrier to experiencing theatre, so offering £20 tickets is one way to make the celebration more accessible.

Croydon is our home: we are resident at Fairfield Halls, and our relationship with the people and creative communities there matters enormously to us. Hackney is the home of Hackney Empire, where Talawa Iconic took place, so it felt important to welcome its local community too. For under-25s, we hope an encounter with Talawa can be the beginning of a lasting relationship, whether as an audience member, an artist or a future collaborator.

To continue making our work accessible and creating opportunities for the next generation, we need support.

Support Talawa’s 40th anniversary campaign

Through the 40th anniversary campaign, people can help Talawa build on this legacy and invest in its future. To donate, visit talawa.com/support.

Photo credits as noted above; Carolyn ML Forsyth photo by Gifty Dzenyo Photography

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